DrugTrafficking

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 Dangers of Drug Trafficking



__**What is Drug Trafficking?**__ "Drug Trafficking is the illegal production and distribution of controlled substances. The United States is the world's largest market for illegal drugs, with some 13 million Americans spending about $60 billion each year"("Drug Trafficking"). Illegal drugs are very expensive to produce, and even more expensive when selling them to consumers. The Drug Enforcement Administration is responisbile for controlling the spread of drugs worldwide. This global crime leads to other crimes such as human trafficking, and mostly money laundering("Drug Trafficking").

The United States’ legal definition of drug trafficking is: an offense under federal, state, or local law that prohibits the manufacture, import, export, distribution, or dispensing of a controlled substance (or a counterfeit substance) or the possession of a controlled substance (or a counterfeit substance) with intent to manufacture, import, export, distribute, or dispense (Gould). It has existed since ancient times; however, it didn’t become a worldwide issue until the early 1900s with the cannabis trade. Now, the problem exists in almost every nation across the globe with various substances, and it will continue to grow and become worse if our protocol remains the same.
 * __ The Problem: __**

 According to UN figures, 70% of organized crime’s overall income is attributed to drug-related activities. Drug trafficking, aside from the problem in itself, has been shown to lead to several other issues including gang violence, terrorism, homicide, suicide, burglary, and authoritative and political corruption. In Mexico, a leading terrorist of the drug trafficking nation, cabinet officials, police captains, and generals are bent by narco-traffickers’ threats of violence every day (Morrison). The world renowned Forbes magazine recently listed one of Mexico’s most notorious kingpins, Joaquin Guzmán (leader of the Sinaloa cartel), on its list of the world’s billionaires with an estimated fortune worth of $1 billion, self-made, source: drug trafficking (Kroll, Miller, and Serafin). Drug trafficking exists in several areas across the world including Southeast Asia, Afghanistan, various locations in South America, Australia, China, several African and European nations, and the United States. In March 2009, Guinea-Bissau was declared “the world’s first narco-state”, said to be under the control of Colombia. This West African nation is just one of several that have become key points for cocaine transit from Latin America to Europe, others include Guinea, Senegal, Nigeria, Togo, and Ghana (“Guinea-Bissau: Fears of an Emerging Narco-State”). As a result of the organized crime in Guinea-Bissau, the president and Army chief were assassinated, and according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, “the Gold Coast is turning into the coke coast.” Another major drug trafficking nation is Afghanistan, the world’s leading Opium producer (United Nations). According to the UNODC’s Opium Survey of 2009, “ Opiates remain the world’s main problem drug in terms of treatment, and the highest levels of use are found along the main drug trafficking routes close to Afghanistan.” This everlasting production has been known to produce the income for most Afghans and fuel the Taliban, a group of extremist authoritative figures who have housed al-Qaeda operations and provided refuge for Osama Bin Laden. As a result of their unforgiving power, the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked on September 11, 2001, leaving the United States in devastation; this was only one of a multitude of their malicious attacks (Hayes, Brunner, and Rowan). These are only a few of the dangers in drug trafficking, the varieties increase day to day. Drug trafficking is a problem and although we’ve taken steps towards extinguishing it, it persists. Something needs to bring the industry to an end, because next thing you know, the illicit drug trade will become powerful enough to control the world. Because of this international issue, there has been a major increase in arrests, homicides, gang violence, suicide, national threats, corruption, terrorism, and even wars. If people don’t view drug trafficking as a problem, then I wouldn’t know what constitutes as one anymore.

