Running Head: Drug Use, Crime, and Social Policy 1
Running Head: Drug Use, Crime, and Social Policy 1
Running Head: Drug Use, Crime, and Social Policy 1
Name:
Institutional Affiliation:
DRUG USE, CRIME, AND SOCIAL POLICY 2
Methamphetamine has been a drug of concern to the Australian authorities with its use
and availability rising tremendously over the past few years. The Australian criminal intelligence
community (ACIC) has singled out methamphetamine as one of the drugs posing a risk to the
Australian community in several ways mainly because it is linked to property crime. According
to Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA), there has been an acute increase in
methamphetamine use among police detainees from 14% in 2009 to 37% in 2014 (McKetin &
New South Wales, 2006). From these statistics, it is clear that there is a likelihood of property
crime engagement, a condition the ACIC suggests is likely to cause a corresponding rise in
There is a solid connection between illegal drug use and crime. Methamphetamine use
has been linked with an increased danger of engaging in violence and property crimes though not
all illegal drug users engage in crime. The economic model of crime puts the probability of
committing a crime, particularly property crime and drug-related crime, increases with the
increase in substance abuse or frequency of addiction most likely due to the need for income to
support illegal drug purchase (McKetin & New South Wales,2006). For this reason, there has
methamphetamine users than non-users. From these data from ACIC, it is clear that the recent
ACIC has also reported that the number of acquisitive offenses reported by a detainee
was positively associated with the number of drugs they consumed. Those who used cocaine,
crack, and heroin and many other drug types had higher offending rates than users whose used
DRUG USE, CRIME, AND SOCIAL POLICY 3
cocaine, crack and heroin and fewer other drugs (Schloenhardt & Australian Institute of
Criminology, 2007). It is important therefore to note that whether it is the use of specific illegal
drugs like methamphetamine or a combination of several other illegal drugs that are associated
The war on illegal drugs in Australia seems to be unending despite the strict laws on
illegal drug use and possession. A report from DUMA reveals that Since the introduction of the
laws, users of these drugs have been on the rise with close to a quarter of the teens in Australia
being introduced to these illegal drugs. Most of the illegal drugs use by the teens are cannabis
with close to 20% of teens reported recent use of the substance and methamphetamine with
around 6.4% of the teens reported to have recently used (Sweeney, Payne, & Australian Institute
of Criminology, 2012). Therefore, the increase in illegal drug consumption in Australia shows
that even with the strict laws in place, it is almost incapable of eradicating illegal drug markets or
The report also indicates that the increased criminalization of drug offenses in Australia
could lead to risk-taking behaviors by drug users like refusing to seek medical assistance, drug
switching, binge consumption, needle sharing and consuming drugs in situations where they are
unlikely to get assistance if difficulties arise (Sweeney, Payne, & Australian Institute of
Criminology, 2012). This type of behavior has serious implications for an individual and the
It is therefore not surprising that the strict laws on illegal drugs have failed to resolve
issues with illegal drugs mainly due to the limitations of the deterrence theory. The theory
suggests that people tend to weigh the advantages and disadvantages as well as the profits or
losses involved with engaging or refraining from a criminal behavior and choose an outcome that
DRUG USE, CRIME, AND SOCIAL POLICY 4
most likely would benefit them with minimal risks (Sweeney, Payne, & Australian Institute of
Criminology, 2012).
With the increase in the consumption of illegal drugs like cannabis, countries are coming
up with certain policies that aim in decreasing the use of these drugs. In the 90s, the Netherlands
had fought with the increase in the use of cannabis through the introduction of strict drug laws.
The government had to come up with a policy that would help reduce cannabis consumption.
The policy was to create a distinction between soft and hard drugs. They put cannabis in the soft
drug category where through government policies, minor cannabis offenses were assigned low
cannabis was allowed, and shops were allowed to sell cannabis (Netherlands, 2003).
This policy was based on four main principles; normalization which aims at integration
and depolarization of deviance instead of removal and isolation, harm minimization, and the
desire to separate cannabis and other soft drugs with hard drugs with the aim of decreasing the
adverse effects of hard drugs (Netherlands, 2003). This approach despite criticism from other
countries has not lead to the increase in the cannabis market. The Netherlands now have fewer
patterns of cannabis use than most of the countries in Europe or even the US that has continually
Swedens policy is an exact opposite of the Netherlands. The policy aims at limiting
access to drugs, reducing the number of youths engaging in drugs, limiting drug-related deaths
and increasing access to treatment and care for people with drug disorders. These targets are
monitored annually by the Swedish government and resources are reserved for future references
(Sweden, 1998). The Swedish policy has been praised for its broad and balanced approach with
cause serious harm than cannabis, it would be a dangerous move to try the Netherlands approach
and instead use the Swedish approach. One of the successes of the Swedish approach was the use
of several criminological theories, mainly the harm reduction theory. Harm reduction theory
suggests that it is important to minimize the effects that illegal drugs have in the society rather
than minimizing their use. Evidence suggests that implementing stricter laws towards drug use
only worsens the situations and the only way to curb this is by use of harm reduction theory.
The same case will apply to the Australia. When devising ways to curb illegal drug use
especially methamphetamine, the Australian government should move away from the current
strict laws they currently practice on illegal drugs and instead focus on harm reduction on those
affected. The government should also focus on limiting drugs among school going children. This
way it would have succeeded in reducing the number of youths engaging in illegal drugs hence
the overall reduction of drug use among citizens of Australia. This would be a far much better
approach to curbing illegal drugs than the use of increased criminalization o drug use.
DRUG USE, CRIME, AND SOCIAL POLICY 6
References
McKetin, R., & New South Wales. (2006). The relationship between methamphetamine use and
Schloenhardt, A., & Australian Institute of Criminology. (2007). The market for amphetamine-
type stimulants and their precursors in Oceania. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
Sweeney, J., Payne, J., & Australian Institute of Criminology. (2012). Drug use monitoring in
Australia: 2009-10 report on drug use among police detainees. Canberra: Australian Institute of
Criminology.
Australian Institute of Criminology. (2000). Drug use monitoring in Australia (DUMA): ...
annual report on drug use among police detainees. Canberra: Australian Institute of
Criminology.
Netherlands. (2003). Drug policy in the Netherlands: Basic principles and enforcement in
Sweden. (1998). A Preventive strategy: Swedish drug policy in the 1990s. Stockholm: Swedish
Rubin, E. L. (1999). Minimizing harm: A new crime policy for modern America. Boulder, Colo:
Westview Press.