The ways that money is gained illegally today is numerous. From drug dealers to hit men, these illegal money making opportunities are prevalent in influencing today’s economy and government. The most common illegal ways to gain money are through drugs, prostitution, theft (obviously), fraud, and piracy.
Drugs:
Most commonly sold and used drugs are:
-Cannabinoids (Marijuana, Hashish) Estimated Revenue in US: 10.5 billion-113 billion
-Opiates (Heroin, Opium) Estimated Revenue in US: $12 billion
-Stimulants (Cocaine, Amphetamines, Methamphetamines) Estimated Revenue in US: $60 Billion
-Club Drugs (MDMA, Roofies, GHB) Estimated Revenue in US: 10 Billion
-Hallucinogens (LSD, Peyote, Psilocybin) Estimated Revenue in US: 9 Billion
-Anabolic Steroids. Estimated Revenue in US: $20 million
Marijuana is one drug that is under a lot of controversy as it is decriminalized in a few states and is legal for medicinal uses in many states. If it was legalized and taxed the same as alcohol and cigarettes there would be massive gains as shown by Colorado earning $2 million in taxes from marijuana alone in the first month of it being illegalized so theoretically we could possibly gain $100 million a month over the whole country in taxes therefore improving our economy. Also, with legalization it would lower drug-related violence, especially with the cartel, the DEA could lower the amount of time and money they put in trying to control marijuana. They could also focus on more dangerous drugs and drugs that inspire aggression.
Economically, another problem with drugs is that the money is commonly transferred out of the US to other countries for the drugs causing there to be a loss of money in America. It can also cause tension with government...
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...ine piracy really cost the economy?." . http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/post/how-much-does-online-piracy-really-cost-the-economy/2012/01/05/gIQAXknNdP_blog.html (accessed May 19, 2014).
"Insurance Fraud Laws and Penalties | Criminal Law." CriminalDefenseLawyer.com. http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/crime-penalties/federal/Insurance-Fraud.htm (accessed May 19, 2014).
"Looks Too Good To be True - Types of Fraud." Looks Too Good To be True - Types of Fraud. http://www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com/fraud.aspx (accessed May 19, 2014).
FBI. "." FBI. http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2012/crime-in-the-u.s.-2012/property-crime/burglary (accessed May 19, 2014).
"Commonly Abused Drugs Chart." National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/commonly-abused-drugs/commonly-abused-drugs-chart (accessed May 19, 2014)
The Mexican drug cartels have been smuggling drugs across the boarder of Mexico to the United States of America for decades. The Mexican drug cartels are a drug smuggling criminal organization. In other words they run a narcotic drug business. * In my research, I will be discussing about the money being laundered by the Mexican drug cartels from the U.S. to Mexico. The cartels need to launder their money in order to be able to take their drug money back to their country of Mexico.
Marijuana is the dried flower clusters and leaves of the hemp plant when taken to induce euphoria. Marijuana has been in existence for centuries even Magellan spoke of it during his trip to India. In his log he spoke of a plant that you smoked that made a man drunk without drinking. Marijuana would be beneficial if legalized because it would bring in extra money, it has medical uses, hemp is one of the best materials in the world and on average it is healthier for you then beer or liquor.
Fraud, scams and cons are everywhere. They affect many people every day, making this a form of crime likely to affect most people, in some way, during their lifetime. The various types of scams and cons are staggering. A Google search for a list of frauds netted over 1,000 types of schemes, scams, frauds and cons. The simple truth is this: There are people out there with the desire and motive to profit from the misfortune and deception of others. They will use the methods they know to succeed (usually financially) and make a situation profitable for themselves. Some schemes are very simple, while others are incredibly complex; walking a fine line between legal and illegal. We will examine some of the various schemes and scams that have been used in the past and many of which are still used today.
Today, worldwide, there are several thousands of crimes being committed. Some don’t necessarily require a lethal weapon but are associated with various types of sophisticated fraud, this also known as a white-collar crime. These crimes involve a few different methods that take place within a business setting. While ethical business practices add money to the bottom line, unethical practices are ultimately leading to business failure and impacting the U.S. financially.
