There is a general perception that drug use is associated with crime. There is no clear-cut explanation for this because on the one hand it is generally recognised that no drug has inherent crime-causing properties, yet on the other it is beyond dispute that many opiate dependants are heavily involved in crime. One survey which compared heroin users with non-users in Dublin reported that users were about three times more likely than non-users to have been arrested for robbery and/or assault. In another Irish study approximately 60% of the heroin users had been arrested for robbery although the majority of those arrested reported that their first arrest occurred before they began to use drugs.  

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