DO STATE ASSET FORFEITURE LAWS EXPLAIN THE UPWARD TREND IN DRUG ARRESTS?

Drug arrests have increased steadily for going on 30 years, yet drug use has fluctuated wildly during the same period. Some have argued (and found) that state forfeiture laws may explain variation in drug arrests. Using data from 572 law enforcement agencies, we sought to replicate such findings and test their robustness by invoking a variety of forfeiture measures. Our findings indicate that drug asset forfeiture laws (and even past forfeiture activities) have no discernible effect on drug arrest rates.