13 Drug and Sex Crimes

History of Drug Abuse in the United States 1800s and early 1900s Illegal drug use mainly associated with artistic individual sand fringe groups Opium dens flourished in West coast cities, eventually moved across the country continued on next slide

History of Drug Abuse in the United States Late 1960s and early 1970s Psychoactive substances accepted during the hippie movement Timothy Leary – League of Spiritual Discovery

Extent of Drug Abuse National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) provides information on drug use of Americans ages 12+ NSDUH data suggests that drug use is substantially less of a problem than it was two decades ago Growth of the American population gives the estimated decline even greater weight

Young People and Drugs Monitoring the Future (MTF) study of drug use among junior high and high school students The majority of high school seniors report marijuana as being accessible

Costs of Drug Abuse ONDCP estimates Americans spend $63 billion/year to purchase illegal drugs Costs Direct criminal justice system costs Indirect health care costs and lost productivity Other social costs include AIDS traced to IV drug use

Types of Illegal Drugs 1970 Controlled Substances Act groups controlled substances into 5 schedules Dangerous drugs Broad categories or classes of controlled substances other than cocaine, opiates, and cannabis products

Drug Addiction Addiction a chronic brain disease characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences Stopping drug abuse is not just a matter of willpower

Drug Trafficking Drug trafficking Manufacturing, distributing, dispensing, importing, and exporting a controlled or counterfeit substance Also includes sale of drugs Most cocaine entering the US originates in South America continued on next slide

Drug Trafficking Heroin Signature Program (HSP) DEA program that identifies the geographic source of a heroin sample through the detection of specific chemical characteristics in the sample peculiar to the source area The majority of heroin in the U.S. originates in South America Other sources include Asia and Mexico

Pharmaceutical Diversion and Designer Drugs The process by which legitimately manufactured controlled substances are diverted for illicit use Occurs through illegal prescribing by physicians, illegal dispensing by pharmacists continued on next slide

Pharmaceutical Diversion and Designer Drugs New substances designed by slightly altering the chemical makeup of other illegal or tightly controlled drugs

Drugs and Crime Drug-defined crime Drug-related crime a violation of the laws prohibiting or regulating the possession, use, or distribution of illegal drugs Drug-related crime a crime in which drugs contribute to the offense (excluding violations of drug laws) continued on next slide

Drugs and Crime Considerable support for the relationship between drug use and crime: Drug users report greater involvement in crime and are more likely to have criminal records People with criminal records are more likely to report being drug users Crimes rise in number as drug use increases

Narcoterrorism Narcoterrorism The distribution of a controlled substance in order to provide something of pecuniary value to a person or group that has engaged or is engaging in terrorist activity

Social Policy and Drug Abuse 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act 1914 Harrison Act Prohibition – 18th and 21st Amendments 1937 Marijuana Tax Act 1951 Boggs Act 1996 Drug-Induced Rape Prevention Act

Recent Legislation 1996 Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act Legalization of personal and medical use of marijuana

Drug-Control Strategies Anti-drug legislation and strict enforcement Interdiction Crop control Forfeiture Antidrug education and drug treatment

Prostitution Prostitution the act of engaging in sexual activity for money Both prostitutes and “johns” can be charged with the offense of prostitution Prostitution is a crime throughout the U.S. except for parts of Nevada

Morals Legislation The question of whether and to what extent the criminal law should reflect and enforce morality is a classic debate While most agree that actions that harm others should be controlled, not everyone sees sex work, especially when willingly undertaken, as harmful continued on next slide

Morals Legislation Should the law criminalize what are personal moral decisions that harm no one?

Figure 13-11 Types of Prostitutes

Clients of Prostitutes General characteristics Age ranged from 18-84 years, median age 37 Majority had attended some college Less likely to be married Motives varied continued on next slide

Clients of Prostitutes About 20% demonstrated acceptance of 4+ rape myths This group may be responsible for perpetrating violent acts against women for hire

Feminist Perspectives on Prostitution Some feminist thinkers argue that prostitute exploits and demeans women, and subject them to the dangers of violence and disease Others suggest selling sex need not be inherently exploitive and may be liberating continued on next slide

Feminist Perspectives on Prostitution Four claims characterizing extreme radical feminist theory Prostitution involves male domination and exploitation of women Violence is omnipresent in prostitution Female prostitutes lack agency Legalization or decriminalization would only make the situation worse continued on next slide

Feminist Perspectives on Prostitution Ronald Weitzer criticizes this view Says these claims are counterproductive Extreme feminists have contributed to a moral panic over prostitution by linking it to sex trafficking, especially of children Says many claims of radical feminists are false

Legalization and Decriminalization of Prostitution would allow women above a specified age to offer paid sexual services with few restrictions Decriminalization would reduce the penalties associated with prostitution but would regulate the practice and may attempt to curtail it