Relationships Between Drug Use & Crime

between drug use and/or abuse and their associated adverse behavioral and social consequences" (Normand 1999 3). Statistics indicate that crime is often the result of drug use, the need to pay for drugs, or the inability to reason properly while under the influence. "In 1997, 19% of State prisoners and 16% of Federal inmates said they committed their current offense to obtain money for drugs. These percentages represent a slight increase from 1991, when 17% of State and 10% of Federal prisoners identified drug money as a motive for their current offense" (BJS 1000 1). Furthermore, "The Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR) of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported that in 2003, 4.6% of the 14,408 homicides in which circumstances were known were narcotics related" (BJS 1999 3).

The prisons and juvenile halls are filled with those incarcerated because of crimes committed due to drugs. "According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than half of all state prison inmates were under the influence at the time of their current offense. In addition, it is widely reported that 70 percent to 85 percent of state inmates have histories of serious alcohol or substance abuse problems. Overall, three in four state and four in five federal inmates may be characterized as alcohol- or drug-inv