Assignment on Drugs-crime relationship

Course Name: Drugs and Crime (406)

Submitted To
Dr. M. A. Sobhan PPM
Addi.DIG ,Commandant ( PSTS)

Submitted By
Robiul Alam Sifat
Id-20409007

Date of Submission: 05.02.2024

Introduction : The association between drugs and crime is the most

widely discussed topic in the social science area. Moreover, the drugs-
crime issue has become a challenging issue within criminology, social
science and medical communities.
Drugs are substances that have an impact both on physical and mental
state. Besides, they may influence the functioning of our brain, how we
behave and how we feel or sense.
On the other hand, Crime involves the violation of criminal law. It is an
illegal act for which the state inflicts punishment on the offender.
According to the Australian Government Department of Health and
Aged Care, "Drugs are substances that change a person's mental or
physical state. They can affect the way your brain works, how you feel
and behave, your understanding and your senses. This makes them
unpredictable and dangerous, especially for young people.
According to the World Health Organization, "Psychoactive drugs are
substances that, when taken in or administered into one's system, affect
mental processes, e.g. perception, consciousness, cognition or mood and
emotions. Psychoactive drugs belong to a broader category of
psychoactive substances that include also alcohol and nicotine.
"Psychoactive" does not necessarily imply dependence-producing, and
in common parlance, the term is often left unstated. as in "drug use",
"substance use" or "substance abuse".
According to Brittanica, "Drug, any chemical substance that affects the
functioning of living things and the organisms (such as bacteria, fungi,
and viruses) that infect them. Pharmacology, the science of drugs, deals
with all aspects of drugs in medicine, including their mechanism of
action, physical and chemical properties, metabolism, therapeutics, and
toxicity.
According to Merriam-webster,"Drug is a substance intended for use
in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease"
According to the MSD Manual, "A drug is defined by U.S. law as any
substance (other than a food or device) intended for use in the diagnosis,
cure, relief, treatment, or prevention of disease or intended to affect the
structure or function of the body."
According to Brittanica, "Crime, is the intentional
commission of an act usually deemed socially harmful or
dangerous and specifically defined, prohibited. and
punishable under criminal law."
The association between drugs and crime has become a
topic of interest for researchers and scholars. As Gorman
and White argued there are three explanations. arising (a)
drug use leads to crime, (b) crime leads to drug use, and
(c) the drug/erime association is explained by a set of
common causes.
Goldstein (1985) identified three ways in which drug
use leads to criminal activity. Firstly, the pharmacological
model which indicates that the impacts of intoxication.
For instance, poor judgement, disinhibition, and their
byproducts withdrawal, and sleep deprivation lead to
criminal behaviour. Secondly, the economic motivation
model proposes that drug users commit income-
generating crimes such as robbery, burglary and drug
sales aimed at promoting drug habits. Thirdly, the
systematic model argues that the distribution of drugs is
associated with violent crime.
White, Brick & Hansell (1993) argued that those who
believe that crime leads to drug use assume that deviant
individuals are more likely than non-deviant individuals to
find themselves in social situations in which drug use is
encouraged.
Additionally, Collins (1993) and Khantzian (1985)
argued that deviant individuals may use drugs as a form
of self-medication or to provide an excuse for their
deviant acts.
In some studies, crime refers to murder, rape, robbery,
theft, and burglary. In other studies, it refers to trivial
acts. Drug abuse involves the use of certain chemicals to
create pleasures that have an impact on the brain.The
term "drug-related" crime denotes different things in
different studies. For instance, drug-related homicide
includes murders related to drug distribution, committing
murders to gain money for drugs etc.
The Nature of Drug Use

The United Office on Drugs and Crime shows a report in

which around 155 and 250 million people, estimated
3.5% to 5.7% of the population aged between 15-64 use
illicit substances.
Number of people who
inject drugs aged 15-64
years: 11- 21 million
Number of problems drug
persons.
users aged 15-64 years:
16- 38 million persons

Number of people who

have used drugs at least
once in the past year aged
15-64 years: 155-250
million persons.
Total number of people
aged 15-64 years in
2008: 4,396 million
Figure 1. Illicit drug use at the global level,
2008(Source: UNODC)

Some scientific evidence shows that drug use is an

outcome of a complex multifactorial interaction between
repeated exposure to drugs, and biological and
environmental factors. There are such forms of drug use.
Some of them are discussed below.
Recreational
Some forms of drug use are associated with recreational
settings. For instance, ecstasy use is found among young
people and associated with particular lifestyles. and
events like parties, nightclubs and dance events seen in
many influential societies.
Society, family, and life experience
Users of opiates, cocaine, amphetamine, and
methamphetamine tend to be more chronic users. Many
studies have shown that there is a strong association
between poverty, social exclusion and drug use. In
another study, it was found that poor parent-child
attachment leads to addictive and affective disorders.
Psychiatric disorders
Individuals with psychiatric disorders are more likely to be
dependent on substances.
Categories of Drugs As Shazzad (2013) mentions
drugs are classified into two types. One is soft drugs and
another is hard drugs.
Soft drugs: Alcohol, cigarette, marijuana, glue, and hash
etc.
Hard drugs: Ecstasy, speed, amphetamine, and cocaine
etc.

