RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this work was to examine the role of substance use as factor which increase risk of assault. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A review of the some of the most important international literature about drug-facilitated crimes is presented here. RESULTS: The whole part of the papers shows a relationship between substance use and risk increase of assault, particularly in family violence and rape. CONCLUSIONS: The effects of psychotropic substances use depend on the user's emotional state and on drugs use expectations. This prospective shows that we need to be cautious in interpreting processes of linear causality between abusive behaviour, processes of victimisation, abuses and abnormal sexual behaviours, which are related to the patient's desires, enhanced and validated by drugs.
