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Alcohol and the Effects on Crime

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When it comes onto the on going increase of crime and violence, one can’t help but think, what are some of the main contribution to this vast increase? The effects of drugs and alcohol on our society are becoming more and more evident as the years pass. Even though drugs and alcohol have been around for centuries, they are becoming more popular. Along with the major drugs like cocaine, crack, and heroin, the alternative or "designer drugs like ecstasy, and GHB are becoming increasingly popular with the younger generations. Drugs and alcohol can have major effects on a person's life and of those that are involved with him/her. Today drugs are becoming more like everything else in our society, popular and expensive, which usually instigates criminal activity. When it comes to drugs and alcohol there are many different crimes that are associated with them. Whether it's selling drugs, stealing to get money for drugs, or committing a crime while on drugs, they are all drug related crimes. As you will see in this paper drugs and alcohol play a major role in crime world.

In the United States the use and abuse of alcohol and drugs have had dramatic effects on the number of crimes that are committed. According to Joseph Califano Jr., President of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA), as he states in his article, "Most Crimes Linked to Drugs and Alcohol, eighty percent of crimes committed in the United States are alcohol or drug related. Of the 1.7 million people that are being held in prison today, 1.4 million of them have a history of drug or alcohol abuse, committed a crime while under the influence of a substance, have stolen property to pay for drugs, or somehow violated drug and alcohol laws. This study also points out how drugs and alcohol can affect a persons mind, causing them to commit crimes that they would not have normally

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