Drug Abuse and Crime While I was brainstorming about the topic of my essay, an interesting topic came to mind which is drug abuse and crime. I thought it was imperative to know how drug abuse affects the crime rate in America. I will discuss other topics, such as how many criminals are actually under the influence of a drug when they commit a crime that includes illicit and licit drugs. Additionally, I will discuss what drugs criminals were under the influence and the statistics on drug abuse and crime and what programs are available to help solve the problem. I think I have selected a broad and informative topic for us to care about. While concern about drug abuse and crime rates is nothing new, statistics on the problem have continued to grow. According to (Office of Justice Programs, 2011), there have been approximately 1,846,400 state and local arrests for drug abuse in the United States. Additionally, 17% of state prisoners and 18% of federal inmates said they committed their current crime to obtain drug money (Office of Justice Programs, 2011). From this information we can conclude that our criminal justice systems are overflowing with drug addicts. The United States has the highest rate of incarceration, and approximately 83% of arrests involve possession of illegal drugs (Prisons & Drug Offenders, 2011). So, after collecting these exceptional figures, I can conclude that we should be more concerned about solving the problems of drug addicts and showing them an alternative lifestyle. Personally I don't think putting these drug addicts in prison will solve the problem or help the economic problems of the United States. Let's consider how many criminals there are... half the paper... the facts. Retrieved August 1, 2011, from http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/node/63RDAP. (2011, August 5). FAMM. Retrieved August 5, 2011, from www.famm.org/Repository/Files/FINAL%20RDAP%20FAQs%209.9.pdfT, Â. (n.d.). Crime and alcohol. Alcoholism - The alcoholism home page. Retrieved August 2, 2011, from http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/costs/a/aa980415.htmT, Â. (n.d.). Effects of Methamphetamine - The short and long term effects of methamphetamine. Alcoholism - The alcoholism home page. Retrieved August 5, 2011, from http://alcoholism.about.com/od/meth/a/effects.-Lx6.htm20% of Youth in Texas Were Tall in Eighth Grade | San Antonio defense attorney. (n.d.). San Antonio Defense Lawyer | Texas Criminal Lawyer. Retrieved August 5, 2011, from http://www.sanantonio-criminal-defense.com/2011/03/twenty-percent-of-youth-in-texas-were-high-by-8th-grade.shtml