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The Pros And Cons Of Victimless Crime

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Throughout its history, America has maintained the persistent problem of punishing perpetrators of victimless crimes. One of the most substantial and controversial subjects pertaining to this issue is the matter of illicit drugs and their legalization. In recent years, numerous reforms and revisions have been made to previous drug laws, most often in support of legalizing the possession and use of marijuana. Though these changes are necessary, they should be expanded to protect the users of all currently illegal drugs. Prohibition infringes upon the civil liberties of those who are citizens of the United States, and is a direct threat to the values and standards this nation was founded upon. The general public of the United States should be …show more content…

The act of possessing and using illicit substances does not damage anyone other than the person making the decision to do so. By punishing individuals for performing activities that do not infringe upon the basic rights of others, one would in turn be infringing upon that user’s rights. When an individual is put in prison for performing an action of this nature, it is termed a victimless crime. There are a plethora of victimless crimes in the United States judicial system, ranging from being punished for not wearing a seat belt, all the way to the “extreme” of using illicit substances. The legislative system of the United States was founded with the intent to punish those who perform actions that directly violate the rights of others. Victimless crimes seek to punish citizens for hurting themselves, an idea that is entirely ludicrous in …show more content…

During times where crackdowns on drug-related crimes were prevalent, higher rates in crime were almost always observed. During a thirteen year period in which an immense crackdown on drugs was initiated, property crime rates increased by 13.2 percent, homicide went up by 16.2 percent, and robbery skyrocketed to levels 83.3 percent higher than they had been prior (Miller n.pg.). The correlation between more punishment to those committing drug-related offenses, and an increase in crime rates is not a coincidence. When the United States made it more difficult to access drugs, users were forced to pay greater sums of money to have access to these same substances due to their limited supply. This forced those individuals to commit acts of robbery in order to acquire the money needed to afford drugs. The same principle applies to the reasons for all other types of crime that increased, and exhibits how making drugs illegal actually worsens the quality of life for other citizens of the

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In a 1970 article about drugs, narcotics, and the government, “Drugs: Case for Legalizing Marijuana”, Gore Vidal explores how the illegalization of marijuana has created the opposite effect of what the legislation has intended to do. Vidal’s explanation and reasoning behind this idea is not entirely associated with drug users and the population in general, but also has a strong link to monetary gains in government bureaus and large-scale mafias. These financial motive claims are supported by logical appeal and evidence.1 To begin, Vidal points out that, “both the Bureau of Narcotics and the Mafia want strong laws against the sale and use of drugs because if drugs are sold at cost there would be no money in it for anyone” (par. 10). This statement

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In his article, “Toward a Policy on Drugs,” Elliot Currie discusses “the magnitude and severity of our drug crisis” (para. 21), and how “no other country has anything resembling the American drug problem” (para. 21). The best way to describe America’s drug problem is that it is a hole continuously digs itself deeper. America’s drug issues were likely comparable to other country’s at one point in time, but today it can be blamed on the “street cultures” (para. 21) that continue to use and spread the use of illegal drugs. These street cultures transcend the common stereotype of drug users, such as low income communities in cities or welfare recipients, and can be found in every economic class and location. They are groups of people who have

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Randy E. Bartnett claims that “drug laws cause more harm to addicts and society than drugs themselves.” According to Bartnett, “Drug prohibition makes drugs so expensive, the addicts trying to crime in order to obtain money to buy them. Furthermore, drug prohibition is unfair in that it punishes users for committing a “crime” that has no victim.” Some people might agree with the idea that legalizing drugs would benefit addicts because then they would not be able to obtain drugs so easily.

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The combination of drugs and unemployment increased crime, as drugs and alcohol disproportionately affected the black population. Above all the government's approach to addressing the harmful effects of drugs on society has created an oppressive atmosphere for poor blacks and other minority groups. The war on drugs targeted drug users and drug contributors similarly, and the group that was primarily affected was the African American community. However, they treated crack and cocaine differently, as it turns out; there is no significant chemical difference between them. The only distinction was in federal sentencing laws for possessing each form of the same drug, which had more to do with incorrect information and political pressure than public safety and health.