Marijuana or cannabis, according to the Federal Government is considered dangerous and addictive and is, therefore, placed on the controlled substance list as a schedule 1 drug, making its use and possession illegal, as well it is considered one of the worst drugs. Other more harmful drugs such as cocaine are considered schedule II drugs, so according to the U.S Government cocaine is considered less hazardous than marijuana. There have been many studies conducted by scientist proving the benefits of medical marijuana in relieving chronic pain, nausea and a full array of other ailments. The benefits of legalizing marijuana far outweigh the bad. By allowing people to possess and use marijuana for medicinal purposes, we are improving society as a whole and increasing the happiness or utility of individuals who are living with debilitating conditions in turn this would create a happier society all around.
The legalization of marijuana would let loose the floodgates of free enterprise allowing capitalism to generate marijuana distribution and manufacture corporations which will generate billions upon billions of dollars. Marijuana, if legalized, will almost certainly be taxed by the federal government, generating cash-flow while still keeping prices reasonable. The price of marijuana would also drop exponentially, because the dangers of smuggling and police raids will be eliminated. Legalized marijuana would likely to legal to grow as well, but require some sort of permit, or license to distribute. Just like any other...
People should stop arguing about the use of marijuana and how marijuana is bad, because people only like to research the cons instead of including the pros. Despite the fact that people believe everything they hear, they should look up more and try to see how good marijuana can be for them. Marijuana is good for their health, and it has helped to cure people who are very ill. Marijuana is less harmful than tobacco or alcohol, there has been studies proven that people have died over drinking other than by smoking marijuana. Marijuana will be able to have less people prosecuted for the possession of carrying it around, which will help people not get arrested for a small amount of marijuana.
Marijuana is the cause of much commotion and debating, as the question of legalization becomes more of an issue. Drugs are a major influential force in countries all over the world today. Legalization is an option that has not had a chance, but really should be given one. Although many people feel that legalizing marijuana would increase the amount of drug use, legalization would benefit for the following reasons: 1)reduction of money spent on law enforcement 2)increase in the countries revenue 3)lessen crime 4)useful in treating certain medical conditions.
One of the immediate favorable reasons for legalizing marijuana is the tax the government could place on it. A tax on legal marijuana could bring in millions of dollars in pure revenue. Just as legalizing weed could bring in money, it could also save money. Some of the money that goes into searching out for illegal weed would not have to be used. People who originally got weed illegally could then get it in completely legal ways.
The legalization of marijuana has the potential to bring our economy back to life if it were to be legalized. There are a number of ways in which legalization could improve the economy. We could use the revenue from taxes on marijuana to provide for a better quality of life for Americans in need. Legalizing marijuana would also save us money by cutting the cost of putting someone in jail for harmless marijuana related charges that waste tax money. Also it would put more money into circulation by keeping the profits off the black market and into the legal and taxed market. With an estimated twenty-five million active marijuana smokers in America that consume nearly thirty-one million pounds of marijuana each year, we are missing out on extreme revenue that this country cannot afford to go without for much longer (Krulick).
estimated 7 billion dollars earned in shadow market. This money is used for drugs, gangs, mafia,
Woda, K. (2006). Money laundering techniques with electronic payment systems. Information & Security International Journal, 18, 27–47.
Marijuana can be used as a source of income for our society. Each state that has legalized marijuana for recreational uses has increased revenue from taxing the product itself. The first state to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes, Colorado, has grossed almost 40 million dollars in tax revenue for that
As mentioned earlier money laundering is the process of hiding profits from illegal criminal activities. The major goal of these criminal activities is to make as large of a profit as possible. The money laundering process is very important to these criminals because it allows them to enjoy their profits without revealing the source. When one of these activities generates large profits, the group involved must find a way to disguise the funds without attracting attention towards themselves. The way they accomplish this is by moving the funds to an indiscrete place where they are less likely to attract lots of attention. This allows the group to keep the source of the profits hidden so that it is always available to them. Money laundering is usually done in countries in which they have few or very weak laws ...
Black markets hurt governments, legal sellers, and buyers. One of the most common causes and also one of the most hurt is the taxation system of the country that the black market operated in. Black markets are non-taxable and thus the government loses valuable taxes from the illegal gains. Black markets “account for a significant portion of GDP (gross domestic product) in many countries” and it is estimated that the size of the United States’ black markets to be almost 8-10% of the gross domestic product of the United States. Not only do black markets damage the economic stability of the countries they operate, they also hurt the legally acquired economic gains of competing marketplace sellers. Legal sellers cannot compete with the prices or products of black markets and thus they lose gains that could be made without the o...