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Drugs and Crime Facts
Public opinion about drugs
As reported in the 2003
BJS Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, the percentage
of Gallup Poll respondents describing drug abuse as the single most important
problem facing our country peaked in 1989:
| Date of poll |
|
Drug abuse
most serious problem |
|
| May 1989
|
|
27 |
% |
| July 1990
|
|
18 |
|
| March 1991
|
|
11 |
|
| March 1992
|
|
8 |
|
| January 1993
|
|
6 |
|
| January 1994
|
|
9 |
|
| January 1995
|
|
6 |
|
| May 1996
|
|
10 |
|
| January 1997
|
|
17 |
|
|
April 1998 |
|
12 |
|
| May 1999 |
|
5 |
|
| March 2000 |
|
5 |
|
| January 2001 |
|
7 |
|
| March 2002
|
|
3 |
|
| February 2003 |
|
2 |
|
| June 2004 |
|
1 |
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Among Gallup Poll respondents, the use of drugs was most often mentioned
as one of the biggest problems for schools in their communities. Giving
that response in 2003 were --
- 7% of public school parents
- 10% of those with no children in school
- 9% of all surveyed.
When asked about
spending for various social problems, 56% of the respondents to a 2002
National Opinion Research Center (NORC) Poll said this country is spending
too little to deal with drug addiction.
In 2001 the Pew Research
Center for the People and the Press reported that respondents were asked
the most effective actions the government could take to control the use
of drugs --
- 52% said "stop
the illegal importation of drugs from other countries"
- 49% said "arrest
people who sell illegal drugs in the this country"
- 36% said "provide
drug treatment programs for drug users"
- 35% said "educate
Americans about the dangers of using illegal drugs"
- 30% said "arrest
drug users in the country"
NORC has asked adults (age 18 or older) about legalization of marijuana
since 1973. In 2002, 34% believed that marijuana should be made legal, which
compared to the peak of 30% in 1978. College freshmen have been surveyed
by NORC since 1968. In 2003, 40% of those surveyed agreed strongly or somewhat
that marijuana should be legalized, down from a peak of 53% in 1977 and
up from a low of 17% in 1989. Of 2003 high school seniors --
- 30% felt using marijuana should be legal, compared to the peak of
33% feeling that way in 1978 and a low of 16% in 1986
- 53% reported worrying often or sometimes about drug abuse, down from
66% in 1978 and 83% in 1990.
Source: The Gallup Report, National Opinion Research Center,
and the BJS
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, 2003.
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