Drug Taking, Crime and the Illicit Supply System

The links between drug taking and crime are examined in terms of three main questions: to what extent does drug use lead to crime, to what extent does crime lead to drug use, and to what extent does crime and drug use emerge from a common set of circumstances? The results give little to support the two propositions but much to support the third if it is defined in terms of the drug users position on and contact with the illicit supply system. Data is presented to show that the drug users relationship to that illicit supply system account for much current crime.