An incredible study done in North Carolina back in 2008 showed that the vast majority of the criminal cases that went before the courts could be tied in some way to drug use. In fact, the study put this number as high as 75 percent.
It is worth noting that these numbers relate to both illegal drugs and things like alcohol, which can be used illegally, but which are not illegal in and of themselves. This means that charges like drunk driving were considered in these studies, along with assault or domestic violence cases where one party — or both — had been drinking.
As far as total numbers are concerned, there were 202,942 cases that went before the court in North Carolina in 2008 that were tied to alcohol and drugs. On top of that, there were 72,867 cases involving charges for driving while intoxicated. As far as other crimes — such as robbery — that were committed by those who were also under the influence, no hard and fast number was given, but it was estimated that there were somewhere around 1 million of them.
It has been said that those who are convicted on these charges need programs to help them overcome addiction, as programs by public servants have not been very successful. It is recommended that these programs last for at least one or two years.
Due to the high amount of drug crimes that happen every year, it is important for people in North Carolina to know exactly what legal options they have if they are facing such accusations. Remember, the numbers above show how many cases were brought to the court, not how many convictions there were.
Source: The North Carolina Court System, “Need for the Program” Oct. 29, 2014
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