Illegal Drug Use: The Seven Elements Of A Crime

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Illegal drug use does fit the seven elements of a crime. The seven elements of a crime are 1)harm, 2)legality, 3) Actus Reus(criminal conduct), 4)Mens rea(criminal intent), 5)causation, 6)Concurrence, and 7) punishment. Illegal drug use causes harm to the users and people around the user (Bohm, 2017). Illegal drug users put children, elderly adults, and others in harm's way with the effects of drug use. Illegal drug use isn’t legal, henceforth the name illegal drug use. Actus reus plays a huge part with criminal conduct with illegal drug use. It creates unsafe neighborhoods, and hostile environments for people to live in. Mens rea comes with the illegal drug sales and use. The criminal intent is there, due to the sales being prohibited by law, …show more content…

It causes harm to society with the elements it often brings (crime). “Prostitution is illegal in the United States with the exception of 10 Nevada counties” (Prostitution in Nevada, 2018). But, it’s illegal in the 49 other United States. Prostitutes do not act lawfully as the law requires them to do, and they intentionally act reckless with the actions that they do. Causation can be included with prostitution. The spread of sexually transmitted infections/diseases can come without a long delay, and leading to harm. Concurrence is prevalent in prostitution as prostitutes are illegally loitering, conducting a criminal element intentionally, and conducting themselves against the law. There is a punishment with illegal prostitution, with most it resulting in fine and 2 or 3 days in jail. Prostitution is considered to be mala prohibita, because the law describes it as …show more content…

The Lottery is a form of gambling and is allowed in 44 of the United States. But there are 22 states that allow casino gambling in their jurisdiction. It depends on what type of gambling a person is doing, that makes it illegal, such as ground games (cee-lo, craps). Gambling harms no one physically, but with street crimes it can occur. I believe gambling doesn’t meet all seven elements of a crime. It would be considered mala prohibita, as it only illegal in certain states and forms. Gambling doesn’t cause physical harm to anyone, it may be legal according to which state and the type of gambling game, it doesn’t fit “actus reus”, there may be some “mens rea”according to what type of gambling it is, it doesn’t cause harm in a short time, Actus rea and mens rea, don’t occur together, but, there could be a punishment associated with illegal gambling (Bohm,

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