Criminal court responses to the modern opioid and methamphetamine twindemic

Purpose

Despite over 1 million American lives lost to drug overdoses throughout the 21st century and a turbulent history between federal courts and drugs, past research has provided little insight on how criminal courts are responding to modern drug challenges. This research assesses the federal criminal legal response to 21st century drug problems in the context of substantial assistance departures.

Methods

Using federal drug sentencing data from 2008 to 2020, this study uses a series of multivariate regression models to examine the prevalence and magnitude of substantial assistance departures in 21st century drug cases.

Results

Results indicate that pharmaceutical opioid cases have been the primary beneficiaries of substantial assistance motions, while methamphetamine and (to a lesser extent) fentanyl cases have not attracted substantial assistance departures to the same degree.

Conclusions

The response to these 21st century drug challenges is not only reflected in rule-based differences in policy, but also in “additional” benefits (for pharmaceutical opioids) and costs (for methamphetamine and fentanyl). Given the appetite for information surrounding government responses to the twindemic, this study provides a nuanced analysis and contributes to knowledge about formal responses to modern drug problems.