Drug Trafficking And The United States Essay

In the past forty years, the United States has spent over $2.5 trillion dollars funding enforcement and prevention in the fight against drug use in America (Suddath). Despite the efforts made towards cracking down on drug smugglers, growers, and suppliers, statistics show that addiction rates have remained unchanged and the number of people using illegal drugs is increasing daily (Sledge). Regardless of attempts to stem the supply of drugs, the measure and quality of drugs goes up while the price goes down (Koebler). Now with the world’s highest incarceration rates and greatest illegal drug consumption (Sledge), the United States proves that the “war on drugs” is a war that is not being won.

Drug trafficking in the United States has established itself to be one of the most profitable businesses in today’s world (U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, 2004). There is such a high demand as more people buy, use and sell drugs for a variety of reasons, not really knowing all the risk that are at stake. With new laws in affect and more determined citizens of the U.S. everyone can help keep the streets clean. Drug trafficking is at an all-time high and must be brought to a halt.

“According to a new study released by the World Health Organization, the U.S leads the world and takes the gold for the use of tobacco, pot, and cocaine, far outpacing other countries”(US Ranks #1). According to an article on alternet.org America abuses drugs worse than any other country. It is no secret that the United States’ economy is nearing an all time low. With the economy being nearly as bad as ever in the history of our country it is very concerning that our drug use is at an all time high. If a large percentage of United States citizens do not have jobs, cannot afford food, clothes, shelter, and the government is providing money for these people, where is the

“The Global Commission on Drug Policy stated that between 1998 and 2008, global use of opiates increased 34.5 percent, cocaine 27 percent, and cannabis 8.5 percent.” The government is not helping fight drugs but instead put more people in prison. In 1980, 500,000 people were incarcerated in America. At the end of 2009, the number increased to 2.3 million. If the number of people on probation and parole are included, the figure totals 7.2 million people. In 2011, 50.8 percent of Federal inmates are incarcerated for drug offenses. “This compares to just 4.2 percent for robbery, 2.7 percent for homicide/assault/kidnapping, and 4.7 percent for sex offenses."(Li).

Every Year millions of immigrants get deported back to their countries.They try to come to the US to have a better life and have a great job.We can't judge other people.

Drug trafficking is a major problem in the United States. When this trade reaches third world countries, it usually spreads incredibly fast and law enforcement is more easily corrupted. It is the illegal trade involving cultivation, manufacture, distribution, and the sale of substances which are illegal under the law. The drug trade is estimated to bring in more than $100 billion every year from the U.S. The number of global deaths each year due to illegal drugs is over 200,000.

This paper explains the consequences that drug traffickers face in today’s criminal justice system; those consequences being classed as controlled substances, federal trafficking sentences, offender and offense characteristics, and the effects of illegal drug trade on society. When the federal government labels a substance as controlled, this means the possession and distribution of these substances are governed by law. These laws are formulated in accordance with 21 U.S. Code § 811 – 814 - Authority to Control; Standards and Schedules. Both federal and state laws come into play on drug trafficking cases. There are a great deal of federal drug law in addition to each state having its own drug laws. Policymakers generally pass these laws to discourage drug cartels but it is often the street dealers that are prosecuted. “There were 80,035 cases reported the United States Sentencing Commission in fiscal year 2013. Of these cases 22,215 involved drug trafficking (U.S. Sentencing Commission 2014).” As seen in recent years, the division of government administrations and departments over how the ‘War on Drugs’ should be conducted, has divided society all because of drug trafficking. Although the trafficking of drugs degrades local, state, and federal economies, drug trafficking also reduces health for those that use and are in close contact with individuals both physically and psychologically. The penalties for drug trafficking are categorized and divided into many areas but not

International drug trafficking cause a MULTITUDE of problems for many people. When a person overdoses from drugs, it doesn't just stop there, this person might have been a dad for example. This child could find themselves in foster care, run away and start drugs themselves, causing the whole problem with their father to start again on them. Drug trafficking can also force harder measures for immigrants; with all of the trafficking going on, more suspicion is brought back. It make it that much harder for immigrants to get into the country that they desire, like the U.S., and they might truly need the help. It is so difficult for authorities to try to dismantle drug trafficking because every where you go, drugs seem to pop up. Anyone can have

A huge international threat to the United States comes from down South in the form of Mexican drug trafficking. This issue is quietly growing more and more dangerous and is prompting policymakers and leaders in Mexico and the U.S. scrambling for a solution. While there are a handful of potential actions to be taken to make headway on the issue, The best way for to address this “drug war” is to decriminalize drugs in the United States, thereby eliminating the market for cartels while simultaneously generating profit and many other benefits for the U.S.

Drug trafficking has played a huge role on many people's lives. It is believed to be stimulated by their environments, peers, upbringings and psychological factors.

The government's point of view, according to the recent Gallup Poll, almost one-half of Americans report that either they, someone in their family, or a close friend has used illegal drugs. Twenty-eight percent of the one half characterized the drug use as moderate, while twenty-nine percent described it as a serious addiction. More than half of those who reported knowing someone with a moderate or serious drug problem were living in a household with incomes of $35,000 or more and almost all were white. The drugs are not a problem to just the inner city kids, it effects the poor, rich, suburban, and most

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.

In 2009 alone, the United States Customs and Border Protection seized 135,943 pounds of cocaine, 2,015 pounds of heroin, 4,330,475 pounds of marijuana and 6,135 pounds of methamphetamines. That is all the drugs that were intercepted; there are much more that get through the borders into the United States. Although the amount of marijuana is large, the United States is the largest consumer of cocaine which is illegally transported from Colombia through Mexico and the Caribbean. The illegal trafficking of drugs into the United States has causes many problems such as turf wars, gun wars, police conflict and civilian retaliation. In Florida, twenty-six people were indicted during a gang turf war and illicit drug dealing that resulted in the death

“The mexican drug war left more than 60,000 people dead and threatened to destroy the entire country.” Drugs have been a big thing in countries across Latin America for many years. One of the most popular drugs there is Cocaine. Many people believe that Latin America is drug populated. These people are right. Latin American countries like Mexico, Peru, and Columbia are three of the most drug populated countries in the world. Although some people may say that’s only three countries, but in reality those countries are large countries.

Drug abuse is a disease where people compulsively seek and use drugs knowing the harmful consequences (Nida, 2017). Most of America's top social problems relate to or are impacted by drug abuse: drugged driving, child abuse, violence, and stress. Drugs take an immense toll on our society at many different levels. This includes health care expenditures, lost earnings, and costs associated with crime and accidents (Nida, 2017). For example, according to NIDA(National Institute On Drug Abuse) Illicit drugs alone cost the U.S. $11billion alone in health care costs, illicit drug users are more likely to miss days at work leading to loss of wages, and 60% of adults are in prison for drug related crimes (Nida, 2017). Everyone is affected by drug