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Federal Study Links Drug Use to Crime

A recent federal study that obtained urine samples from 3,924 men arrested in 10 metropolitan cities across the U.S.: Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Denver, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, New York, Portland, Oregon, Sacramento and Washington, D.C. show that half tested positive for some type of illegal drug.

Individuals in Chicago and Sacramento had the highest positive rate. Of those arrested in Chicago, 87% were positive and 40% of those tested positive for multiple drugs. Sacramento had a positive rate of 78% with 29% testing positive for more than one drug. In 9 out of the 10 cities, marijuana was the most common drug in the test results. Atlanta was the exception where cocaine was the top narcotic.

Chicago rated the highest for heroin at 29% and in general, the west coast seemed to have the highest concentrations of methamphetamine usage. Sacramento tested in at 35% and Portland, Oregon at 15%.

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