Opinion ID: 1893409
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Deterrence: Drug Dependent Persons

Text: Will nonrecognition of a drug dependence mens rea defense deter drug dependent persons or others from the commission of crime? In the case of persons who are already drug dependent, the overwhelming majority of experts agree that the threat of criminal punishment has no deterrent value. The Prettyman Commission stated that: The Bureau of Narcotics maintains that the present severe penalties act as a powerful deterrent. The Commission does not agree. As the Commission pointed out in its introduction, it is difficult to believe that a narcotic addict who is physically and psychologically dependent on a drug will forego satisfaction of his craving for fear of a long prison sentence. . . . The weakness of the deterrence position is proved every day by the fact that the illicit traffic in narcotics and marijuana continues. [39] All available statistics show an increase of epidemic proportions in the use of abusable drugs during the last twenty years despite vigorous prosecution of addicts. [40] The explanation of these statistics is concisely stated in the report of the ABA's Special Committee on Crime Prevention and Control: The demand [for heroin] is created not by economic considerations but by an insatiable physiological craving of the addicts, who must obtain large and frequent doses of heroin to maintain a semblance of physical normality. As a result, the addicts' incessant efforts to obtain heroin are undeterred by the threat of harsh punishment for illegal drug possession or by the black market's exorbitant prices. [41]       By relying almost exclusively on law enforcement and penal sanctions, the government has ignored the medical realities of addiction and the economic realities of the black market. The evidence is that the addict's overwhelming desire to consume heroin cannot be discouraged by prolonged jailing, involuntary abstinence or the drug's exorbitant cost in the city streets. Denying addicts a legal narcotics source without substituting an effective treatment program simply drives them into the black market, where the pushers are solely interested in selling as much heroin as possible at the highest obtainable price. [42]