They do suggest, however, that criminal activity, while not inevitable, is most often linked to those individuals who develop a dependency to expensive drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Further, Brunelle et al. (2000) found that “youths who were regular or dependent users of drugs, especially costly drugs like cocaine, did in fact engage in various money oriented crimes to a greater degree than the other youths in this study” (p. 860).

Has Canadian drug policy been effective in reducing this drug-crime link? It can be suggested that the criminalization of certain drugs has made them more expensive and that this has, in turn, led to an increase in acquisatory crime to obtain these substances once a dependency has been established. Casavant and Collins (2001) report that in the 1990s a daily cocaine habit in Quebec could cost $43,000 a year, and current heroin users in Toronto report spending and average of $3,133 a month to buy their drug of choice. It can also be argued that a dependency to illegal drugs must be hidden and, therefore, may persist because of the criminality associated with it. There is very little documentation of crimes being committed to acquire funds to obtain alcohol, which appears to be considerably less expensive than illegal substances.

The Systemic (Drug Trade) Link. Brunelle et al. (2000) found that: “Youths are also involved in drug-selling activities, but they did not seem to lead to as much violence as for adults” (p. 856). Casavant and Collins (2001) write that, “it is impossible to quantify all the crime stemming from the illegal drug market in Canada” (p. 16). The data they provide is demonstrative of the role that criminalization of drugs has played in creating a venue for violent crime in Canada. In 1997, 12% of homicides were linked to the drug trade (Tremblay 1999:7) and between 1994 and 1998, the war between Canada’s two main organized crime gangs (the Hell’s Angels and the Rock Machine) resulted in 450 known violent incidents: 103 homicides, 124 murder attempts, 9 missing persons, 84 bombings and 130 acts of arson (Criminal Intelligence Service of Canada 1999:4).

Has policy been effective in reducing this drug-crime link? An answer to this question can be explored in the following table:

POSSIBLE DRUG/ALCOHOL CRIME LINK
1. Psychopharmacological

Support for this is limited. Strongest link is between alcohol and violence. 		2. Economic-Compulsive

Some evidence to support this link. Strongest link is to expensive drugs (cocaine and heroin).		 3. Systemic

Violence is often used to regulate illegal drug trade.
IS CURRENT POLICY REDUCING THIS LINK?
No. Alcohol is not a criminalized substance. If policy makers believe criminalization works for reducing consumption, and reducing consumption reduces crime, it seems as though alcohol would be the one drug to criminalize. No. Current policy of criminalizing drugs is linked to increased prices which further fuels the drug trade. No. Prohibition creates the illegal drug trade.
IS CURRENT POLICY STRENGTHENING THIS LINK?
No evidence to indicate such. Yes. Prohibition of cocaine and heroin has created high price structures and increases secrecy which may prolong dependency and connect users to street culture. All of this contributes to further crime. Yes. Prohibition creates and perpetuates the illegal drug trade.