This paper examines illegal drug use as a criminal act through two contrasting theoretical lenses. It opens with a brief history of criminology and its three major schools — classical, positive, and Chicago — before applying Sigmund Freud's Psychoanalytical Theory and James Q. Wilson and Richard J. Herrnstein's Constitutional-Learning Theory to the specific crime of illegal drug use. The analysis compares both frameworks, weighing their explanatory power, and concludes that Wilson and Herrnstein's weighted gains-and-losses model provides the stronger fit. The paper closes by considering how the preferred theory might inform crime-control policy surrounding illegal drug use.
Society's fascination with crime has long captivated people of all ages — look at how audiences flock to movie theaters to watch their favorite superheroes or protagonists fight off villains to save society. This fascination has helped create a multi-billion dollar industry in comics, movies, and television shows. Everyone enjoys watching Batman or Spider-Man come to the rescue and stop the wrongdoers of society. Yet the appeal of the hero figure carries with it an implicit acknowledgment that criminals genuinely exist in modern society.
To better understand what constitutes a criminal act, the definition of crime must first be explored. According to TheFreeDictionary.com, crime is "an act committed or omitted in violation of a law forbidding or commanding it for which punishment is imposed upon conviction" — or, in simpler terms, an act in which a person knowingly or unknowingly breaks the law (2011, p. 1). Criminal acts or acts of delinquency can include excessive use of police force or brutality, mass murder, police corruption, homicide, shoplifting, computer hacking, burglary, theft, robbery, fraud, drug trafficking, violence, terrorism, gambling, arson, embezzlement, prostitution, assault, and many more.
The criminal act of illegal drug use will be analyzed through a brief history of criminology and its theories, a detailed description and application of Sigmund Freud's Psychoanalytical Theory, and a description and application of the non-psychological Constitutional-Learning Theory of James Q. Wilson and Richard J. Herrnstein. An analysis is then provided describing which of the two theories more effectively explains the crime of illegal drug use, along with a discussion of the implications of that theory for crime-control policy.
Illegal drug use and its consequences threaten citizens from every socioeconomic background, geographic region, educational level, and ethnic group. It has been estimated that more than 12 million Americans over the age of 12 use illegal drugs on a regular basis (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 1995). More than one-third of all Americans have experimented with an illicit drug, and another one-third has admitted to using cocaine or another prescription drug for non-medical purposes (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 1995).
Many people believe that illegal drug use is not their individual problem, but when surveyed, a majority of respondents stated that drug use and drug-related crimes are among the worst social issues facing the world (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2009). Areas where illegal drug markets flourish are consistently plagued by high crime rates and violent behavior.
Drugs relate to crime and criminal behavior in a variety of ways. Laws dictate that it is a criminal act to use, possess, manufacture, or distribute drugs (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2009). According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, "drugs are related to crime through the effects they have on the user's behavior and by generating violence and other illegal activities" (2009, p. 1). Illegal drug use has contributed to a rise in crime over the last 40 years; drug-related arrests increased substantially between 1970 and 2007 (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2009).
In 2009, there were nearly 14 million arrests made in the United States, and approximately 1.6 million of them — nearly 12% — were for drug-related offenses, ranking third behind property crimes and assaults. The table below, sourced from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (UCR), illustrates the full breakdown of arrests for that year.
Estimated Number of Arrests — United States, 2009 (Source: FBI, Uniform Crime Reports)
Total Number of Arrests: 13,687,241 | Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter: 12,418 | Forcible rape: 21,407 | Robbery: 126,725 | Aggravated assault: 421,215 | Burglary: 299,351 | Larceny-theft: 1,334,933 | Motor vehicle theft: 81,797 | Arson: 12,204 | Violent crime: 581,765 | Property crime: 1,728,285 | Other assaults: 1,319,458 | Forgery and counterfeiting: 85,844 | Fraud: 210,255 | Embezzlement: 17,920 | Stolen property (buying, receiving, possessing): 105,303 | Vandalism: 270,439 | Weapons (carrying, possessing, etc.): 166,334 | Prostitution and commercialized vice: 71,355 | Sex offenses: 77,326 | Drug abuse violations: 1,663,582 | Gambling: 10,360 | Offenses against the family and children: 114,564 | Driving under the influence: 1,440,409 | Liquor laws: 570,333 | Drunkenness: 594,300 | Disorderly conduct: 655,322
Criminology was developed as a theoretical field within the social sciences in response to the social phenomenon of crime and its effects on society (Lerner, Lerner, & Cengage, 2006). Biological, moral, and psychological factors have all been studied in connection with criminology (Lerner, Lerner, & Cengage, 2006). Over the years, a wealth of criminological theory has emerged and given rise to new scientific fields such as forensic science, criminal psychology, and statistical crime analysis (Lerner, Lerner, & Cengage, 2006). According to many psychologists, the psychological theory of crime proceeds from the view that individuals behave differently and that some individuals are more prone to committing criminal acts — differences that may arise from personality characteristics, biological factors, or social interactions.
Crime is studied across cultures, and its meaning has changed throughout history. In the 1700s, practices such as torture, the destruction of cities, slavery, and child labor were accepted social norms, whereas today they are considered serious criminal acts (Lerner, Lerner, & Cengage, 2006). As societies grow and evolve, so do the moral standards and laws that become part of cultural norms. Laws can only reflect the values present in a given historical period, and those values are ever-changing in a rapidly globalizing society (Lerner, Lerner, & Cengage, 2006). Criminological ideas and theories may therefore be classified according to the historical period in which they arose.
Some theories center on the psychological traits of criminals, while others focus on the relationship between socioeconomic contexts and crime rates; still others examine the legalities surrounding punishment, rehabilitation, or crime prevention (Lerner, Lerner, & Cengage, 2006). The three major theoretical traditions in criminology are the classical, the positive, and the Chicago school (Lerner, Lerner, & Cengage, 2006).
The classical school held that criminality results from free will and individual choice, and that all humans are capable of rational decision-making (Lerner, Lerner, & Cengage, 2006). It emphasized the social and legal dimensions of crime, taking into account society's best interests and the role of law and government in protecting citizens (Lerner, Lerner, & Cengage, 2006).
The positive theory was a philosophy advanced by Auguste Comte (1798–1857), who championed a scientific approach using hypothesis and observation to better understand criminology (Lerner, Lerner, & Cengage, 2006). This perspective explained criminality as a human phenomenon caused by human nature and social determinants (Lerner, Lerner, & Cengage, 2006). Italian physician Cesare Lombroso (1835–1909) further argued that epilepsy and mental illness were driving forces behind the criminal mind (Lerner, Lerner, & Cengage, 2006).
The third major tradition, the Chicago school of thought, holds that social conditions cause individuals to commit crimes — specifically, immigration, disorganized urban growth, economic hardship, and rapid industrialization (Lerner, Lerner, & Cengage, 2006). Criminologists and sociologists today continue to point to many of the same social conditions as drivers of crime in urban environments.
"Impulse and antisocial behavior as drug-use drivers"
"Weighted gains and losses explaining drug choices"
"Wilson and Herrnstein's theory declared stronger fit"
When studying the crime of illegal drug use, elements of all three major criminological theories — classical, positive, and Chicago — are applicable. Psychologically, Freud's Psychoanalytical Theory draws on both the positive and Chicago schools and argues that outward impulses are a contributing factor in criminal behavior, including illegal drug use. Non-psychologically, Wilson and Herrnstein's Constitutional-Learning Theory is supported by both the classical and positive schools, with its central premise being that criminal and non-criminal behavior is governed by a weighted system of gains and losses that integrates biological and social factors.
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