Of all psychoactive substances, alcohol is the only one whose consumption has been shown
to commonly increase aggression. After large doses of amphetamines, cocaine, LSD, and PCP,
certain individuals may experience violent outbursts, probably because of preexisting
psychosis. Research is needed on the pharmacological effects of crack, which enters the
brain more directly than cocaine used in other forms.
Alcohol drinking and violence are linked through pharmacological effects on behavior,
through expectations that heavy drinking and violence go together in certain settings, and
through patterns of binge drinking and fighting that sometimes develop in adolescence. . .
.
Illegal drugs and violence are linked primarily through drug marketing: disputes among
rival distributors, arguments and robberies involving buyers and sellers, property crimes
committed to raise drug money and, more speculatively, social and economic interactions
between the illegal markets and the surrounding communities.
All major authorities agree that the vast majority of drug-related violent crime is
caused by the prohibition against drugs, rather than the drugs themselves. This was the
same situation which was true during alcohol Prohibition. Alcohol Prohibition gave rise to
a violent criminal organization. Violent crime dropped 65 percent in the year Prohibition
was repealed.
There are about 25,000 homicides in the United States each year. A study of 414
homicides in New York City at the height of the crack epidemic showed that only three
murders, less than one percent, could be attributed to the behavioral effects of cocaine
or crack. Of these, two were victim-precipitated. For example, one homicide victim tried
to rape someone who was high on crack and got killed in the process.
