At the Intersection of Public Health and Criminal Justice Research on Drugs and Crime

This paper discusses intersections of public health research and criminal justice research on the topic of drugs and crime. The drugs of interest mainly are marijuana, heroin, and other internationally regulated compounds of illegal origin, and such internationally regulated products of legal origin as pharmaceutical cocaine hydrochloride, codeine, and oxycodone, which also may be consumed on an extraordinary basis (i.e., outside the bounds of accepted medical practice). An important point of departure for this paper is a widely held assumption about two goals of research on this topic. The first goal is to achieve greater understanding and develop a body of definitive evidence on drugs and crime. The second goal is to achieve greater mastery of the design and application of policies, programs, and techniques to improve public health and public safety by preventing and reducing harmful consequences of drug use.