When High on Drugs Means High on Crimes: How Do Drugs Affect Crime - Essay Example

When High on Drugs Means High on Crimes: How Do Drugs Affect Crime? August 5, Drugs are often linked to violent crimes because of how long-term or excessive consumption of certain illegal drugs can contribute to the deterioration of some areas of the human brain (Chung et al., 2010; Panenka et al., 2013). Experiments on the effects of methamphetamine, also called meth, on the brains of mice, for instance, reveal the potential extent of brain changes that come from drug abuse (Bortolato et al., 2010). Drugs affect crimes by changing people’s thinking, attitudes, and/or behaviors, although they do not solely directly cause all kinds of crimes all the time for all criminals because numerous factors influence actual criminal behaviors (Baron, 2006; White & Gorman, 2000). The paper aims to describe how drugs affect crime using empirical studies and anecdotal evidence. Drugs can affect crimes if they interact with other biological, psychological, and social factors that contribute to criminality, wherein some drugs can make people more violent than usual that result to violent crimes and they can also affect people economically, which can result to resorting to money-making crimes. Drug abuse is only one of the possible causes or correlating factors of crime, which becomes especially strong when it interacts with the biological causes of crime. Walsh and Yun (2013) studied the literature on schizophrenia and criminal behavior. They noted that some criminals actually have mental illnesses, some of which are psychosis that can lead to paranoia, hostility, and aggression (Walsh & Yun, 2013, p. 189). Psychosis can have genetic or biological factors (Walsh & Yun, 2013, p. 189). Abusing drugs can result to worsened psychotic symptoms (Walsh & Yun, 2013, p. 192), which may result to greater paranoia and violence. The relationship among drug abuse, schizophrenia, and criminal behaviors is under-researched, however, and to test for actual cause-and-effect relationships on human subjects is not ethical. It can be inferred that those who are already mentally ill and do drugs may worsen their mental deficits, which can induce people to be more prone to criminal behaviors, especially violent ones. Apart from the interaction among biology, crime, and drug abuse, drugs can also result to crimes if they intersect with psychological and social factors, or psychosocial factors. Baron (2006) used Merton’s strain theory (1968) to analyze the causes of crime among young homeless people (as cited in Baron, 2006, p. 210). Merton (1968) argued that socially-made economic goals create strain for low-income groups who also want economic improvements in their lives (as cited in Baron, 2006, p. 210). Those who cannot achieve financial success may do so through illegal means (as cited in Baron, 2006, p. 210). Baron’s (2006) study showed that unemployment, financial dissatisfaction, unmet financial goals, and homelessness were connected to criminal actions. Walsh and Yun (2013) confirmed these results and asserted from their study that substance abuse and dismal economic conditions can result to criminality (p. 196). White and Gorman (2000) added that, based on some empirical studies, social, biological, and psychological factors, when combined with drug and alcohol abuse, can increase the risks of criminal activities (pp. 175, 177). These articles indicate that environmental and internal factors affect how drugs impact criminal behaviors. In other words, drugs can worsen existing economic, social, genetic, and psychological issues and influence people to participate in a criminal lifestyle. Besides these environmental factors, drugs, in particular, can have significant effects on the human brain that can increase criminal propensities. Several studies showed that doing drugs can damage the brain. Chung et al. (2010) studied the impact of methamphetamine abuse on the “regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF)” (p. 155). They conducted Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) on twenty respondents who have used methamphetamine for more than 30 months and who, during the study, already abstained from cocaine abuse for a minimum of nine months to an average duration of two years (Chung et al., 2010, p. 156). Their findings showed that subjects had “significantly reduced global CBF” and “disproportionate reductions in flow to the striatum, thalamus, cingulum, mesiodorsal prefrontal cortex, and pons” (Chung et al., 2010, p. 158). These brain changes can result to impulsive attitudes and behaviors and poor executive functioning (Chung et al., 2010, p. 158). Panenka et al. (2013) reviewed the literature on the neurological effects of meth abuse. They stated that meth abuse has been connected with severe changes in executive functioning, memory, and attention, as well as cognitive impairment in general for some meth addicts (Panenka et al., 2013, p. 173). The main weakness of these studies is that, with mostly survey research designs, researchers lack baseline data for comparing drug consumption levels and psychological conditions before drug abuse. They cannot fully analyze and determine the connection between drug use and criminality. These studies, nevertheless, suggest that drug abuse can produce brain changes that can be connected to how it easy it must be for some drug addicts to kill or to conduct various other non-violent crimes. Furthermore, since it is not ethical to actually test how drugs alter the brain, other researchers tested drug effects on animal brains. Bortolato et al. (2010) investigated the effects of using both cannabis and methamphetamine on “brain CB1 receptor immunoreactivity (IR)” (Bortolato et al., 2010, p. 945). They subjected 224 adult male rats to a “METH neurotoxic regimen” (Bortolato et al., 2010, p. 945). Their findings indicated the following: …exposure to a METH acute neurotoxic treatment results in long-term enhancements of CB1 receptor expression across some of the key brain regions implicated in regulation of emotional and cognitive responses, including medial prefrontal cortex (Cg1), PRh cortex, striatum (CPu), amygdaloid complex (BLA) and hippocampal formation (CA1 and DG). (Bortolato et al., 2010, p. 950). Meth abuse can alter several areas of the brain that can impair their emotions and thoughts. In other words, drugs can affect crime because it reduces cognitive capabilities that are needed to