Ten Reasons to Take Action Against Addiction: #4: Crime Rates

It’s easy to find the connection between substance abuse and crime. Start by examining arrest statistics. In 2003, nearly 74 percent of adult male arrestees in testing sites across the U.S. tested positive for one of nine drugs including cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, opiates or alcohol. Forty-four percent of those arrested tested positive for marijuana, 30 percent had used cocaine and more than 11 percent were positive for methamphetamine.

Also, illicit drug users are about 16 times more likely than nonusers to be arrested for theft, nine times more likely to be arrested for assault. A survey of inmates in state prisons in 1991 found that 30 percent of those convicted of burglary and 31 percent of those convicted of theft reported that they committed their crimes to get money for drugs.

“It’s not that every drug user also commits crimes,” said Derry Hallmark, Director of Admissions at Narconon Arrowhead. Narconon Arrowhead is one of the country’s leading drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, located in Canadian, Oklahoma. “However it is very common that a person who has become addicted to drugs will do and say things that he or she never would have done if they were not addicted. Families will see this when their addicted son, daughter, spouse, parent or other family member makes it to a holiday event, their first visit home in a long time. The guilt and depression felt by addicts can generate conflicts and arguments between the addict and his or her family.”

Guilt and depression along with cravings are the major barriers that must be overcome to reclaim a productive, enjoyable life after addiction. To succeed, rehabilitation must address these barriers that keep addicts trapped in the addiction.

To read the rest of this article, please go to: Crime Rates. Or visit the website for Narconon Arrowhead.