The Drug-crime relationship

Several studies suggest that there is an ussociation

between drugs and crime, Anglin and Perrochet (1998)
argued that crime is a vital part of illegal drug use.
Harrison (1992) also argued that crime increased in
moments of drug use.
Research on alcohol use and crime has suggested that a
direct pharmacological effect of alcohol use on violence
has a greater effect on violent crimes than on
propertycrimes. Several laboratory studies have
suggested that intoxication is associated with aggression.
Moreover, several studies suggest that there is an
association between domestic violence and alcohol.
Honey, Osgood and Marshall (1995) were among the first
to employ a model to examine the drug-crime issue. They
found that the use of illegal drugs related to four
measures of offending, including drug dealing, property
crime, assaults etc.
The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drugs
Addiction have described drug crimes in the following
ways.
1. Induced: Offences committed under the impact of a
psychoactive substance.
2. Inspired: Offences committed to gain money or
promote drug use.
3. Defined: Offences committed in violation of drug laws.
4. Systematic: Offences committed as part of the
business of drug supply, distribution or use.

Moreover, if we want to study the association between

drugs and crime, we have to emphasize three things
including drug-defined offences, drug-related offences
and drug-using lifestyle. All of them are discussed below.

Drug-defined offences:
Violations of laws prohibiting the possession, use,
distribution or manufacture of illegal drugs. For instance,
Drog possession or use. Marijuana cultivation.
Methamphetamine production. Cocaine, heroin, or
marijuana sales.
Drug-related offences
Offences in which a drug's pharmacologic effects
contribute to, offences motivated. by the user's need for
money to support continued use and offences connected
to drug distribution. For example, violent behaviour is the
outcome of drug effects. Stealing to get money to buy
drugs. Violence against rival drug dealers.
Drug-using lifestyle
Drug use and crime are common aspects of a deviant
lifestyle. The possibility of and frequency of involvement
in illegal activity is increased as the drug users may not
take part in the legitimate economy and are exposed to
situations that encourage crimes. For example,
Opportunities for offending behaviour resulting from
making contact with offenders and illegal markets,
Criminals learn skills from other offenders.

Drug trafficking generates violent crime

Trafficking in illicit drugs tends to be associated with the
commission of violent crimes. Reasons for the relation-
ship of drug trafficking to violence include:
⚫ competition for drug markets and customers
⚫ disputes and ripoffs among individuals involved in the
illegal drug market
⚫ individuals who participate in drug trafficking are prone
to use violence
⚫ locations where street drug markets proliferate tend to
be disadvantaged economically and socially; legal and
social controls against violence in such areas tend to be
ineffective.
The proliferation of lethal weapons in recent years has
also likely made drug violence more deadly. BJS examined
homicides in the 75 most populous counties in the United
States in 1988. Many of the homicides involved drugs or
drug trafficking, including the following: drug
manufacture, dispute over drugs, theft of drugs or drug
money, a drug scam, a bad drug deal, punishment for
drug theft, or illegal use of drugs. One of these
circumstances was involved for 18% of defendants and
16% of victims.
There are many ways in which drugs influence crime
rates, but the most impactful are the character changes
and social changes that the person goes through.

Motivational Change
One of the first and foremost problems caused by drugs is
a motivational change. Addicts and drug users aren’t
necessarily less motivated. In fact, it’s just the opposite
they are typically extremely motivated individuals.
However, they are motivated for the wrong reasons.
Someone who uses drugs will likely think about that drug,
how to get it, and may or may not consider the risks
involved.
This extreme motivation towards drugs then consumes
them, resulting in what many people know as addiction.
But even the smallest semblance of drug use can cause a
reaction that inhibits your desire to do anything but
consume more of that drug. It could be the relief of stress
or lack of inhibitions while on it that causes it that people
crave. No matter the reason, they’re willing to pay
whatever price it takes to escape from reality. For those
without significant resources to support themselves,
crime is often the easiest option to turn to when hoping
to find some relief. As a result, people experiencing drug
dependency can go to extreme lengths to procure more
of the drug, and frequently, the coping mechanism
becomes a crutch and drugs begin to seem necessary for
survival. This shift in mindset and motivation (or lack
thereof) then starts to affect the person’s work, love life,
finances everything that was once stable.

Influx of Hormones
Another prevalent issue with drug use, aside from the
change in motivation, is the difficulty in functioning
without the drugs. Dopamine, adrenaline, and other
hormones are greatly impacted in someone who has
taken drugs of any sort. Suddenly stopping use can
eventually manifest in severe depression or anxiety,
which can continue to spiral out without rehabilitative
support. A successful detoxification can be the start of a
healthy sober life, but it is also a physically, mentally, and
emotionally intense and taxing process.
An unsuccessful detoxification/rehabilitation can, of
course, lead to a few worst case scenarious :medical
distress, hospitalization, or relapse. In the case of relapse,
many will turn to crime to fulfill their needs. Violent
crimes are common among hard drug users for this
reason. They are stressed and pressured to function
appropriately, while their hormones sway between polar
extremes, resulting in violent outbreaks. Depending on
the drug, even new or beginner users can easily
experience mood swings, violent tendencies, and other
extreme emotions when taking them.

