Many of these influences are indirect. Especially among male juveniles, the incidence of drug crime is much higher amongst those who do not attend school than it is amongst those who do regularly attend (Office of National Drug Policy 2000). Family structure, in turn, has a huge effect on school attendance. In two parent homes, especially where both biological parents of the juveniles are married and in a healthy

Drug abuse of both legal and illegal substances has a devastatingly negative impact on American society as a whole. Definition of Drug Abuse Legal Drugs Illegal Drugs Prevalence of Drug Use Impact of Drug Use Financial Costs Impact in the Workplace Costs of Incarceration Health-Related Issues Homelessness Lost Potential Family Life Pregnancy and Health of Children Death Alcohol and Traffic-Related Injuries Initiatives to Combat Drug Use Legalization and Decriminalization Prevention Drug abuse of both legal and illegal substances has a devastatingly negative impact on American society as a whole.

In jails, not one of the violent criminals was under the influence of heroin at the time their crime was committed. Twenty-one percent of state inmates incarcerated for violent crime were under the influence of alcohol alone at the time they committed their crime. The number of those under the influence of marijuana alone was too small to be recorded statistically. (National 1998) These facts indicate that it is

This despite how much money is being wasted on "the war on drugs." Making "war" militarily on a medical/social problem makes no sense. In addition to the psychological problems of individuals, social conditions contribute greatly to the problem. People who are alienated from society become addicted to drugs, as Sen. Robert Kennedy pointed out back in 1965. Solving the drug problem means "solving poverty and broken homes, racial discrimination

In addition, the data suggest that younger arrestees were less inclined to use heroin (Baumler et al. 2002)." This research also found that variables such as geographics, ethnicity, and age provide some explanation for heroin-use patterns (Baumler et al. 2002). All of these variables contribute to drug usage. Counselors and Law enforcement agents must address these variables if they desire to get to the root of the problem of heroin

Crime and Social Theory Deviance Interpreted by Social Theories Illicit Drug Use Illicit drug use has historically been seen as a global threat towards society and a primary contributing factor for the prevalence other crimes, such as smuggling, home invasions, property crimes, assault, and murder. In 1969 President Nixon stated publicly that illicit drug use is a serious national problem and in 1971 declared the "War on Drugs" (National Public Radio, 2007). Over