the motives and mechanics of operating an illegal drug enterprise

Abstract

This art icle examines the structure and process of illicit drug-dealing activities. Motives, mechanics of operat ions, and strat egies used to avoid detect ion and to ident ify law enforcement are all examined, providing a clearer picture of the lifestyles lead by drug dealers. On the basis of qualitative interviews conduct ed with participants in a drug court diversion program in a mid-sized, midwestern city, the means by which drug dealers initiate and maintain a career in drug dealing, how deals are transact ed, and how law enforcement is avoided are explored.The potential for the development of an illicit drug market was recognized early in the twentieth century. With the implementation of legislative rest rictions, licit drugs were becoming increasingly more difficult to obtain. As noted by Lichtenstein, a physician at a New York City prison in 1914, Several individuals have come to the conclusion that selling ''dope'' is a very pro table business. These individuals have sent their agent s among the gangs frequent ing our city corners instructing them to make friends with the members and induce them to take the drug (opium). Janitors, bart enders and cab men have also been employed to help spread the habit . The plan has worked so well that there is scarcely a pool room in New York that may not be called a meeting place of drug ends. The drug has been made up in candy and sold to school children. The conspiring individuals being familiar with the habit forming

No change is a good change? Restrictive deterrence in illegal drug markets

“…He states that restrictive deterrence is also operative when an offender: a) switches to a less serious crime in the belief that it will carry reduced punishments if caught, b) takes steps to avoid detection by employing situational strategies to minimize risk, and c) shifts the offence to a less risky time and/or place. Along these lines, VanNostrand and Tewksbury (1999), using a sample of 20 dealers drawn from a drug court diversion program, found that dealers used such strategies as only dealing to known buyers in locations perceived to be safe, keeping drugs and money separate, not keeping drugs or money on them or in their home, not keeping records, having legitimate employment/operating a legitimate business, and using perceptual cues to identify 'narcs'. These were employed to either reduce the odds of arrest or to reduce the odds of conviction should they be arrested.…”

Trafficking in Bodily Perfection: Examining the Late‐Modern Steroid Marketplace and Its Criminalization

“…Notice that securing a profit was only a means to the end of "getting huge." As found with other types of drug dealing, involvement is often initially motivated by a desire to have someone else off-set the costs of their own use (Adler, 1985;Atkyns & Hannenman, 1974;Tunnel, 1993;VanNostrand & Tewksbury, 1999).…”

“…Given that our central informant was managing to build an underground business, and making available what was previously completely out of reach, he was definitely performing a "service," albeit illicit (see Kelly, Maghan, & Serio, 2005;Stares, 1996;VanNostrand & Tewksbury 1999). What this new marketplace offered most of all was an unprecedented level of availability.…”

Criminal Family Networks: Criminal Capital and Cost Avoidance among Urban Drug Sellers

“…While the identification of these techniques arose inductively, they are consistent with previous research on apprehension avoidance measures of street-level drug sellers (Jacobs 1996(Jacobs , 1999Jacobs and Miller 1998;Jacques and Reynold 2012;Johnson and Natarajan 1995;St. Jean 2007;VanNostrand and Tewksbury 1999). Although both percentages and numbers are noted, these comparisons should be viewed with some caution because of the small number of cases involved.…”