A review of several papers published by Goldstein and associates during the last four years presents findings which contradict the general impressions presented by the NIJ over these same years. Relatively high proportions of violence involving street drug users and distributors were unrelated to drug use or trafficking. The ease of manufacturing crack attracts many small-time dealers, leading to territorial disputes and systemic violence. Very few murders are committed by people trying to obtain money to buy drugs. The heroin trade is not much of a factor in violent crime.
Cocaine contributes to systemic violence, and alcohol to psychopharmacological violence.
Most crime associated with economic compulsive facts is a result of heroin and cocaine use and consists primarily of robberies and burglaries, rather than crimes involving assault and violence. The only example of violence connected with marijuana is in the systemic area. In another example, booby traps used by some marijuana growers and other anti-poacher violence is used as an example of the illegal marijuana business contributing to violence. Otherwise, marijuana is hardly mentioned in any of these papers. Goldstein notes that the end of alcohol prohibition ended the systemic violence related to alcohol.