OBJECTIVE:This study examined whether primary drug of choice is associated with risk of being injured or threatened by a gun. METHODS:The sample included 401 Medicaid-eligible adults receiving addiction treatment services in the Midwest United States who completed life-course history surveys between 2021 and 2023 as part of the Removing Barriers to Recovery randomized controlled trial. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted. RESULTS:Bivariate analyses showed marginally and statistically significant differences in firearm victimization risk between individuals identifying alcohol as their primary drug of choice and those identifying cocaine, heroin/opioids, or crystal meth. Individuals identifying marijuana as their primary drug of choice had the lowest risk of gun victimization. Differences in drug use behaviors, demographics, family history, housing insecurity, behavioral health history, and criminality helped explain variation in firearm victimization across substances. CONCLUSIONS:Firearm victimization was common among people receiving addiction treatment, though less frequent among those preferring marijuana. Risk did not differ significantly by race or ethnicity. More than 40% of participants reported gun victimization, underscoring firearm violence as a major public health concern for this population and by association, their families.

This study uses Justice Stewart’s “faceless, undifferentiated mass” thesis to examine differences between defendants sentenced to death and life without parole. We argue that important differences between defendants may be revealed through the victim-offender relationship and other case-level attributes. The study uses 1,310 first degree murder defendants from Florida that were sentenced to either death or life without parole. Logistic regression was used to examine the victim-offender relationship and case-level attributes including race and gender. There are important differences between these defendants with respect to gender, age, and the victim-offender relationship. The “faceless, undifferentiated mass thesis” offers a new avenue for examining the victim-offender relationship. The implications for research will be discussed.

The current study used criminal incident data from Columbus, Ohio to compare crime trends before and after the start of legal recreational marijuana sales to explore whether the rate of criminal incidents 2 changed in areas with recreational marijuana dispensaries. The results do not support the hypothesis that crime increased in areas with dispensaries after the start of recreational marijuana sales in Columbus, Ohio. However, our results must be considered in light of critical limitations inherent to our research design and for the data used.

As the opioid overdose crisis continues to produce excessive morbidity and mortality in the United States, government agencies have applied various approaches to prevent overdoses, including law-enforcement efforts (e.g., arresting people who use drugs, interrupting drug traffickers, etc.) and treatment-based approaches (e.g., naloxone, medications for opioid use disorder, etc.). Public perception and support of these approaches are relevant for informing policy, allocating resources, and effectively implementing community interventions to prevent drug-related harms. Using an embedded informational survey design, we experimentally assessed whether public support for strategies to prevent overdose in South Carolina is influenced by language from federal agencies describing treatment- or enforcement-based approaches. Respondents were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) enforcement -based approach, (2) treatment-based approach, or (3) the control condition. Those assigned to experimental groups were presented with statistics on drug overdose deaths, followed by an informational prompt with language about overdose prevention approaches from either DEA (enforcement) or NIH (treatment), while the control group received no informational prompt. Findings from a sample of 4,675 respondents indicated that those assigned the DEA prompt were significantly more likely to support enforcement-based approaches in arresting drug traffickers and people who use drugs (AME = 0.060, p < 0.001). On the other hand, those assigned to the NIH prompt were significantly more likely to agree that both law enforcement (AME = 0.065, p < 0.0001) and clinicians (AME = 0.044, p < 0.05) are capable of preventing drug overdose deaths. These findings shed light on public perceptions of approaches to addressing the opioid epidemic and limited modifiability when presented with language from federal agencies. This may inform future research, practice, and/or policy aiming to maintain public safety while also providing treatment options to people who use drugs in order to reduce overdose deaths.

While some have argued that drug-induced homicide laws were largely meant to target higher-level drug dealers, others have pointed out that most drug-induced homicide prosecutions have involved low-level dealers as well as family and friends of victims. However, no research has formally explored public opinion about whether there should be differing levels of culpability in drug-induced homicide scenarios. This study examined whether perceived culpability levels in a drug-induced homicide situation differed by race and factual scenario. We utilized an experimental information provision survey sent to head of households in South Carolina. There were two randomized treatments. The first treatment was race (White and African American). Participants were randomly assigned scenarios with two White individuals, two African American individuals, or one White and one African American individual. The second treatment randomly assigned participants to one of two factual scenarios. In the first scenario, participants received a fact pattern where both individuals (trafficker and user/victim) had an existing friendship, and the trafficker was not a traditional drug dealer. In the second scenario, participants received a fact pattern where there was no existing friendship, and the trafficker was a traditional drug dealer. Our results showed large and statistically significant differences between scenarios that involved a friend relationship and a dealer relationship. Specifically, respondents who received the dealer scenarios were far more likely to assign culpability. Additionally, our results did not indicate levels of culpability assignment that were significantly (statistically) higher for African American traffickers when compared to White traffickers. Relevant decisionmakers may want to consider policies or formal laws that recognize public opinion favoring lower culpability levels for traffickers in drug-induced homicide scenarios that are not traditional dealers.

