A Supply Factor Affecting The Demand Of Cocaine

Thus, no matter what quantity (usage of drugs) will go down (Q2). The direction in which the price moves depends on which shift is larger. It has been shown that price will most likely go up; the reason for this is because law enforcement often goes after the suppliers with more effort than they go after the buyers because it has a greater deterrent effect because it is harder to sell than buy (Hellman and Alper). Also the punishments for sellers are much worse than for buyers. Therefore, the leftward shift of the supply schedule (S2), caused by the decrease in supply, is much larger than the shift in the demand schedule (D2); this causes a larger decrease in supply than in demand (area between S1 and S2 is larger) which then causes the increase in price from P1 to P2 (Graph A) (Miller). The increase in helps explain why drug offenders commit more property crime when drugs are illegal. Most property crimes are committed for financial motives; it is then safe to assume that drug offenders steal the property for money to buy drugs and to pay off all of the costs mentioned above. Violent crime can be explained through the use of drug selling gangs. The gangs fight over selling territory. The gang leaders can be seen as entrepreneurs and it is in their best interest to maximize profit. To do this they must lower competition and fight rival gangs to drive them out of their

Though, it was used mainly by criminals. During WWII experiments were being done with hemp, in the 1960’s is when the real takeoff with production began resulting from the demand from the United States. In the 1970’s when the United States tightened up border patrol from the U.S. and Mexico is when Colombia became the number one producer of marijuana. More then 70% of all marijuana in the U.S was coming from Colombia in the 1980’s. More than 30,000 farmers made a living growing and selling marijuana while over another 50,000 Colombians made a living by picking, transporting and guarding the marijuana. The sell and growth of marijuana was a new wealth for the population, providing income and economic stability. As a result of Colombians growing marijuana, there became a decrease in local food production which raised the cost of food. Before long, the mafia bought all the airlines, hotels, banks and casinos to use for laundering illicit profits. In the 1960’s, cocaine smuggling networks were coming together. The drugs were being carried by individuals or “mules” a few kilograms at a time using the commercial airlines. As the demand for cocaine increased in the U.S., Colombians had to start refining cocain in kitchen laboratories. As other countries continued to chase after “chemist” and prosecute them, the Colombian government did not have any drug enforcement, which led other “chemist” to Colombia.

While the United States and Europe are the main importers of cocaine, the main exporters of cocaine are found in Latin America. Latin America has among one of the most impacted nations involved in narco-terrorism. In Latin America, cocaine is known as the “atomic bomb”. The most impacted countries of narco-terrorism are Columbia, Mexico, and Peru.

1. At about what periods in history did cocaine reach its first and second peaks of popularity, and when was amphetamine’s popularity at its highest? Cocaine -late 19th century and early 20th amphetamine- 1960s (Hart & Ksir, p. 125)

The coca leaves used to make cocaine has played a large part in our history. However, crack cocaine was not synthesized until the 1970s when cocaine was very popular. Then came a source of a new drug, crack cocaine which swept the nation of America. Due to an immense influx of cocaine, the value decreased predominantly, though it was still considered a drug for the high class. So when crack hit, mainly in the inner cities, it took a drastic turn for the

This paper aims will provide a concise history of drugs deriving from the erythroxylum coca plant and the sociological impact powder and crack cocaine legislation in the American justice system.

The “War On Drugs” and Anti Drug Abuse Act of 1986 required aggressive enforcement. One method is the use of undercover police to enforce these laws. Three factors can jeopardize a dealer’s income: 1) Nonpayment, 2) other dealers encroaching on territories; turf wars and the biggest factor 3) being caught by the police. A method that crack cocaine dealers used to protect these three factors was the use and possession of guns. In the 1980s and 1990’s guns were as plentiful as illegal drugs. The U.S. Department of Justice in a manual of “Promising Strategies To Reduce Gun Violence” cites that “those who are most likely to possess

When considering the socio economic status of all parties involved in the handling and distribution of drugs it becomes clear which group can be more easily targeted for crimes. According to Officer Moldes of the Austin, Texas Police Department, we can break down the distribution chain of cocaine into three main groups, the traffickers, distributors, and dealers. Traffickers are the wealthiest within the chain and purchase the product in pure form, powder cocaine. This group is the least suspicious, usually college educated and from a wealthy upbringing; typically Caucasian, and

