Mandatory Minimum Sentencing, Drug Purity and a Test of Rational Drug Use
Datum
2003-04-10
Autor:innen
Zeitschriftentitel
ISSN der Zeitschrift
Bandtitel
Verlag
University of Oregon, Dept of Economics
Zusammenfassung
As of 1987, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act (ADAA) has imposed mandatory
minimum sentences for drug traffickers based on the quantity of the drug involved
regardless of its purity. Using the STRIDE dataset on drug arrests and a differences-indifferences
approach, I find that this led to an increase in cocaine purity of 42% and an
increase in heroin purity of 30%. Using data on emergency room visits, I show that the
concurrent rise in drug-related ER episodes is due to the rise in the standard deviation of
drug purity rather than the increase in average purity. Estimates suggest that the increases
in standard deviations at the time of the ADAA translate to increases in cocaine and
heroin ER mentions of 15% each. Because these negative outcomes depend only on the
standard deviation of purity, this suggests that drug users respond rationally by reducing
the quantity consumed in response to anticipated increases in the purity of these drugs.
Finally, again using the STRIDE data, I find that the ADAA is associated with an
increase in the standard deviation of cocaine purity, implying more cocaine ER mentions.
Beschreibung
51 p.
Schlagwörter
Mandatory minimum, Cocaine, Heroin, Overdose, Addiction