= __Causes:__ =

The Origins of Illicit Drugs: Many drugs have been made illegal in a lot of counties around the world. Drugs like marijuana, cocaine, heroin, speed, LSD, and ecstasy are some of the drugs that have been made illegal in the U.S.A. Some of these illegal drugs are made right here in our own country while others are shipped to us by other countries like Mexico. People start taking drugs because of peer pressure, the whole family is addicted, curiosity, for the feeling of adventure and trying new things, to feel relaxed, or to forget about their problems. Once you start taking most drugs, it becomes very hard to stop due to addiction, and it gets increasingly harder the longer the drug has been consumed. Cocaine, also called crack, can be snorted, injected, or smoked. Cocaine comes from the coca plant which is grown in the Amazon jungle in Bolivia, Peru, and Columbia and would grow just as well in other Amazon countries such as Brazil and Ecuador. The leaves are usually grown in large farms, however small farms also produce coca leaves for profit. The leaves from the coca plants are then turned into coca paste, usually by the growers. Pretty much anybody can turn coca leaves into coca paste, but you’d need to really know what you’re doing to be able to turn the paste into powder. This process is done in secret labs controlled by drug dealers and it includes chemicals and electricity. ("Where") Marijuana is one of the most popular illegal drugs used today. Most of the people who smoke marijuana start in their teens. Teens might start smoking marijuana because all of their friends are doing it or because they see their idols and some celebrities, such as Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix, smoke it and they want to be just like them. Marijuana is also referred to as weed, tree, ganja, and many other names. Unlike other drugs, marijuana can be grown in the wild, grown as a crop, and even be cultivated indoors. In the United Kingdom, the amount of marijuana being grown indoors has increased, although most of their marijuana is imported in from other countries such as Morocco, Lebanon, and Pakistan. Most of the marijuana grown in the U.S.A. comes from California and is a huge part of the economy where it is grown. It is believed to have first started growing in Asia and now can be grown almost anywhere. If the weed we get wasn’t grown in our country, it probably came from Mexico. Law enforcement has been doing their best to stop the flow of weed into America but it’d be almost impossible to stop it completely. ("Brains") Heroin comes from the sap of opium poppy. Opium poppy is mainly grown in East Asia, Asia Minor, Russia, the Middle East, and Meso America. Afghanistan is by far the biggest producer of opium, producing over three quarters of the world’s opium supply which also makes them one of the top heroin providers around the world. ("Where") Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is another illicit drug in use. LSD is commonly referred to as acid and is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug. LSD isn’t addictive but people probably use it over and over due to the sensation it gives them. LSD is generally taken by the mouth and is colorless, odorless, and has a slightly bitter taste. LSD was first synthesized in 1938 by Dr. Albert Hofmann, a chemist, working for Sandoz Laboratories in Switzerland. So illicit drugs are first grown or made in several places around the world and then are taken to places and broken down to spread throughout the country. Drugs have been in use for a very, very long time so it is pretty much impossible to find out how long drug use has been a problem. ~