Research summaryThis study investigates the impact of scientific research findings on public views of policing topics. Specifically, we conducted an original survey experiment to determine whether research information treatments influence respondents' views on the effectiveness of the police in reducing crime, defunding and refunding police budgets, and use of body-worn cameras. Our results indicated that presenting confirmatory research information had a significant positive impact on perceptions of police effectiveness in reducing crime and use of body-worn cameras compared to comparison groups. Conversely, presenting "negative" research information had a significant negative effect on these perceptions. Interestingly, neither positive nor negative research information treatments related to defunding versus refunding the police had a statistically significant impact on respondents compared to comparison groups, suggesting that research findings have limited effects on more ideologically complex policing topics.Policy implicationsScientific research can effectively shape public perceptions of police effectiveness in reducing crime and the use of body-worn cameras, but it has limited effects on politically charged issues, such as defunding and refunding the police. To enhance the impact of evidence-based policing, we suggest that police administrators collaborate with researchers to evaluate new policies and disseminate these findings widely to the public. Additionally, researchers should strive to make their research more accessible to the general public, beyond academic journals, scientific conferences, and paywalls. We recommend using open-access platforms, social media, and other media outlets to disseminate unbiased, evidence-based research on policing that is digestible to the public.

In the current study, we provide an overview of federal law on intermittent confinement, present data on the use of intermittent confinement in the federal system and weekend incarceration in the state system, discuss existing research on intermittent confinement and weekend incarceration, and present results of a survey of federal probation officers on their opinions of intermittent confinement. Overall, the results of the study indicated that intermittent confinement and weekend sentences are rarely used in federal and state systems (relative to traditional incarceration sentences). Additionally, we found that a single federal district (Texas West) accounted for the majority of federal intermittent confinement cases across several years of data. Results of the survey of federal probation officers showed that logistical issues with intermittent confinement and incarceration facility availability may be a cause for low numbers of intermittent confinement sentences. The finding about logistical issues with intermittent confinement was consistent with previous research. Informed by these findings, directions for future research are discussed in detail.

This study examined whether public opinions about efforts to reduce opiate overdoses varied after the introduction of competing statements from federal agencies. We utilized an experimental information provision survey sent to head of households in South Carolina with an associated email address. After deleting incomplete cases, the final sample was approximately 4,600. The randomized treatment contained three conditions. The first condition presented participants with a statement from the National Institutes of Health arguing for a treatment-based approach to reduce overdose deaths. The second condition presented participants with a statement from the Drug Enforcement Administration arguing for an enforcement-based approach to reduce overdose deaths. The third condition presented no statement and served as a control. Overall results indicated that more respondents favored a get-tough approach (rather than a treatment-based approach) to opiate overdose reduction. Regarding the impact of the experimental conditions for the treatment-based approach question, those who received the DEA condition were less likely to agree with the treatment-based approach than those who received the control condition. Regarding the impact of the experimental conditions for the get-tough approach question, those who received the DEA condition were more likely to agree with a get-tough approach than those who received the NIH or control statements. Taken together, these results provide some support that statements from federal agencies can impact public opinion about opiate overdose approaches.

Purpose The fentanyl crisis has received national attention. In the current context, this study sought to assess whether public perception of criminal culpability varies by who supplies fentanyl to an individual who later dies from an overdose. Methods An experimental vignette of fentanyl-induced death scenarios was implemented by randomizing the relationship of the drug suppliers to the victims as well as race of both the drug supplier and victim. In total, there were eight scenarios. Results OLS regressions on a sample of 4820, found that respondents assigned a scenario where a drug dealer was the fentanyl provider (compared to a friend as the provider) were significantly more likely to support punitive action. There were no significant differences when the race of the drug provider and/or victim were randomized. Robustness checks confirmed these punitive attitudes towards drug dealers. Conclusions The public views drug dealers as more culpable in fentanyl overdoses. However, the race of both the drug supplier and victim did not impact perceptions of criminal culpability. During a national fentanyl epidemic, the findings have implications for public attitudes towards drug suppliers, public policy, and future research.

Ohio’s Certificate of Qualification for Housing (CQH) is set to become effective in September 2024. The current paper details key differences between the CQH and the previously enacted Certificate of Qualification for Employment. Recommendations to improve the availability and efficiency of the CQH are also discussed.

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This paper examined whether there were differences in the number of Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) marijuana paraphernalia offenses before Ohio's vote to legalize marijuana and marijuana paraphernalia, after the vote but before formal implementation, and after official implementation. Because of the difference in dates between passage and implementation, it could be reasonable to expect changes in both citizen behaviors and law enforcement practices post-vote, but before implementation in Ohio. The results showed no statistically significant or meaningful differences when comparing incident counts before the vote and after the vote but before implementation. But the results did show statistically and substantively significant differences between the post-implementation period and both other pre-implementation periods. These results indicated that OSHP did not meaningfully alter their enforcement practices until the changes in law were officially implemented.