PICT103 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Demand Reduction, Harm Reduction, Homicide
5 Jun 2018
School
Course
Professor
PICT3
Illicit Drugs and Crime
Getting Perspective
What are drugs?
• A drug (lethal or otherwise) is: "any chemical agent that alters the biochemical
or physiological processes of tissues or organisms"
• Drug is anything that we put in our bodies that is not food and usually has a kind of
psychoactive aspect to it
• Illegal drugs: a drug with no legal use that is prohibited under all circumstances (e.g.
methamphetamine)
• licit/illicit drugs: may refer to either legal or illegal drugs depending upon usage. A
legal drug that is used illegally (e.g. without prescription) represents illicit drug use.
Why do people use illicit drugs?
• Addiction
• Pain management
• Deal with anxiety or other mental health issues
• Except personal circumstances
• Peer pressures
• Body building
• Rebel/annoy parents
• Assist work/study
• Imitation of role models
• Experimentation
• Social bonding
• Act 'grown up'
• Psychological exploration
• Spiritual purposes
• Recreation/fun
Statistical Snapshot
• Difficult to determine and research due to illegality and stigma
• Approx. 15% of the Australian population have used drugs at least once in the past 12
months
• Between 25-30% of young people aged 20-29 - normalisation
• Speak remarkably evenly across social class, education, and employment, although
different drugs were used according to affordability
• Higher use if country areas as opposed to big cities
• This points to the fact that drug use is for many kinds of people, particularly young
people, and that because it is so 'normal', maybe it is not always 'deviant?
Most popular illicit drugs
1. Cannabis
2. Painkillers
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
3. Ecstasy
4. Cocaine
5. Meth/amphetamine (2% of adult population used methamphetamine in the past
12 months, and most only use once a month - only a small % of hard addicts)
6. Tranquillisers/sleeping pills
7. Hallucinogens
8. Heroin
Categories of drug use
• Problematic
- Stereotypical drug use; regularly portrayed in media; characterized by excessive,
harmful consumption, addiction, and criminal behaviour
- Approx. 10% of people in this category: but these a repost visible.
- We assume it is the drug itself that causes addiction, which is in part true, but it is
also our predispositions to drug addiction caused by life experiences and personality
• Non-problematic
- Functional drug use; recreational and non-dependent; not associated with increased
criminality or negative life impact.
- We don't see the non-problematic users or drugs because they are using well. We
only notice the problematic because they show symptoms and signs of use.
- 90% are non-problematic, non-criminal
VIDEO: Psychology of Addiction
• It is tricky to define
• Its more about how it affects your life and if it disables you from doing normal functions
• People who have trauma or negative experiences in their childhood more than 6 times
are 46% more likely to become to addicted to drugs
• There is a difference between drug use and drug addiction
Drug-crime Nexus
3 categories:
Psychopharmacological
• People committing 'out of character' offences whilst under the influence
• Relatively rare - most drug crime is not related to effects of consumption
• Particularly associated wit alcohol and a limited range of illicit rugs
• Psychopharmacological offences are highly newsworthy and attract heavy media
coverage (may distort drug use)
Economic-compulsive
• Also known as 'enslavement'
• Economic-compulsive crime is committed by drug users who are heartily addicted in
order to acquire licit drugs
• Usually refers to low-level street offences (e.g. burglary, prostitution, robbery, etc)
and drug dealing
• Only clearly associated with some types of illicit drugs, particularly those that are
highly addictive
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Illegal drugs: a drug with no legal use that is prohibited under all circumstances (e. g. methamphetamine) licit/illicit drugs: may refer to either legal or illegal drugs depending upon usage. A legal drug that is used illegally (e. g. without prescription) represents illicit drug use. Statistical snapshot: difficult to determine and research due to illegality and stigma, approx. Most popular illicit drugs: cannabis, painkillers, ecstasy, cocaine, meth/amphetamine (2% of adult population used methamphetamine in the past. 12 months, and most only use once a month - only a small % of hard addicts: tranquillisers/sleeping pills, hallucinogens, heroin. Stereotypical drug use; regularly portrayed in media; characterized by excessive, harmful consumption, addiction, and criminal behaviour. 10% of people in this category: but these a repost visible. We assume it is the drug itself that causes addiction, which is in part true, but it is also our predispositions to drug addiction caused by life experiences and personality: non-problematic.
