Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
Lecture Notes
Chapter 16: Drugs and Crime
Learning Objectives
16.2 Describe key factors associated with the various trends of substance used in the United
States.
16.4 Outline some of policies and/or programs aimed at reducing drug use.
16.6 Discuss what should be considered in future policies on substance use.
Chapter Outline
I. Introduction
A. Drugs (including alcohol) and crime go hand in hand, and this chapter illustrates
that relationship for students.
B. The next section of this chapter presents different strategies that have been
II. Commonly Abused Drugs
A. Depressants
i. Depressants slow down, or “depress,” the normal activity of the central
nervous system (i.e., the brain and spinal cord).
ii. Alcohol
a. In 2017, 51.7% of Americans age 12 and older reported using
alcohol at least once in a 30-day period.
b. An issue related to alcohol use is binge drinking. According to the
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, binge
Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
iii. Barbiturates
a. The first barbiturate, barbital, was discovered in 1903 by two
German scientists working at Bayer—Emil Fischer and Joseph von
Mering.
iv. Tranquilizers (Including Benzodiazepines)
a. Tranquilizers used properly, benzodiazepines can help individuals
with anxiety without disrupting normal functions.
B. Narcotics
i. The term narcotics has been used historically, and often inaccurately, to
refer to all illegal drugs. More accurately, narcotics refers to opiates (drugs
derived from the opium poppy) or opioids (synthetically produced opiates).
ii. Morphine
a. The term morphine is derived from the Greek god of dreams,
iii. Heroin
a. Perhaps the most infamous opiate drug is heroin, a chemically
modified form of morphine.
b. Those users who inject heroin are at risk for infectious diseases,
including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis.
iv. Other Synthetic Narcotics
a. Synthetic narcotics are produced entirely within the laboratory, as
C. Stimulants
i. As the name implies, stimulant drugs create a sense of energy, alertness,
talkativeness, and well-being considered pleasurable to the user.
ii. Two of the most common forms of stimulants in our society, and perhaps
the most popular drugs in the world, are caffeine (in coffee, tea, and a
Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
number of soft drinks) and nicotine (consumed through tobacco products
such as cigarettes).
iii. Cocaine
a. Cocaine appears in the leaves of various species of plants grown in
iv. Amphetamine
a. Like other stimulants, amphetamine boosts the body’s
functioning.
b. The effects of amphetamines are similar to those of cocaine;
however, the onset of these effects is slower and the duration
longer.
i
As with cocaine, amphetamines decrease appetite.
v. Methamphetamine
a. The most common form of amphetamine today is
methamphetamine.
b. Methamphetamine can take the form of a white, odorless powder
D. Other Commonly Abused Drugs
i. Cannabis and Marijuana
a. Cannabis is an extremely useful plant.
b. The leaves and flowers can be dried into marijuana and used for
their psychoactive and medicinal effects.
c. While the cannabis plant contains hundreds of psychoactive
chemicals, the most psychoactive is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC).
ii. Steroids
Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
a. Anabolic-androgenic steroids are synthetically produced
iii. Inhalants
a. Inhalants are volatile substances that produce chemical vapors.
These vapors are inhaled to produce a psychoactive, or mind-
altering, effect.
iv. Hallucinogens
a. Hallucinogens are drugs that alter one’s thought processes, mood,
and perceptions.
b. The first category, and the most familiar, is lysergic acid
diethylamide (LSD).
III. Trends of Drug Use
i. The history of drug use can be traced back at least 10,000 years.
Anthropologists have maintained that earlier cultures learned, through a
B. The Early History of Cocaine and Opioid Addiction
i. Around the time of the U.S. Civil War (1861–1865), opioid addiction was
prevalent. Soldiers were given morphine not only to ease the pain of their
injuries but also to relieve the symptoms of dysentery.
Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
ii. In 1898, the Bayer Company developed heroin, an opium derivative 10
times more powerful than morphine. It was extremely effective in relieving
coughs, emphysema, asthma, and tuberculosis.
C. Prohibition Era
i. On December 18, 1917, the U.S. Senate proposed the Eighteenth
Amendment and the national Prohibition took effect on January 16, 1920.
