Attitudes About Differential Treatment of Crack and Cocaine in Terms of Legality

Abstract

Attitudes concerning addiction influence how an individual feels about a plethora of issues related to substance abuse. Broadus and Evans (2015) developed an instrument to measure an individual’s attitude toward addiction called the Public Attitudes About Addictions Survey (PAAAS). Their research suggested that an individual’s perception of drug addiction aligns with one of the following models of addiction: the psychological model, sociological model, disease model, nature model, or moral model. Broadus and Evans argue one’s attitude may influence how an individual feels about receiving addiction counseling, drug-related judicial decisions, and formation of drug policy (2015). This study is concerned with whether one’s attitude toward addiction and one’s knowledge about cocaine are related to opinions about sentencing for drug crimes and particularly different sentencing for crack and cocaine offenses.