Alcohol And Other Drugs example essay topic
It is also estimated that over 5% of homicides were due to the involvement of drugs. The Department of Justice also says that in 1990, over 50% of men and 40% of women were influenced by drugs an arrested for property crimes. Statistics show that illicit drugs are involved in millions of crimes, but alcohol has been shown to be involved in more. Alcohol has been the cause of over half of the deaths in the Unites States.
In 1994, a young man was going to get food for him and a friend one night when a man under the influence of alcohol ran a red light and instantly killed the young man. The young man was a senior in high school and was not intoxicated, but suffered because of the other man's choice to get in a car while drunk. In fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated in 1994 that alcohol was the cause of death in 45.1% of all fatal automobile crashes. In late 1998 a group of friends were out drinking when a young man who was drunk got into a truck wit his girlfriend. The young man drove off into a ditch, flipping the vehicle several times, killing himself and severely injuring his girlfriend. These are just two examples of what drunk driving has done.
In 1992, drunk driving claimed the lives of over 17,000 Americans and 1.2 million were injured. In 1993, 40% of the 5,905 traffic fatalities of 15 to 20 year-olds were alcohol related. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NI ), alcohol has been the cause of 68% manslaughter, 62% of assaults, 54% of murders or attempted murders, 48% of robberies, and 44% of burglaries. The NI also says that in 1993 alcohol has been the factor in 59% of fatal falls and between 47% and 65% of adult drownings. Fifty percent of all domestic violence has been attributed to alcohol. The Institute for Health Policy estimated that rapes, fights, and assaults leading to injury, manslaughter, and homicide are often caused by the abuse of alcohol.
Of those convicted of rape, 42.2% said that they were under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In 1987, it was reported that 64% of all reported child abuse cases were associated with parental alcohol abuse. These statistics that have been stated increase with each year. They show that alcohol and drugs are a major influence on crime. Alcohol has been the cause of over half of the deaths in the Unites States and illicit drugs are involved in millions of crimes.
With the increase of the statistics, more people are dying, committing crimes, and putting other people's lives at stake with the use of alcohol and other drugs.
Bibliography
Eighth Special Report to the U.S. Congress on Alcohol and Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 1993.
National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information. web page: web Institute for Health Policy, Brandeis University, Substance Abuse: The Nation's Number One Health Problem: Key Indicators for Policy. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, October 1993.