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Due to the fact that drug courts are working to reduce crime, the policies and practices of the US government may have to be changed or strengthened in favor of drug courts. For example, in the Journal Do Drug Courts Work? Getting Inside the Drug Court Black Box (Goldkamp, White, Robinson, 2001), the authors say “Nevertheless, these findings also suggest that variation in drug court out comes may be explained by changes in the operation of the drug court and its ability to deliver the treatment and deterrent effects postulated by the collection of components inside the drug court black box”. This clearly shows that in order for drug courts to work and grow in numbers, changes in policies and procedures that are shown to reduce crime need to be implemented everywhere. Weaknesses that can be found in this summary are that all active drug courts in the US did not respond, which could lead to a very different outcome involving the effectiveness of drug courts as a

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In the early 1980s, the United States declared an all-out war on drugs and over the past several decades the United States of America has traveled down a dark road when it comes to sentencing for drug offenses. One of the major tools that they used in this war on drugs is the mandatory sentencing laws. These laws were enacted in 1984 to help combat and get violent drug dealers off our streets. What these laws did was set a mandatory minimum sentence that stated if you are arrested for fifteen or more grams of crack cocaine, you would be charged as if you had five hundred grams of powder cocaine thus getting you a minimum of a ten year sentence in prison. If you are arrested for growing 100 marijuana plants under these draconian laws, you would be charged as if you were possession of 100 pounds of marijuana which carries a minimum of a five-year

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The history of this problem started in the late 1960’s when recreational drug use was on the rise with the middle class in America. From 1968-1969 the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs was founded, studies linked crime

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Since the Federal Government’s crack-down of drug users in the 80s, the number of Americans arrested for nonviolent drug charges remains excessive. While some states have fully legalized certain drugs, and others have decriminalized them, the federal government has made no efforts to curb their “hard on drugs”

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The initial thinking behind the creation of minimum mandatory sentences was created by congress to aim in the capture and imprisonment of high level drug traffickers, and deter others from entering into drug trafficking or using illegal substances, which would create a safer society. However, the nation prison has been expanded with low level street drug dealers, and the accessibility to illegal drugs is more obtainable then before the enactment of the mandatory sentencing act. In fact, the number of drug offenders in federal prisons has increased 21 times since 1980. Contrary to what congress has believed in the past about the dangers of crack cocaine compared to that in powder form has been proven to be untrue, but little has been done to reduce the number of prisons affected by that belief.

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Additionally, the impact of reforming incarceration policies should not be overstated, for the impact might not be on the incarceration rate of drug offenders but in the drug-related arrests. Also, reforming drug and sentencing policies will promote an engaging cohesion within the community that will result a healthy mitigating society, for Robert D Crutchfield and Gregory A. Weeks author of "The Effects Of Mass Incarceration On Communities Of Color. " quotes “When residential areas, and even commercial districts, are cohesive and individuals are engaged with each other, people can participate in the kinds of social life that make crime less likely”. In continuation, institutions increases poverty within those closely connected to convicted offender, which increases poverty, for according to Michael Mitchell and Michael Leachman authors of “Changing priorities: state criminal justice reforms and investments in education.”

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Essentially, although drugs have been held accountable for gang violence and other acts of violence that have occurred within communities, the illegality of drugs indeed may have aggravated the situation. In addition, it has become evident that one of the primary objectives of the war on drugs, which is to limit supply and demand, has been largely ineffective. CSDP (2007) “ According to the United Nations, profits in illegal drugs are so inflated that three-quarters of all drug shipments would have

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In the recent years, the population of Americans incarcerated has increased at extraordinary rates. In fact, the U.S has the highest incarceration rate in the world (Bureau of Justice Statistics). The majority of those incarcerated are for non-violent crimes, like for the use of drugs, possession of drugs, distribution of drugs, property crimes, and petty theft. Interestingly, the numbers of those incarcerated are higher in one ethnic group than another. Research shows that African Americans and Hispanics are often charged longer sentences and are convicted of crimes that only require mandatory minimum sentencing far more than Whites.

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Drugs are the dangerous substances that will destroy the consumer both physically and mentally; therefore, it is necessary to determine these substances restrictively. In order to do that, I am strongly assuring that the drugs should be legalized. There are three main reasons why the drugs should be legalized: diminution of crime rates, health guarantee, and extending of drugs regulation. Drugs are one of the crime sources, although not by the drugs, itself, but the condition. Illegal drugs are rare products that could not be found in the normal market, the cost for its rarity is totally expensive.

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It is difficult to discern if drugs cause criminal tendencies, or if criminal tendencies lead to drug use. Unfortunately, it seems as if both of these are possible in terms of drug use and crime.

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Two other theories are discussed in chapter 12 regarding drugs and crime: drug enslavement theory and general deviance syndrome theory. The book states that according to drug enslavement theory, “Drug users are forced into a life of crime because they cannot afford to pay for their drug habits unless they use crime to get money for their next fix” (Thio, 2013, pg. 311). The book states that according to general deviance syndrome theory, “The high correlation between drug use and crime does not mean that drug use causes crime because most drug users with a criminal record have committed crime before using drugs” (Thio, 2013, pg. 311). Both theories suggest that using drugs and committing crimes are related. Therefore, if marijuana use is legalized, the assumption can be made that there would essentially be some kind of decline in crime in regard to marijuana charges.

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