ed, then the crime rate would decline because there would be fewer robberies. However, according to a British study, drug abusers do not commit crimes to buy drugs; there also are other reasons in effect. In Britain, in the mid-seventies, addicts received free heroin from a government clinic. The test was to determine whether the users would continue to steal or stop because they didn't need the money to buy drugs anymore since they were getting it free. The results indicated that they were convicted of crimes other than robbery while enrolled in this free drug program (McCuen 178). A study conducted for The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (NCASA) at Columbia University in January 1998 reported that "49% of state inmates convicted of violent crimes were under the influence of drugs during their crimes, 51% of state inmates convicted of property crimes were under the influence of drugs during their crime" ("Family"). The fact is that most drug abusers commit crimes due to behavior caused by drug usage and not a result of needing money because of high drug prices. So, it cannot be said that addicts commit crimes only to obtain money to buy drugs. Rather, it is because they are using drugs that leads them to abnormal behavior. This proves that crime is more correlated with behavior due to drug usage than the need to rob or cheat for drugs. The NCASA also found that 80% of prison inmates (1.4 Million) have histories of be
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