. “The illegal drug market in the United States is one of the most profitable in the world. As such, it attracts the most ruthless, sophisticated, and aggressive drug traffickers.” Throughout the years drug trafficking has been a major issue in America. These issues have impacted our economy, security, which promote new laws and policies throughout the U.S. and among our boarders. Drug Trafficking has created conflict with other countries such as Mexico. “…criminal groups operating from neighboring Mexico smuggle cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, amphetamine, and marijuana into the United States. These criminal groups have smuggled heroin and marijuana across the Southwest Border and distributed them throughout the United States since the 1970s.” (Policy Almanac).
Drug trafficking has contributed a negative cause to the United Stated economy, introducing crimes which is a factor to many deaths and illnesses.
It is annually estimated that the economic cost alone is $215 billion dollars that are being contributed to drug trafficking in the United States. According to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy it is projected that nearly $61 billion dollars are being used towards criminal justice such as criminal investigation, prosecution and incarceration, $11 billion dollars are for the healthcare costs as in drug treatment and drug-related medical consequences, $120 billion dollars are lost in productivity, due to the labor participation costs in drug abuse treatment, incarceration and premature death. As stated in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy it is assessed that full-time workers who were on current use of drugs were more likely to miss workdays due to illnesses and injuries. As mentioned i...
... middle of paper ...
...se-affects-business-and-the-economy
Cratty, C. (2013, March 28). Mexico drug cartels extend reach in U.S. - CNN.com. Retrieved
November 25, 2013, from http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/03/26/drug.trends/
Lewis, B.(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.policyalmanac.org/crime/archive/drug_trafficking.shtml Moisse, K. . Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Drugs/drug-deaths-exceed-traffic- deaths/story?id=14554903 MyHealthNewsDaily Staff (2012, January 5). Illegal Drugs Cause 250,000 Global Deaths
Yearly | LiveScience. Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/36068-worldwide-illegal-drug-deaths.html
Voorhees, J. (2013, November 21). North Korean meth bust: U.S. arrests five in Joseph
Hunter-led drug-smuggling operation. Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2013/11/21/north_korean_meth_bust_u_s_arrests_five_in_joseph_hunter_led_drug_smuggling.html
Since 2006, a growing issue of drug smuggling and trafficking has arisen between Mexico and the United States. Not only does this issue affect the economies of the two countries but also the social life of the populations.
Approximately given 80 to 90 million Americans have tried an illicit drug at least which once in their lives; marijuana alone is tried for the first time by about 6,400 Americans everyday. Furthermore, illicit drugs seem to be relatively easy to attain- in for 1999, 90 percent said which this about marijuana, also 44 percent about cocaine and finally 32 percent about heroin. Yearly, for which 35 million dollars is given just to control illicit drug trafficking. Moreover, over 400,000 of drug offenders caught are in jail, of which, some 130,000 are which for possession. Not for only are these statistics a international obvious embarrassment but because for these quantities which have been growing throughout history, we can only assume that they will get worse. We can already begin to for imagine the costs of these numbers which is it not already clear that we need for to find an alternative approach to this
The crack and cocaine epidemic of the United States has shaped America’s basis on the war against drugs. In the early 1980s, the majority of cocaine began to be shipped to the United States, landing in Miami originally coming through the Bahamas and Dominican Republic (UDOJ)”. The foreign origin from the drug made it easier for dealer to quietly return to the United States with the drug and also its receipt. “Soon there was a huge amount of cocaine powder in these islands, which caused the price to drop by as much as 80 percent (UDJ)”. Thus making it more assessable for shipment to America.
Drug trafficking is a prohibited, global trade that involves the production, the distribution, and the sales of drugs. It is a topic that has become a very large issue all over the world. It also has had a very big effect on many different countries because they often depend on the business that the drug trafficking creates. Since it has become such a problem, there have been many different efforts to put a stop to drug trafficking by different enforcement agencies. A website about drug statistics, drugabuse.net, indicated that the Drug Enforcement Agency or DEA, as it is well known as, makes over thirty thousand arrests each year dealing with the illegal sales or distribution of drugs. It is also believed that Mexico’s economy would shrink by over sixty-three percent if they lost their drug trafficking industry. There are many different tribulations like this that drug trafficking has created. Many people see it as such a vital asset to some countries, so it has emerged as an extremely big business that brings in a boatload of money. Just like any other immense problem, drug trafficking has its causes and effects
As the demand for drugs in the United States has risen, the amount of drug–trafficking cartels in the US has increased proportionally. Each cartel, or a group of people that controls the production and distribution of drugs and other illegal substance, is trying to gain their own place in the multi-billion dollar black market. Violence is used to gain and maintain trafficking routes and ports into the United States. This makes the 2,000+ mile border between the United States and Mexico a warzone for cartels fighting against each other and against law enforcement. Cartels use immigrants wanting to enter the US, as mules to carry over drugs as they enter the US’s. The constant tension between the United States and Mexican governments and the cartels has risen as the violence continues and worsens. Cartels have played a major role in the relations between the Untied States and Mexico as the US has cracked down on foreign policy regarding drugs and violence on the border and in Mexico through the Merida Initiative and Beyond.
Drug trafficking has been a massive concern between the borders of Mexico and the U.S. “since mid 1970s” (Wyler, 1). Drug trafficking is “knowingly being in possession, manufacturing, selling, purchasing, or delivering an illegal, controlled substance” (LaMance, 1). A dynamic relationship exists amongst Columbia, Mexico, and the U.S. the informal drug trafficking economy. This growing informal drug economy leads to many individuals creating a substantial living through this undercover market. These individual drug cartels monopolizing the trafficking market are a growing problem for the U.S economy and need to be located and controlled. If this trafficking continues, the U.S. informal economy will crush the growth of legal industries. The trafficking and abuse of drugs in the U.S. affects nearly all aspects of consumer life. Drug trafficking remains a growing issue and concern to the U.S. government. The U.S. border control must find a way to work with Mexico to overpower the individuals who contribute to the drug trafficking business. This market must be seized and these individuals must be stopped.