Supply and demand lies in the heart and soul of economics. The concept is perhaps the single most driving force in an economy, specifically a capitalist economy. Supply and demand is based on two concepts: The law of demand and the law of supply. The law of demand states that the demand of a product rises as its price falls, therefore the demand of a product falls as its price rises. A good example of this occurs in grocery stores. If the price of a case of Coca-cola drops from $6.99 to $2.99 the demand for the product will rise because more people are willing to pay $2.99 rather than $6.99. Not only will typical consumer of Coca-cola purchase more but consumers who are not normally willing to pay $6.99 will make the purchase. Substitution also plays a role in the equation. Substitution occurs when consumers substitute one good for another based on price levels. In the Coca-cola scenario, some Pepsi drinkers will purchase the Coca-cola given the case of Pepsi is price higher.

Furthermore, the data from Figures 1 and 2 on drug arrests and government expenditure on prosecution shows that there seems to be significant heightened drug enforcement over the years. According to this data, from 1981 to 2007 there is a significant increase in both the number of drug arrests and the amount of money that the government decided to spend on drug enforcement. However, in order to deduce the effects of 9/11 on drug enforcement, it is necessary to examine and compare data in the years before and after 2001. The arrest rate in 2000 was 559.71, while the arrest rate in 2005 was 622.68. This indicates that over the course of five years, the number of arrests for possession of narcotics increased by almost six million. Likewise, the

This refers to the elimination of drug crops while they are still being grown. The U.S. has used this policy in several South American countries as a means to limit drug trafficking before it has a chance to develop. However, significantly reducing crops has not always led to decreasing drug trafficking. Reduction of drug crops in one country may lead to increased production in another. This is likely to happen when one country becomes the focus of an eradication effort, while another country can increase its production to fill in the void. If there is one thing that the world market can produce, it is its high demand of illegal drugs. The Drug Policy Alliance gives cites a specific instance verifying the problems that can be associated with eradication procedures. During the mid 1990s, “eradication efforts in Bolivia and Peru created incentives to grow coca in Columbia. While Peru experienced a 66% reduction in coca cultivation and Bolivia experienced a 53% reduction, coca cultivation in Columbia doubled. In addition, more potent strains of coca have been developed, leading to higher yielding coca crops.” This example shows the adverse effects of the policy of eradication.

Nowadays, when someone thinks of Colombia, they unfortunately almost always think of two things, coffee and cocaine (with its associated guerilla warfare). It is true that during the last 50 years these two products, one legal, and the other not, have been great monetary contributors to the Colombian economy. Coffee is Colombia’s principal agricultural product, and it is also the country’s second largest export. The production of coffee uses 300,000 farms and employs almost one million people (Steiner 6). Conversely, cocaine is a completely illegal product, but it earns almost twice as much money as coffee (Steiner 6). Also, in contrast with the production of coffee, cocaine uses fewer employees but earns

The most important factor for the spread of crack and heroin is that when opiates and cocaine are illegal, low potency versions of these drugs become extensively expensive. Thus, consumers are induced to switch to more intensive and more harmful drug forms and delivery systems. Absent the incentives created by current policy, consumers will revert to the modes of consumption that are less damaging.

According to Michelle Alexander, why and how has the “war on drugs” developed over the last 40 years? What are the main political and economic factors that led to the war on drugs, and what are the main political and economic factors that shaped it as it developed over the last four decades? Draw on material from the Foner textbook chapters 25 through 28 to supplement Alexander’s discussion of the political and economic context.

The “degree of access” is the single most important factor in drug use because the less access people have to drugs, the less opportunities there is for usage (Abadinsky, 2014). If the amount of drugs available were to decrease due to successful law enforcement efforts, which should cause an increase in price of drugs and decrease in quality (Abadinsky, 2014). Once a drug becomes less pure and unaffordable it can turn away buyers because he or she does not want to waste money on a low quality product (Abadinsky, 2014). “The abuser will supposedly switch to a more readily available chemical– perhaps alcohol—or abandon drug use completely” (Abadinsky, 2014, p. 285). That is why the less access one has to drugs is important because it can eliminate