The Drug-Crime Debate: Obstacles to Understanding the Relationship

Abstract

Two general obstacles to an understanding of the drug-crime relationship are discussed at length. The first deals with the lack of consensus in the literature and the second deals with definitions of causality. The Hirschi and Selvin (1973) conception of causality is applied to the available data and found to support a causal relationship. A model for examining the causal status of a relationship is also presented along with comments on the scientific community's reaction to policy makers. Finally, an abbreviated crime-drug research agenda is suggested.