Throughout all of history, people have used mind-altering substances for diverse purposes such as magic, religious ceremonies, medicine, and war. After World War II, many people discovered that narcotics can be used to amass fortunes and maintain a steady stream of income. Groups of people, known as drug cartels, have created a business of trading and processing drugs, in which, the material of the drugs are grown, processed into drugs, smuggled across foreign borders, and sold to the common public. This process is known as international drug trafficking. Drug trafficking has led to drug addictions due to drug abuse, which can lead to violence, and inevitably the death of an individual who uses these drugs. The socioeconomic costs to a society are devastating. Law enforcement, imprisonment, and rehabilitation have high costs to governments and its society.
Supply reduction is one of the strategies used to control the illegal drug problem. Supply reduction relies on diplomatic, law enforcement, military, and other resources to disrupt the supply chains of illegal drugs by eliminating or reducing (Lyman). The efforts of the resources focuses on foreign countries to identify the smuggling routes outside of the country and interfere the distribution within the United States (Lyman). There are three approaches to supply reduction paradigm and it is to “eradicate or control drugs at their source, interdict or seize drugs as they enter the country, and engage in intense domestic drug enforcement efforts primarily aimed at users and drug consumers” (Lyman).
Concerned authorities have focused essentially on criminalization and punishment, to find remedies to the ever-increasing prevalent drug problem. In the name of drug reducing policies, authorities endorse more corrective and expensive drug control methods and officials approve stricter new drug war policies, violating numerous human rights. Regardless of or perhaps because of these efforts, UN agencies estimate the annual revenue generated by the illegal drug industry at $US400 billion, or the equivalent of roughly eight per cent of total international trade (Riley 1998). This trade has increased organized/unorganized crime, corrupted authorities and police officials, raised violence, disrupted economic markets, increased risk of diseases an...
During my twenty years of Law Enforcement I have learned how dangerous drugs are to the economy. They damage your body and drug abuse also has a huge economic impact on the country.
...es all resulted in failure. The government's failure to suppress drug trade at the international level is due to two reasons: the international drug trade was far too complex and resilient for law enforcement to deal with and and the national security operations in the “drug source countries”, primarily during the Cold War, had seriously undermined the “U.S. Interdiction effort.”18
Drug trafficking is a very controversial topic because it is an illicit business that generates billions of dollars for the leaders of cartels. Due to those revenues since 2006 combatting drug trafficking for the government of Mexico has become a priority. Illicit drugs are illicit because they represent a threat to the health of consumers. And more often illicit drugs are presented to be part of millions of people’s daily life. To Mexico drug trafficking represents one of the 10 most important industry of the country because of the popularity drug trafficking has gain. Domestic and bilateral efforts to combat drug trafficking have not worked because of the size of drug trafficking an because the negatives of drug trafficking, corruption and violence and detrimental macroeconomic effects, far outweigh the positives, namely microeconomic benefits.
By doing this, a task force can track not only the source of the drug but the locations in where it is being sent to. Monitoring these procedures allows for information to be gathered that can be used to intercept these shipments. Seizing the drug shipments can disrupt the drug flow, which allows for supply to be weakened. The way drug trafficking is also able to thrive is by the how high the demand is for the drugs that are being sold. Though focusing on the supply is important, it is the customers and their willingness to by the drugs that make or break the drug trafficking business. The demand of drugs and the supply of drugs run hand in hand. As long as people continue to want drugs, then there will always be a supply. One approach that could be done is spending money to create better drug treatment prevention programs, rather than spending money on incarceration as a deterrent. Drug treatment programs can target the individuals who can consume a high quantity of illicit drugs. These programs have the potential to create a drop in the demand. The regulation of drugs can reduce not only health harms but also social as well. A regulatory approach that could be considered is creating location areas where certain illicit drugs can be taken, like heroin. These drugs
The drug problem in the U.S. and around the world is an important issue and seems to be a difficult problem to tackle across the board. The inflow of drugs has become one of the largest growths in transnational crime operations; illicit drug use in the United States makes it very difficult for nation states police and customs forces to get a handle on the issues. War on drugs, drug trafficking has long been an issue for the United States. There has been a proclamation of “war on drugs” for the past 44 years.
Through out the Americas, an illegal business of drug trafficking runs in our streets. From a young teenager to the nice welcoming old man down the street they could very well be in possession of drugs like marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and ecstasy. Hamdi Yeşilyurt in her analysis breaks it down into 4 parts; definition, background, social networking and drug trafficking. Social Capital and Business in Drug Trafficking Organizations, and Benefit-Rich Networks and Business Like Structures of Drug Trafficking Organizations. Hamdi is among the few selected for the International Journal of Human Sciences. Some drugs relieve pain and stress while other intoxicate the brain and body to create hallucinations along with various effects. Drugs are described as medical substances throughout the majority of dictionaries but with the current world when the thought of drugs occurs instead of ibuprofen people think of ecstasy. The United States market is the highest targeted country for sales of drugs with its vulnerability through air, land, and sea. Underground tunnels and specially designed aircrafts that are undetectable by radar are being used for transportation of drugs. Drug trafficking has evolved the world to a violent, dangerous, and criminal world.