Actually, the crime is due to the fact that drugs are illegal. Please read a bit about Prohibition I to understand more about Prohibition II. Everything now occurring in the drug war occurred during Prohibition I including a massive increase in criminal activity.
I’m very familiar with what you are citing, and in fact I’m for legalization, or at least decriminalization of some ‘drugs’ like marijuana.
But this kid wasn’t in that neighborhood looking for a quarter ounce of grass, as I suspect you probably know.