The effects of drug trafficking are widespread in multiple areas. They affect regular civilians, especially young adolescents, the environment, and economic and political aspects of countries worldwide. Drug trafficking’s most major effect is on regular civilians, particularly adolescents. “Drug peddlers focus their sales on the younger generations such as teenagers and adolescents who are vulnerable and susceptible to manipulation” (“Unrestrained”). Minds of the younger generation are altered to think that drugs are something that will make them higher in status, increasingly wealthy, or just simply a hobby with benefits. Adolescence are also more likely to participate in drug trafficking, making it their lifetime career. Overall, drug trafficking affects everyone. It affects regular civilians in general by creating addicts that lie, steal, go to jail, or do anything to obtain drugs. These addicts basically are unable to make any meaningful contributions to society (“Unrestrained”). Also, drug trafficking may affect civilians indirectly. Throughout the year of 2008, the world experienced a rise of global food prices because of drug trafficking. Afghanistan was one of the countries hit hard by risen food prices. There have even been reports of some Afghanistan citizens eating grass to survive (“Food”). The reason for the rise in global food prices is because local farmers in southern Afghanistan are planting opium instead of wheat on their farms. The UN has raised food prices to get farmers to plant wheat instead of opium, but so far this has made little progression on stopping the opium growing farmers. “Soaring food prices have sparked hunger, poverty and violence around the world” (“Food”).media type="youtube" key="tyi1K918QCI" height="344" width="425" align="right" Not only does drug trafficking affect civilians, but it impacts the environment. Over the past decade in California, farmers have been farming pot on public land because it can be more profitable than smuggling it across the increasingly militarized Californian and Mexican border (Harkinson).These little “grows” or “gardens” within the natural forests (Harkinson) have destroyed land all over California. People have been killed over these patches of land. There have been piles of trash and run-off; dead animals and streams filled with human wastes all because of drug traffickers creating an easier and cheaper way to smuggle illegal drugs. Smuggling drugs in ways like these contribute to carbon dioxide emissions, and the problem of trash and finding a space to put the trash.The Andean jungle in Colombia is used for the production of cocaine. This is significantly damaging the environment of the region. “The main threats to the environment are deforestation caused by clearing the fields for cultivation, soil erosion caused by several factors, and chemical pollution from insecticides and fertilizers”(COLCOCA Case). These two examples show that drug traffickers take no consideration of the environment when it comes to producing illegal  products. The less money it costs to make it, the better. Therefore, drug traffickers continue to abuse the environment to obtain and smuggle drugs. The last effect of drug traffickers is on the economy. As seen in the earlier example, drug trafficking has caused inflation in food prices, which is only one of the effects is can have on the economy. The need for security may slow down the economy also because stores and businesses are taking money out of their budget to get higher security. Money is being taken to punish these drug traffickers, and also the drug traffickers are involved in money laundering which takes even more money. Drug trafficking messes up the flow of economy and can cause hardship for many people. In 1996, the Management of Social Transformations Program, abbreviated as MOST, studied the economic and social factors related to international drug trafficking. The areas studied were in large countries with broad based economies, and was supervised by Christian Geffray, Guilhem Fabre, and Michel Schiray. Results showed that: “Drug trafficking – and the money-laundering that goes with it – is directly tied to a whole range of other criminal activities and that the general growth of these activities over the past 20 years stems largely from the greater opportunities that financial deregulation and globalization provide”( UNESCOPRESS ). Other results have shown that in places such as Brazil, drug lords are elected as mayors, parliamentary deputies and senators (UNESCOPRESS). Drug trafficking slowly creeps into our lives in one form or another, hopefully we will see the day where drug trafficking will no longer be on our list of international problems.
 * __Effects of Drug Trafficking__**

Future of Drug Trafficking Al Qaeda and the Taliban are intertwined with drug trafficking and will continue to be involved in it. Al Qaeda is trafficking a lot of drugs in West Africa, which is becoming a major place for drugs to go through. Afghanistan is where poppy is made which can be made into heroin that Al Qaeda and the Taliban can profit off of (Baldauf). The future of drug trafficking looks grim with corruption and terrorism linked to it. Cocaine trafficking is rising in West Africa (Rotella). Al Qaeda and the Taliban profit from drug trade there and also Mexican gangsters, Colombian guerrillas and Lebanese militant groups are profiting from the drug trade there (Rotella). The drugs are coming from South and Latin America through West Africa and then onward to Western Europe (Baldauf). The Mexican gangsters, Colombian guerillas, and Lebanese militant groups, Al Qaeda, and the Taliban are all making deals for the future and will become operational alliances for the future (Rotella). In South Africa the same thing is happening. There is a lot of drug trafficking happening there. Drug traffickers and Al Qaeda are starting to fly 747’s across the Atlantic Ocean to South Africa. Al Qaeda flies the planes from South America to Western Africa and unloads almost twelve million tons of cocaine and just burns the plane (Baldauf). This is starting to happen more and more and some of the planes actually get flown back (Baldauf). One American official in Baldauf’s report says, “We know what those planes are carrying across the Atlantic to Africa. But what goes back to American shores?” Al Qaeda also profits from heroin trade starting in Afghanistan (Mackenzie). The Taliban also profit from the poppy, they get the poppy and buy weapons from the money they make (Bowman). In Afghanistan, farmers are growing poppy to supply Al Qaeda (Mackenzie). The American government wanted to help Afghan farmers to help them grow food to help their country advance and also to stop Al Qaeda from getting money. The American government can not spray all the poppy plants because then it would drive up heroin prices and the Taliban and Al Qaeda will make even more money (Bowman). The American government tried to wean the farmers off of growing poppy by giving the Afghan government money to buy wheat and seeds, but the Afghan government was corrupt and bought the cheapest grain and kept the rest of the money. The farmers didn’t make a profit off of that, so they went back to growing poppy (Mackenzie). If nothing happens about the corruption in the Afghanistan, then the farmers will keep growing poppy and supplying Al Qaeda. All of the things that Al Qaeda profit from will eventually hurt us because that will profit the terrorism acts. So that means Al Qaeda will keep trafficking drugs to keep making money. The drug trafficking is also hurting Afghanistan because all their farmers grow is poppy not fruit or wheat and if the U.S. government spray the poppy plants it will hurt the farmers even more. Al Qaeda will also keep stealing 747’s to transport the drugs. The future of drug trafficking does not look very good.

