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Debunking Link Between Drug Crimes and Violence

Via Sentencing Law and Policy: Check out this new law review article by Law Professor Shima Baradaran. It debunks the link between drug crimes and violence.

[This article] demonstrates that a connection between drugs and violence is not supported by historical arrest data, current research, or independent empirical evidence. That there is little evidence to support the assumption that drugs cause violence is an important insight, because the assumed causal link between drugs and violence forms the foundation of a significant amount of case law, statutes, and commentary.

In particular, the presumed connection between drugs and violence has reduced constitutional protections, misled government resources, and resulted in the unnecessary incarceration of a large proportion of non-violent Americans. In short, if drugs do not cause violence — and the empirical evidence discussed in this Article suggests they do not — then America needs to rethink its entire approach to drug policy.

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An additional point made in the article: Enforcement of drug laws may be more responsible for the violence than the drugs:

Drug related violence may actually result from enforcement of drug laws, not the actual drugs....Indeed, when drug crimes do involve violence, the violence often results from competition among drug traffickers to establish their territory, which has more to do with the illegality of drugs than anything else. Those involved in manufacturing, selling, money laundering, debt collecting, or providing bodyguard services have higher violence rates than other drug criminals.

As you would expect with a law review article, all of the assertions in it are sourced.

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