know the difference between what is right and what is wrong and/or to do the right thing. Moreover, some drugs can make people more violent than usual that result to violent crimes. Certain kinds of drugs can make people more violent, although it is not entirely impossible that violent people are drawn to drugs. Hoaken and Stewart (2003) studied the violence effects of alcohol and different drugs, such as benzodiazepines, opiates (i.e. morphine, heroin, and codeine), cannabis, psychostimulants (i.e. cocaine), phencyclidine (PCP), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) (also ecstasy), and anabolic steroids. They learned from their review of literature that alcohol is still more correlated to violence than these illegal drugs and that media representations of the connection between illegal drugs and violence are overstated. Nonetheless, Hoaken and Stewart (2003) asserted that some studies did show a connection between using benzodiazepines, opiates, MDMA, and anabolic drugs and violence, although, as a whole, studies are mixed in showing the effects of these drugs on aggressive behaviors. White and Gorman (2000) also reviewed numerous studies that investigate the connection between drugs and criminality. Like Hoaken and Stewart (2003), they found a larger connection between alcohol and violence than different drugs and violence, although “cocaine and amphetamine use can increase paranoia which might result in violence” and “chronic use of marijuana, opiates, and amphetamines increases the risk of violent behavior” (p. 185). These studies are correlational, nonetheless, and cannot prove if drugs per se can increase violence, or if social and biological factors are already enough to make people violent and hurt or kill others. News stories and personal experiences show that drug use can make people more violent, especially when they are already violent or when they have existing personal problems. The news and anecdotal personal evidence suggest that using drugs can intensify the personal, social, and psychological causes of crimes and result to violent crimes. Further studies on how drugs correlate with various factors in inducing criminality are needed to prevent such interactions. Finally, drugs can affect crime because it can influence drug users economically, which can result to their resorting to money-making crimes. White and Gorman (2000) described the economic model that explains the connection between crimes and drugs (p. 187). Being an addict can result to loss of income because of drug addiction per se, or because too much money is being used to buy drugs, or because they lost their jobs because of their drug addiction, so they steal to continue their drug abuse. White and Gorman (2000) stressed that those who are already criminals and become drug users exhibit only a small increase in crimes, while those who are new drug addicts may have increase in criminal activities (p. 187). In other words, criminal goals are already present, and drugs can only reinforce them. Drugs can result to crimes, however, if money is needed to sustain drug addiction. Some research shows that drugs per se do not cause violence and may even have the reverse effects on violence when compared to alcohol. Hoaken and Stewart (2003) noted from their literature review that cannabis reduced or did not increase violent behaviors for some users (p. 1542). Withdrawal from these drugs can increase aggression, however, which signifies the negative effects of drug use that can lead to drug addiction (Hoaken & Stewart. 2003, p. 1543). Drugs may not cause violence, but withdrawal from it can, as well as prolonged use that negatively affects the brain. Drug use may not necessarily directly cause crime, but prolonged use and even withdrawal can result to cognitive and psychological problems that make drug users prone to doing crimes. Empirical correlation and cause-and-effect studies do not provide overwhelming evidence that drugs per se cause crimes, but it can work with other environmental and internal human factors to compel people to conduct criminal activities. Those who are mentally ill and do drugs and abuse alcohol are more likely to be violent and/or paranoid and more likely to act on these violent or suspicious attitudes. Furthermore, people who are poor, male, and homeless/jobless are prone to substance abuse, which can attract them to drug addiction and criminality too. In addition, violent people, because of their personalities, sometimes abuse drugs too, and all these factors interact to create criminal identities. Hence, drugs affect crime when they interact with other factors that loosen people’s ability to do what is right and to avoid doing what is wrong. References Baron, S. (2006). Street youth, strain theory, and crime. Journal of Criminal Justice, 34(2), 209-223. Retrieved from ScienceDirect. Bortolato, M., Frau, R., Bini, V., Luesu, W., Loriga, R., Collu, M., Gessa, G., Ennas, M., & Castelli, P. (2010). Methamphetamine neurotoxicity increases brain expression and alters behavioral functions of CB1 cannabinoid receptors. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 44(14), 944-955. Retrieved from ScienceDirect. Chung, Y., Peterson, B., Yoon, S., Cho, S., Chai, S., Jeong, J., & Kim, D. (2010). In vivo evidence for long-term CNS toxicity, associated with chronic binge use of methamphetamine. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 111(1–2), 155-160. Retrieved from ScienceDirect. Hoaken, P., & Stewart, S. (2003). Drugs of abuse and the elicitation of human aggressive behavior. Addictive Behaviors, 28(2003), 1533-1554. Retrieved from http://www.ukcia.org/research/AgressiveBehavior.pdf Panenka, W., Procyshyn, R., Lecomte, T., MacEwan, G., Flynn, S., Honer, W., & Barr, A. (2013). Methamphetamine use: A comprehensive review of molecular, preclinical and clinical findings. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 129(3), 167-179. Retrieved from ScienceDirect. Walsh, A., &Yun, I. (2013). Schizophrenia: Causes, crime, and implications for criminology and criminal justice. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 41(2), 188-202. Retrieved from ScienceDirect. White, H., & Gorman, D. (2000). Dynamics of the drug-crime relationship. In J. Reno, D. Marcus, M. Leary, & J. Samuels (Eds.), The nature of crime: Continuity and change, Volume 1 (pp. 151-218). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. Retrieved from http://www.dldocs.stir.ac.uk/documents/02d.pdf Read More