Drugs and Crime

Discussing illegal drugs without taking into account its criminal context is a difficult proposition. Certain questions come back repeatedly: Does doing drugs really lead to delinquency? Do some drugs have criminal properties? Why would a drug addict turn to crime? What are the best methods of intervention in dealing with individuals who have serious drug habits?

The third edition of Drogue et criminalité : Une relation complexe (Les Presses de l’Université de Montréal), translated here for the first time in English, presents an overview of the complex relationship between drugs and crime, avoids cursory affirmations to the effect that psychoactive substance use necessarily leads to crime. It also sheds light on the political and legislative contexts tied to drugs and offers an exceptional synthesis of the research literature of the past 20 years. The authors also discuss the increased attention to illegal drug users and people with addictions, and describe the different supports that are available to them.

This book is published in English.

Concevoir la question des drogues illicites en dehors de leur contexte criminel est difficile. Certaines questions reviennent immanquablement : prendre de la drogue pousse-t-il vraiment à la délinquance ? Existe-t-il des drogues aux propriétés criminogènes ? Pourquoi un toxicomane se tourne-t-il vers la criminalité ? Quelles sont les meilleures façons d’intervenir auprès des personnes qui ont de graves problèmes de consommation ?

Cette troisième édition présente la relation complexe entre drogue et criminalité, évitant les énoncés sommaires qui voudraient que l’usage de substances psychoactives mène nécessairement au crime. Elle met ainsi en lumière les contextes politiques et légaux liés aux drogues et fait une synthèse exceptionnelle des résultats de la recherche des vingt dernières années. Les auteurs rendent compte de l’importance accrue qu’on accorde désormais aux usagers de drogues illicites ainsi qu’aux personnes dépendantes et ils décrivent les différentes formes d’aide qui leur sont proposées.

Ce livre est publié en anglais.

Table of contents
Cover	1
Title Page	4
Copyright	5
Table of Contents	6
List of Figures and Tables	10
Acknowledgments	12
Introduction	14
Illegal Psychoactive Substances in Canada	15
Drug Use and Criminal Behaviour	16
Chapter 1 Links Between Drugs and Crime in Facts and Figures	18
Youth	19
Adults	22
Chapter 2 Drugs: A Detailed Criminogenic Profile	32
Selected Important Definitions	33
Intoxication and Criminal Behaviour	35
The Role of Intoxication	51
Dependence and Criminal Behaviour	51
Chapter 3 The Legal and Political Landscape	64
The Road to Repression	64
The War on Drugs	69
Europe	78
The Americas	82
Different Concepts and Approaches	86
Normalizing the Relationship With Users	87
Chapter 4 Proximal and Distal Models: A Static Conceptualization	92
Proximal Elements	92
Distal Elements	109
Chapter 5 Trajectories: A Dynamic Conceptualization	114
The Evolving Drug–Crime Relationship	115
Deviant Trajectories	117
Factors That Influence the Progression and Maintenance of Deviant Trajectories	125
Reduction, Cessation, and Interruption	128
Women’s Distinctive Trajectory	130
Chapter 6 Deviant Lifestyles: An Integrated Conceptualization	136
The Integrative Model	137
Risk Factors	138
Deviant Lifestyles	139
Chapter 7 Treating Addicts in the Criminal Justice System	152
Access to Treatment	152
Punishment or Rehabilitation?	153
Treating Drug Dependence in Offenders	156
Ingredients for Treatment Success	166
The Therapeutic Relationship	174
Extension of Social Control	177
Conclusion	184
The Drug–Crime Relationship	186
Implementing Appropriate Policies	188
Providing Suitable Care	190
References	192
Authors and Translator	238