t deal of evidence that teens, like adults, who use drugs are much more likely to run afoul of the law, threaten to cause injury to others, and pack a handgun. The Parent’s Resource Institute for Drug Education reports that “children who abuse illicit drugs are significantly more likely to carry a gun to school, take part in gang activities, think of suicide, threaten harm to others, and get in trouble with the police than children who abstain,” (Maginnis, 1996: 3).
There are many other statistics and studies among criminality literature that prove there is an indisputable connection between both the social problems of drug use and criminal activity. The Clinton Administration Drug Czar, Barry McCaffrey, also believes that the largest issue behind the issue of crime rates in America is the issue of drug use among Americans. Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, McCaffrey laments the horrendous situation in our current prison system, where “50 to 80 percent of the prison population…are behind bars for a drug-related, alcohol-related reason,” (Barry, 1998: 1). An additional part of the problem is recidivism, because most of those who are drug users and in prisons are, or become, repeat offenders. McCaffrey says a large part of the reason they continue to commit crimes, while on drugs or ones that are drug-related, is because there are not effective policies in place to keep drugs out of the prison systems, let alone the entire nation, “We’ve got 1.6 million men and women behind bars. And of that number-we just did a fairly widespread 1997 drug testing program-some 9 percent tested positive for drugs behind bars,” (Barry, 1998: 1).
One of the worst factors associated with drug use and crime is the various groups that are greatly impacted by the combined social problem. Legislators, victims, medical personnel, prison systems, taxpayers, families of users/criminals, and the perpetrators ...