Abstract

Drug abuse is seldom discussed in isolation from drug offending, which refers to the “possession, use, sale or furnishing of any drug or intoxicating substance or drug paraphernalia that is prohibited by law”. Drug offending is an alarming specific type of offending because increased drug use was associated with increased drug availability. In process of drug consumption, drug offending such as processing, manufacturing and selling drugs, has a crucial role in sustaining habitual drug use and causing drug addiction. Among all age groups, illicit drugs act in a more potent way on adolescents than adults. Comorbid offending and substance misuse in delinquents engaged in more subsequent crime and experienced more social problems and addiction symptoms than those who merely offended.