__**Solutions:**__ -- __Legalization of Drugs to Stop Cartels__

Drug trafficking is a major problem throughout the world, especially in Central/Southern America. I propose that legalization with regulation is the path to less power of drug cartels. Legalization may sound crazy but it will stop cartels, and the violence they bring. I’m going to tell the way to end the bad things cartels do. One problem tied to drug trafficking is violence. Drug cartels use violence to promote their business. Look at the example of alcohol prohibition in America. Violence was much lower before and after prohibition because of making the desired substance a crime forced it into the hands of criminals ( Miron). So obviously, prohibition of drugs just causes more problems because, “Prohibition creates violence because it drives the drug market underground. This means buyers and sellers cannot resolve their disputes with lawsuits, arbitration or advertising, so they resort to violence instead.” (//Miron).// Lifting drug laws would also help our national security! “Prohibition has disastrous implications for national security. By eradicating coca plants in Colombia or poppy fields in Afghanistan, prohibition breeds resentment of the United States. By enriching those who produce and supply drugs, prohibition supports terrorists who sell protection services to drug traffickers. (Miron) Another positive result of drug legalization would be lessening funding of terrorism. Legalizing and regulating a drug like opium would take away a major cash flow to Al Queda and thus reduce terrorist funded criminal acts. (Stamper). “These days, it seems like everyone is talking in earnest about marijuana legalization, once dismissed as little more than a Cheech and Chong pipe dream. Indeed, a new poll reveals that 53 percent of Americans now support ending marijuana prohibition.” (Stamper) Although, just legalization of marijuana won’t work, because only legalizing marijuana would not solve the international problem as most marijuana is grown and harvested within the country it is used. Other drug trafficking ruled countries are bringing in; cocaine, heroin, and other drugs, to end this, all drugs should be legalized. ( Miron ) Government revenue is another thing that would change if drugs were legalized. Legalizing drugs would allow the government to regulate and tax the drugs being used by its citizens. This taxed money could be funneled to rehabilitation clinics for those wanting to stop taking drugs (Stamper). “Justified alarm over drug-related Mexican border violence has led to the predictable spate of drug legalization proposals. The most prominent was a call by three former Latin American presidents -- from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico -- to end what they claimed was the drug war. While there are many "end the drug war” plans, of them, as even their advocates admit, result in more drug use and addiction. Their response? We should emasculate prevention and law enforcement and just spend more on treatment.” (Walters)

The money from illegal drug sales increases violence by the cartels. In South America the money that drug cartel families have allow them get more tools to purchase more weapons and tools of violence. The money also creates power over citizens and governments. Tackling the drug trafficking problem through controlled legalization will decrease violence. It will decrease illegally gotten money and the power of the cartels. Then, if money gained by taxation is used to fund rehabilitation programs, we can really solve the problem by reducing the source of the business- the drug customer.

