Highlights
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Could a record low in alcohol use be contributing to crime reductions?
Alcohol use is declining considerably, but it remains far more common than illicit hard drug use and continues to play a disproportionate role in violent crime.
Alcohol use is at a record low in more than 90 years of Gallup tracking.
While hard drugs deserve attention for their ties to trafficking and overdose, ignoring alcohol’s central role in crime skews public understanding.
A balanced criminological approach should recognize that alcohol is not just a health concern—it remains one of the most consistent drivers of violence in American society.
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Article
As a police officer, I responded to a domestic violence complaint from a neighbor. Upon arriving, we encountered a woman assaulted by her drunk husband. He used a frying pan as a weapon.
On another occasion, I was called to a family reunion where two brothers were fighting. I ended up arresting them and one of their wives after they assaulted me. They were ridiculously drunk.
Most of the vehicle accidents I attended involved alcohol. One person seriously injured an entire family when he ran a stop sign. I had to use force to arrest him.
Shall we discuss bar fights or disturbing the peace incidents, or sexual assaults? I could go on endlessly with examples where alcohol use was connected with violent crimes. The interesting aspect of this discussion, however, was that the violence-alcohol discussion has almost disappeared from public discourse.
When I left law enforcement and went to college, I was told that alcohol “powered” most violence. Yes, there were times when there was an alcohol-drug mix, but booze was the primary drug of choice of violent offenders.
Alcohol vs. Hard Drugs: A Tale of Two Lenses on Crime
In criminology, alcohol has long been understood as the drug most closely linked with violent crime. Yet in today’s discussions, the spotlight often falls on “hard drugs” like cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, or other opioids.
Media stories and public policy debates emphasize cartels, overdoses, and organized drug trafficking, leaving alcohol largely out of the frame. But the numbers suggest that alcohol—legal, widely available, and still consumed by more than half of American adults—remains a far more common driver of crime, especially violence.
Alcohol Use: Still Widespread Despite A Record Low Of Use
A Gallup poll conducted in July 2025 found that 54% of U.S. adults report drinking alcohol. This is a record low in more than 90 years of Gallup tracking, but it still represents more than half of the population. The drop reflects growing awareness of alcohol’s health risks, but even at these new lows, alcohol use dwarfs illicit drug use.
ADAM
The Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program, administered by the U.S. Department of Justice, operated in the 1990s and early 2000s.
ADAM consistently showed that the majority of arrestees tested positive for drugs or reported recent alcohol use.
For example, in 2000, ADAM reported that in many sites, 60–80% of arrestees tested positive for at least one illicit drug, and large proportions also reported alcohol use at the time of their offense.
A National Institute of Justice research summary noted: “The majority of arrestees are under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or both at the time of their offense.”
Hard Drug Use: A Fraction of the Population
Federal data show that the use of “hard drugs” remains limited:
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2020) found that about 3% of Americans aged 12 or older had an illicit drug use disorder (excluding alcohol) in the past year, NSDUH, 2020.
Cocaine use is reported at less than 2% of the population annually, or about 1.5 million people, Substance Use Disorder – Wikipedia.
When marijuana is excluded, overall illicit drug use falls far below alcohol’s 54% prevalence rate.
In simple terms, alcohol is used by tens of millions more Americans than all hard drugs combined.
Alcohol’s Direct Link to Crime
While hard drugs are often associated with crime through trafficking and possession offenses, alcohol is disproportionately connected to violent behavior:
Nearly 4 in 10 violent victimizations involve offender alcohol use, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, BJS, Alcohol and Crime Report.
Alcohol is involved in about 63% of intimate partner violence, 37% of sexual assaults, 40–45% of homicides, and almost half of all physical assaults, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Across prisons, jails, and probation, large numbers of offenders report that they had been drinking at the time of their crimes, BJS, Alcohol and Crime Report.
Research also shows that alcohol’s effects on judgment, self-control, and aggression make it uniquely criminogenic. It doesn’t merely coexist with violence—it actively increases the likelihood of it, Frontiers in Psychology, 2021.
Note that surveys of criminal offenders often undercount their involvement with drugs or alcohol.
Why the Emphasis on Hard Drugs?
If alcohol is more common and more strongly associated with violence, why does the public discussion highlight hard drugs?
Media and Policy Narratives
Hard drugs generate powerful headlines: overdose spikes, cartel trafficking, gang violence. These stories drive public attention and policy urgency.
Legal and Cultural Legitimacy
Alcohol’s legality makes its harms easier to overlook. A neighborhood liquor store is normalized; a heroin dealer is not.
Law Enforcement Priorities
Police and prosecutors focus heavily on illicit substances, reinforcing the link between drugs and crime in public perception.
The Common-Sense Factor
It may seem like common sense that alcohol is more tightly tied to violence simply because it is legal and more widely used. The data support that intuition. With 54% of adults drinking, compared to only a few percent using hard drugs, alcohol inevitably has a larger footprint in crime statistics.
Pew: America’s Most Problematic Drug Is Alcohol
While opioid use disorder dominates headlines, alcohol quietly remains America’s most problematic—and overlooked—drug. Nearly 30 million people are estimated to have alcohol use disorder. In this episode of “After the Fact,” Dr. Elizabeth Salisbury-Afshar, an addiction medicine specialist, and Pew’s Frances McGaffey discuss the latest trends related to alcohol use, its normalization in American culture, and the evolving science behind its risks.
Conclusion
I’m not suggesting that we reintroduce Prohibition, and yes, I have an occasional drink. I don’t mind alcohol use. I’m not condemning those who drink.
But I’ve seen too many instances where alcohol use destroyed relationships and families. Too many cops have had to deal with the aftermath. I was somewhat amused by going to court and seeing formally drunk defendants who were more than willing to fight appear meek and mild and sober before a judge while dressed in their Sunday best.
They all blamed their actions on being drunk. The interesting part is that it was usually a pattern of previous behaviors. This wasn’t their first rodeo.
Alcohol use is declining, but it remains far more common than illicit hard drug use and continues to play a disproportionate role in violent crime. While hard drugs deserve attention for their ties to trafficking and overdose, ignoring alcohol’s central role in crime skews public understanding.
A balanced criminological approach should recognize that alcohol is not just a health concern—it remains one of the most consistent drivers of violence in American society.
But if Gallup is suggesting a record low in the substance most associated with violence, is this a possible reason for the decline in reported crimes?
ChatGPT
ChatGPT assisted me with the creation and fact-checking of this article.