The amendment has two operative sections:
a. Section 1: After one year from the ratification of this article the
manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within,
ii. There was a significant drop in alcohol consumption among the working
class; Prohibition made alcohol expensive, and many of these individuals
could not afford to drink.
iii. While beer and wine were difficult to manufacture and ship, distilled
liquors (e.g., gin, rum, whiskey) were easy to produce and transport, which
made these the more popular beverages.
iv. On December 5, 1933, the Twenty-First Amendment was ratified,
repealing the Eighteenth Amendment.
D. “Reefer Madness”
i. Although the cannabis plant has been used for various purposes since
colonial times, it was not until the early 1900s that the act of smoking
marijuana was considered a social problem in the United States.
E. The 1960s and the Baby Boomers
i. According to the U.S. Census, the population born between 1946 and 1964
is commonly referred to as the baby-boom generation.
ii. Due to a dramatic increase in birth rates following World War II, baby
boomers now form what is considered to be one of the largest generations
in U.S. history.
iii. During the 1960s, these individuals were extremely influential to what has
been identified as the “counterculture” of that time.
F. The “War on Drugs” Era
i. The 1980s initiated what was designated as the War on Drugs: Public
concern about drugs, although building throughout the 1980s, exploded late
G. Current Trends Regarding Drug Use
i. Today, the United States faces a serious national crisis – the misuse of and
addition to opioids.
ii. This includes prescription pain reliever, heroin, and synthetic opiods such
as fentanyl.
IV. The Drug-Crime Link
i. Studies have revealed that individuals who engage in substance use, such
as cocaine, heroin, or marijuana, have consistently engaged in criminal
Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
B. The Tripartite Conceptual Framework
i. Paul Goldstein developed what has been designated the Tripartite
Conceptual Framework of the relationship between drugs and violence.
ii. Psychopharmacological Violence
a. The most relevant drugs within this model include alcohol,
iii. Economically Compulsive Violence
a. This model maintains that some substance users engage in violent
crime, such as robbery, to support their drug use.
b. Heroin and cocaine are expensive drugs often associated with
compulsive use.
iv. Systemic Violence
a. This model denotes the aggressive behaviors associated with the
V. Modern Policies Related to Reducing Drug Use
i. Scientific knowledge in the field of drug use is the body of facts and
theories related to the uses of drugs. Political knowledge concerns public
attitudes and organization toward drug use, including scientific knowledge.
ii. Reducing the consumption of drugs by enhancing law enforcement efforts
B. Interdiction Strategies
i. Interdiction: describes the various steps implemented to interrupt illicit
drug trafficking (e.g., cueing, detection, apprehension, prosecution).
ii. Congress established the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA)
program.
iii. The program’s efforts focus on reducing drug trafficking and production in
the United States by facilitating cooperation with federal, state, local, and
C. Eradication Strategies
i. There are four recognized techniques of eradication: Mechanical
destruction (i.e., slashing or uprooting), bunting, chemical, and biological
(including genetic).
Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
ii. Peru is the world’s second largest cocaine producing country. The
government of Colombia maintains efforts to eliminate the production and
D. Drug Courts
i. By the late 1980s, offenders with substance abuse problems were clogging
up the criminal justice system—from the initial arrest stage up to prisoner
reentry.
ii. In an effort to address the increasing number of drug-using offenders
E. Maintenance and Decriminalization
i. A maintenance policy advocates for the accessibility of drugs through
governmental regulation, such as distribution and legal age of use.
ii. A decriminalization policy supports the end of using criminal sanctions to
address individual drug use. Often, this policy is advocated for marijuana
possession.
iii. California was the first state to pass a legal medical marijuana law,
designated as the Compassionate Use Act of 1996.
iv. As of May 2019, there are over twenty states that have bills that will in
some manner legalize, as well as regulate, marijuana.
F. Harm Reduction
i. A harm reduction policy attempts to incorporate a public health approach
to lessen the risks and harms associated with illegal drug use.
G. Legislation and Litigation
Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
i. In October 2018, President Trump signed into law the Substance Use
Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for
VI. Recommendations for Future Policies
i. Drug policies in the United States will never be simple; policy can often be
contradictory, especially in those instances when state- and local-level
policies conflict with national policy.
ii. Substance abuse is not an isolated problem limited to certain communities