Works Cited [] Walters, John P. “Drugs: Legalize or Not” 2010. Wall Street Journal Online 2010[]
 * Baldauf, Scott. "Air Al Qaeda: Are Latin America." //Christian Science Monitor// (2010): n. pag. Web. 21 Jan 2010.
 * Bowman, Tom. "U.S. Drug Agents Target Afghan Poppy Pushers." //NPR//. (2009): Print. 21 Jan 2010
 * "The Brain's Response to Marijuana". drugabuse.gov. February 10, 2010 .
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">COLCOCA Case. Number 136. __Colombia Cocoa Trade.__ www.druglibrary.org. DRC. Schaffer Library of Drug Policy. 21 Jan 2010 < [].>
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">“Food prices alone won’t stop Afghan opium growers.” __Africa Wire-Sudan__ (June 6, 2008) __Global Issues In Context__. 6 Jan 2010<http://find.galegroup.com/gic/start.do?prodId=GIC.> Document number: A179774495
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Drug Trafficking.socialissues.wiseto.com.The Gale Group.2007<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">. 22 Feb. 2010. < [] .>
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Harkinson, Josh. “High Sierras.” Mother Jones Vol. 34, No.4. 31 Jul 2009: pg.51. SIRS Researcher. Web.06 Jan 2010<http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SVC00087-0-5841&artno=0000295497&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=Marijuana%20industry&title=High%20Sierras&res=Y&ren=N&gov=N&lnk=N&ic=N >
 * MacKenzie, Jean. "Good Money After Bad in Afghanistan." //Truthout// January 18, 2010: n. pag. Web. 21 Jan 2010.
 * //Miron, Jeffrey A. “// Legalize drugs to stop violence” 2009. CNN online 2010 < []>
 * Rotella, Sebastian. "U.S. Prosecution Links Drugs to Terrorism." //LA Times// (2009): n. pag. Web. 21 Jan 2010.
 * Stamper, Norm. “Former Police Chief On Why All Drugs Should Be Legalized” 2009. Undernews 2010
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">UNESCOPRESS.Press Release No.2002-78.WWW.__The social and economic impact of drug trafficking__. www.unesco.org.13 October 2002.UNESCO. 7 Feb 2010.< [].>
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“Unrestrained Violence Due Drug Abuse [editorial].” __Africa News Service__ (Sept 24, 2009) __Global Issues In Context.__ 20 Dec 2009 <http://find.galegroup.com/gic/start.do?prodId=GIC.> Document Number: A208303729

Hayes, Laura, Borgna Brunner, and Beth Rowen. "The Taliban." //Infoplease//. Pearson Education, Inc., Web. 11 Feb 2010. <http://www.infoplease.com/spot/taliban.html>. Kroll, Luisa, Matthew Miller, and Tatiana Serafin. "#701 Joaquin Guzman Loera." //World's Billionaires 2009// 03 Nov 2009: n. pag. Web. 11 Feb 2010. <http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/10/billionaires-2009-richest-people_Joaquin-Guzman-Loera_FS0Y.html>. Morrison, David C. “Transnational Crime: Globalization’s Shadowy Stepchild. “//Great Decisions 2010 Edition//. New York Foreign Policy Association, Inc., 2010.Print. United Nations. //World Drug Report 2009//. United Nations Pubns, 2009. Print.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"Where do drugs come from?". drugscope.org.uk. February 10, 2010 [].
 * BEE'S CITATIONSSSSSSS ! (these need to be alphabetized into everyone else's.)
 * Gould, Lawrence. "Definition of Drug Trafficking." //eHow//. Web. 11 Feb 2010. <http://www.ehow.com/facts_5502172_definition-drug-trafficking.html>.
 * "Guinea-Bissau: Fears if an Emerging Narco-State." //Worldpress.org//. 04 Feb 2007. Worldpress, Web. 11 Feb 2010. <http://www.worldpress.org/africa/2660.cfm>.