The Impact of Prescribing on the Crimes of Opioid Users

Summary The paper investigates the contention that prescribing opioids to regular users leads to a reduction in non‐drug crimes. It also examines the nature of the relationship between addiction and crime and some of the factors which influence this relationship. As part of a study of opioid users currently receiving a prescription for methadone or heroin from U.K. National Health Service clinics or from private practitioners (plus a small number of others dependent solely on black‐market supplies), self‐reports on non‐drug crimes were collected relating to the periods before and after first receiving a prescription. The findings show that a smaller proportion of addicts reported non‐drug crimes when receiving a prescription than in the period before receiving one. It is noted that this reduction is unlikely to be explained by addicts abandoning the black‐market, as almost all of them continued to use illicit sources. There was a reduction, however, in the proportion of addicts who used black‐market drugs frequently. Some opioid users who continued to commit non‐drug crimes while receiving a prescription admitted offending for reasons unrelated to drug taking.