For criminal justice practitioners who deal with drugs and crime day in and day out, the reality of the drugs-crime nexus is indisputable. In a manual designed to help police chiefs and sheriffs control drug abuse, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) stated unequivocally its belief in?a significant though complex? relationship between drug abusers and criminal offenders. Change one group, IACP proposed, and you change the other:?If there is a reduction in the number of people who abuse drugs in your community, there will be a reduction in the commission of certain types of crime in your community.?

"Drugs & Alcohol in the 21st Century: Theory, Behavior, & Policy" examines the collective response to addictive behaviors in America, and its influence on the creation and implementation of national policy in the 20th and 21st century. A close look is given to America’s response to five drugs with ambiguous political histories – alcohol, cocaine, hallucinogens, marijuana, and opiates. The physical and psychological conditions that contribute to addictive behaviors are explored, as well as how those condition impact individuals, families and communities. Responses from politicians, the alcohol and drug industry, citizens groups, and bureaucracies including law enforcement, public health, schools and colleges are discussed.