The Criminal Paradox
: When the Bottle Gets the Blame
Stark words from psychiatrist Dr Stanton E. Samenow often cut through the comfortable narratives we construct around crime. His assertion regarding substance abuse and criminality is perhaps one of his most trenchant: "Criminality is primary, drugs secondary." It's a statement that, in its blunt honesty, forces us to confront a fundamental truth about human behaviour that polite society often prefers to sidestep. We, the public and professionals alike, are often too quick to point an accusatory finger at the intoxicating bottle, the illicit pill, or the alluring powder, absolving the individual of responsibility.
Samenow, in his seminal work Inside the Criminal Mind, doesn't merely argue this point; he systematically dismantles the common excuses and romanticised notions that underpin this widespread misconception. He presents a profoundly uncomfortable truth: drugs don't transform responsible citizens into marauding criminals; rather, they serve as fuel for a pre-existing fire.
The Lure of the "Easy" Answer
From presidential commissions to courtrooms, the refrain remains eerily consistent: drugs turn normal people to crime. It's a narrative that offers a comforting distance, allowing us to compartmentalise bad acts as the aberration of an external influence. "I didn't kill him; the drugs did it," pleads the felon, a sentiment echoed by worried parents who lament, "He's a different person when he drinks."
But Samenow is having none of it. "Criminality does not reside in the bottle, the pill, the powder, or in any other substance," he declares, with the force of a man who has spent decades peering into the abyss of the criminal psyche. He asks us to consider a simple truth: if ten men get drunk, not all ten will rape, rob, or kill. Their actions, or lack thereof, are dictated by the moral scaffolding they possess before the first drop or dose. Drugs, in Samenow's estimation, are not the architects of our darker impulses but merely their amplifiers.
Shattering the Myths: Excuses Dusted Off, Then Dismissed
The litany of reasons for drug abuse is as familiar as it is unconvincing to Samenow. Sociological explanations, such as "bleak conditions" driving individuals to seek solace in narcotics, are dismissed with the observation that countless others endure similar hardships without resorting to drug use. Psychological scapegoats – "poor role models" or "peer pressure" – are afforded similar short shrift. "Everybody does it" is simply not a valid excuse when personal choice is at the core. Even media glamorisation, while acknowledged, fails to impress Samenow as a causative factor. Responsible individuals, he rightly points out, don't suddenly become murderers because of a violent film or video game.
Criminals, he notes, are remarkably adept at seizing upon these external factors, twisting them into justifications for their behaviour, as if they needed any more excuses than they already possess.
More Than Escape: The Thrill of the Edge
The prevalent idea that drug users seek "escape from harsh realities, boredom, or hopelessness" is also given a rigorous examination. While criminals might parrot this line, Samenow delves deeper. Often, he contends, the "suffering" they claim to escape is a direct consequence of their own irresponsibility. The truth is far more electrifying and far more sinister.
For the criminal mind, "Far more important than escape is the excitement that drugs facilitate." Michael, a convicted felon, articulates this distinction with chilling clarity: "What am I escaping from?… It was the excitement, the adrenaline rush. I hate boredom." For him, the mundane act of paying bills was "mind-numbing" tedium, a life "definitely not for him." The criminal's life, in Samenow's analysis, is a "chain of events without connection," a relentless "seeking power and control," and an unquenchable "desire to live on the edge."
A Symbiotic, Yet Subordinate, Relationship
Crucially, Samenow asserts: "In every case that I have encountered, the criminal was immersed in crime before he smoked his first joint, popped his first pill, or first injected heroin." This underscores the pre-existing criminal disposition, with drug use merely becoming another tool in the arsenal.
The choice of intoxicant is rarely haphazard; it's a calculated decision based on availability and desired effect. Amphetamines offer a "quick infusion of energy," opiates can "knock out fear and sharpen thinking," and sedative-hypnotics cultivate an "I don't care" attitude, perhaps a little too effectively. Marijuana, while a "desirable party drug," often proves insufficient for the high-stakes world of serious crime. Even synthetic drugs, whose effects may appear overtly irrational to an outside observer, make "a great deal of sense" to the sophisticated criminal user, who carefully weighs their "advantages and disadvantages" for "specific purposes."
