Victimless crime
Visualization of narrower problems
Name(s):
Crimes without victims
Crimes against public morality
Nature
A victimless crime is an illegal act that typically either directly involves only the perpetrator or occurs between consenting adults. Because it is consensual in nature, whether there involves a victim is a matter of debate. Definitions of victimless crimes vary in different parts of the world and different law systems, but usually include possession of any illegal contraband, recreational drug use, prostitution and prohibited sexual behavior between consenting adults, assisted suicide, and smuggling among other similar infractions.
In politics, a lobbyist or an activist might use the term victimless crime with the implication that the law in question should be abolished.
Victimless crimes are, in the harm principle of John Stuart Mill, "victimless" from a position that considers the individual as the sole sovereign, to the exclusion of more abstract bodies such as a community or a state against which criminal offenses may be directed. They may be considered offenses against the state rather than society.
Source: Wikipedia
Claim
Victimless crime has no reason to be defined as criminal because it does not cause harm to anybody, other than perhaps to the perpetrator.
Counter-claim
Past attitudes tended to absolve drug users of any responsibility for their actions. Today drug abuse is no longer considered a "victimless" crime; it is a crime that imposes a staggering burden on the people and the nations of the world. Use of illegal drugs is associated with increases on crime, drug-related automobile accidents and work accidents, learning disabilities and other mental health problems, family disruption, and health problems. The illicit production, distribution and consumption of drugs have intimidated and corrupted public servants, and have even destabilized Governments. The erratic ebb and flow and sheer volume of "drug money" have affected the money supply and exchange markets. Individuals, particularly those who promote drug-taking by others, must be held accountable for their actions.
Broader
Narrower
Aggravates
Restrictive social policies [in 5 loops]
Aggravated by
Strategy(ies)
Value(s)
Type
(C) Cross-sectoral problems