As nations and local communities confront the challenge of controlling the distribution of drugs and associated crimes (e.g., burglary, fraud, robbery, murder), policymakers need more and better knowledge of the role of law in fostering and limiting drug market-related crime, especially violence, across a broad range of drug types and drug policies. Social scientists have long held that illicit drug markets are prone to high levels of predation and retaliation due to the absence of lawful dispute-resolution mechanisms. No single study, however, has systematically examined this theory in the field.
This project investigates the relationship between drug market respectability (i.e., legality), predation, retaliation, and formal mediation in the diverse drug markets of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Amsterdam is ideal for a study of drug market behavior because it is characterized by three distinct drug markets with varying legal respectability: cafés selling legal (albeit regulated) alcohol (beer, wine, liquor); coffee shops selling decriminalized cannabis (marijuana and hashish) and buying prohibited cannabis; and street dealers selling prohibited hard drugs (e.g., ecstasy, cocaine, and heroin). Theory predicts that because they are less likely to report their victimization to the police, street dealers should be involved in more victimization and retaliation than coffee shop employees, who should be involved in more victimization and retaliation than café employees. This theory will be examined with quantitative and qualitative data obtained from interviews with and observations of café employees, coffee shop employees, and street dealers. By taking advantage of a "natural experiment" in drug market law, findings of this project will provide scientists and policymakers in the U.S. and other nations with important theoretical and practical insights into the effects of drug prohibition on crime.
