[justlurking]

It would have been good if he could have weeded out the number of homocides known or suspected to be caused by drug dealings.

He mentions it:

Paul J. Goldstein and coauthors, using police reports and police evaluations, examine the causes of all homicides in a sample of New York City precincts during part of 1988 (footnote 30). They determine that more than half of the homicides were due to drug-related factors, but of these, almost three-quarters were due to "systemic" factors, meaning disputes over drug territory, drug debts, and other drug-trade-related issues. Thus, approximately 39 percent of the homicides resulted from the inability of drug market participants to settle disputes using the official dispute resolution system; only 7.5 percent resulted from the psychopharmacological effects of drugs or alcohol.

But, that's a separate study. You would have to follow the footnote and read it.

I found the paragraphs immediately following this particularly interesting:

• Enforcement of drug prohibition appears to shift law enforcement resources away from deterrence of other crimes, such as homicide.
• Increased enforcement of drug prohibition in a specific jurisdiction appears to increase violent crime in neighboring jurisdictions.
• The enforcement level of alcohol and drug prohibition in the US has a positive correlation with the homicide rate.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Thanks. That's what I thought. Almost half of all murders involving guns were caused by disputes over drugs.