Marijuana, for instance, once viewed as merely a 'soft' drug, is now acknowledged by Samenow to be a potential gateway. He recounts the story of Jack, for whom pot became the "cornerstone" of his life, leading to isolation and eventually to "other substances."
Drugs: The Enabler of Escalation
One of Samenow's most powerful insights is how drugs actively serve the criminal enterprise. They "facilitate bigger and more risky crimes, sexual conquests, and an enhanced sense of power and control." Many criminals, grappling with their own cowardice, use drugs to muster the "heart" for violent acts. Bob, "too chicken" to rob a shop, is "emboldened" by heroin. Drugs, Samenow argues, "knock off my caution," allowing pre-existing violent or predatory urges to manifest.
Manny, a cocaine user, perfectly illustrates this acceleration of criminality. Already a thief at twelve, his crimes "skyrocketed" with cocaine. He not only stole from his mother and committed burglaries but also genuinely felt "everything about his life was better with cocaine." The excitement wasn't just in the high, but in the entire ecosystem: "obtaining it, snorting it, and selling it."
In the sexual arena, drugs likewise strip away inhibition and amplify the criminal's desire for dominance. Fear of rejection "vanishes under drugs," leading to bolder and often more reckless behaviour, frequently culminating in assault. The criminal’s grandiose self-image is simultaneously inflated, a feeling of being "ten feet tall," capable of anything, even "godlike in their omnipotence."
The Addiction Blame Game: A Convenient Cloak
When despair inevitably strikes, it rarely stems from genuine remorse. Instead, it's a bitter complaint about "the injustices of life" and the world's failure to recognise the criminal's inflated self-worth. Suicidal gestures, often manipulative, are aimed at securing a "softer life" in a hospital rather than the harsh confines of a prison cell.
Samenow is particularly scathing about the concept of "addiction" as an all-encompassing excuse. He finds it overused and misused, often applied to any excess or strong preference. He draws a vital distinction: "He makes a series of decisions to obtain it, when and where to use it, and how much to use." Unlike cancer, which is beyond one's control, "a person cannot say no to cancer, but he can say no to drugs."
Yet, the criminal enthusiastically embraces the "disease idea," using it to "explain his behaviour," shift blame, and manoeuvre for "treatment and counselling " over incarceration. Law enforcement, Samenow observes, often fails to grasp the criminal's deep-seated desire to "maintain control," and their willingness to participate in treatment only when "forced to do so."
The Lifestyle, Not Just the Substance
Ultimately, Samenow argues, the criminal's "addiction is not just to a drug but to an entire way of life." The "excitement" permeates every facet, from "fantasising" about drugs to the "thrill of the deal." He cites an 89-year-old drug courier, a testament to the enduring appeal of illicit gains, regardless of age or the "occupational hazards" of crime.
Thomas, a "reformed" criminal, after six months of sobriety, perfectly encapsulates this dilemma. "My truck breaks down. My customers are a pain. Bills pour in... If this is life, it's a hell of a life." His poignant question, "What do you have that compares with cocaine?" highlights the seductive "high voltage" of the criminal lifestyle itself, an allure that responsible life simply cannot match.
Even the rise of prescription drug abuse, often attributed solely to the addictive nature of the medications, reveals the same underlying criminal personality. Nancy, a controlling and deceptive housewife, and Louise, a respected but equally duplicitous nurse, exemplify this. Their "addictive personalities" are in fact, overshadowed by a deeply ingrained "criminal personality" – one characterised by control, deception, and an ardent refusal to accept responsibility.
Samenow concludes with an unequivocal statement: while a "genetic or biological inclination toward addiction" might exist, the choice to use substances remains. Abstinence, he insists, is merely the first step. It does not, by itself, address the fundamental issue: the "uncompromising, controlling personality of destructive individuals." Even if all criminals were to become drug-free tomorrow, "they still would have a lot more to change about themselves in order to become responsible human beings." It's a sobering thought, forcing us to look beyond the convenient scapegoat of drugs and confront the true, uncomfortable source of criminality: the mind of the criminal itself.
Citations for the Article
Samenow, S. E. (2007). Inside the Criminal Mind (Revised and updated ed.). Three Rivers Press. (Specifically, Chapter 9: "Criminality Is Primary, Drugs Secondary")
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