Drugs and Crime in Bangladesh

Bangladesh serves as a transit point for heroin produced

in neighbouring countries. Besides, it is also a transit
route for cocaine to larger markets. Many criminal
networks and mafia-like groups are involved in drug
trafficking. International cartels use the country's ports as
a safe route for smuggling drugs into Europe and
Southeast Asia. Bangladesh is the biggest destination in
South Asia for Yaba produced in Myanmar. The United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development says that
Bangladesh. ranks fifth in terms of drug money
laundering, while the country tops the list among South
Asian countries. The report published by UNCTAD shows
that drug trafficking produces an annual revenue of $481
million or some 5,147 crore. The estimate includes the
trafficking of methamphetamine tablets, heroin and
synthetic apioids.
According to the Bangladesh Narcotics Control
Department (NCD), around 165 million people, about
seven million are addicted to drugs. It is approximated
that 85% of drug addicts are male young people aged
between 15 to 30 years old.
According to the Department of Narcotics Control, law
enforcement agencies seized 800,000 Yaba tablets in
2010. But the number gradually increased to 1.3 million
in 2011, 1.9 million in 2012, 2.8 million in 2013, 6.7
million in 2014, 20 million in 2015 and 29.5 million in
2016. In 2017, the volume rose to 40 million.
Drug addiction poses a great problem, and causes harm
to a person, his or her family. and community. Indeed,
persistent drug use causes changes in the brain's
chemical systems making an impact on functioning like
learning, judgement, decision making etc.
To address the growing concern, a nationwide crackdown
resembling the Philippine- style "war on drugs" was
launched in Bangladesh on May 4, 2018. The anti-crime
unit of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and the police
also seized 53 million Yaba pills in 2018. Though over 100
drug dealers have already surrendered, the menace is
still believed to exist. Legal experts voice their concerns
over arbitrary and extrajudicial killings of drug dealers in
clear violation of the rule of law and human rights.

My Opinion : Crimes, in my opinion, are caused by a

variety of reasons, such as situational, cultural, economic,
and personal ones. In cases where medications are the
cause, they are probably just one of several contributing
factors. Drug usage does, in fact, lead to a variety of
issues, such as social, legal, and medical issues. Drug
usage can lead to criminal activity for a variety of
reasons. Two categories can be used to group the
components. One is personal variables, like personality,
hereditary, and psychological illnesses, or issues like
parental drinking and strained parent-child relationships.
Situational and environmental elements include things
like low social capital, high unemployment, poor
community infrastructure, poverty, and social disarray.
There may be instances where someone commits a crime
out of need for money. The majority of drug users do not
have access to reliable sources of income. As a result,
many turn to committing crimes to get money for their
drug habit.We need to look at three criteria in order to
investigate the relationship between drugs and
criminality. First, a connection between the use of illegal
drugs and later violent incidents needs to be proven.
Second, there must be drug use prior to any violent
incidents. Thirdly, it is necessary to identify and manage
additional factors that cause the violent incidents. The
relationship between drugs and crime is explained by
Paul Goldstein's tripartite paradigm, as I have already
said. There is evidence that certain medicines can directly
cause offensive behavior In my opinion, drug usage is a
cause of criminal behavior on the one hand, and criminal
behavior is a cause of drug use on the other. However, it
should be mentioned that the majority of drug users do
not break the law. Thus, it can be concluded that certain
individuals go on to acquire a problematic drug-using
tendency. A state must establish a drug policy in order to
address its drug problem. Certain policies, in my opinion,
could lessen the negative effects that drug usage has on
criminal behavior. Legal, family, mental health,
educational, and career assistance are a few examples of
what they could encompass .

Conclusion : The relationship between drugs and

crime is complex. Substance abuse can contribute to
criminal behavior, as individuals may commit crimes to
support their addiction. Additionally, illegal drug trade
and trafficking are major criminal enterprises. On the
other hand, some crimes are directly related to drug use,
such as driving under the influence. Treatment and
prevention efforts often aim to address both substance
abuse and associated criminal behavior.

Reference

1. https://www.who.int/health-topics/drugs-psychoactive
2. https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/
definition/english/drug
3. https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/drug
4.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/dr
ug
5. https://www.amsdmanuals.com/home/drugs/
overview-of-drugs/overview- of-drugs
6.
https://www.health.gov.au/topics/drugs/about-drugs/what-
are-drugs
7. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/new
%20drug
8. https://www.britannica.com/topic/crime-law 9.
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/crime
10.https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crime
11.https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/crime/481 m-
trafficked-annually- drug-money-bangladesh-between-
2017-2021-unctad-6-47578
12.https://ocindex.net/country/bangladesh
13.https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/public/views/can-
bangladesh-win-its-war-on-drugs-1561472527
14.https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/home/bangladesh-
sees-sharp-rise-in- drug-related-violence-offences-in-
2021-1651843974