Drug Wars and Coffee Houses Paper

The Goldstein tripartite was created to show three types of drug related violence. “Goldstein…explained that, substance abuse leads to crime, via his popular tripartite conceptual framework… psychopharmacological model, economic compulsive model, and systemic violence model” (Sarker, S.K., & Faller, E.M., 2016). They are systemic violence, pharamacological violence, and economically compulsive violence. Systemic violence is when violence occurs between the seller and the buyer. “…violent acts that …exist within a network of illicit drug trafficking and distribution” (Levinthal, C.F., 2012), p.93. This behavior is normal in the drug world. Some systemic violence are disputes between dealers, dealers being robbed, removal of snitches, and collecting

“Drug policy regarding the control of the traditional illicit substances (opiates, cocaine, cannabis) is currently moving through upbeat times in almost all Western countries. Prohibition on the basis of repressive law enforcement not only seems to fail on a large scale, but also to create vast additional costs, problems, and harm for drug consumers, who often find themselves in extreme social, economic, and health conditions” (Fischer 1995: 389).

Drug Cartels are large highly sophisticated organizations composed of multiple Drug Trafficking Organizations-DTOs and cells with specific assignments such as drug transportation or security. The Cartel is the highest on the drug ring chart and these organizations are highly defined with control structures that produce, transport, and distribute large quantities of illicit drugs (US Drug Enforcement Agency, 2004). The criminal groups operating in the U.S. controls drugs in the ranges of small to moderately size groups. The top three levels of the drug trafficking chart show how organized the criminals are and how much is at stake. The trafficking ring has affected so many lives, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). These trafficked drugs affect people on every socio-economic background, region, and people with any level education. Early use of illicit drugs leads to unhealthy behavior and it is also associated with unwanted pregnancy and premature sexual activity which results in exposure to STDs and or HIV. The U.S. suffers an annual loss of about 70 billion dollars due to

Some people believe the drug war is too harsh and needs a new system for stopping the transportation and recreational use of drugs(becker and Murphy C.1). While the current government's method has more of a no tolerance view that most find to be the only way to stop these crimes(becker and murphy C.1).

Social conflicts and struggles are an inevitable part of any society in any country. These struggles can include an increased rate in crime, unemployment, domestic/general violence, and overall civilian depression. When governments cannot seem to find a means to an end, they often turn and look for something to blame for their struggles, and that thing is more often than not, drugs. For many years, several opiates and drugs were primarily used for medicinal purposes, were seen to have an abundance of health benefits and was widely accepted among communities. Although, with the increasing social conflicts and economic conditions, authorities turned to and targeted many different forms of once accepted drugs, and made them the scapegoat for the problems they were facing.

Substance abuse and consumption have become an epidemic in America. The use of drugs results in countless drug-related deaths and causes states to spend billions of dollars to combat drug trafficking. Drugs are shipped in by sea, air, automobile, and even smuggled in by person. These drugs are supplied by drug cartels. These criminal organizations where formed to promote, control, produce, and distribute narcotic drugs. While these cartels operate from all parts of the world, some of the most infamous are the Mexican and Columbian Cartels. America has put policies into combating drug trafficking, however these policies are not

A journal article written by Luis Astorga and David A. Shirk, dives head first into the Mexican

There always seems to be debate on whether the decriminalization of drugs would be of great public interest. It is a very important and controversial issue that has many people wondering if legalizing drugs would be a right move or not. In the article, “Decriminalization Would Increase The Use and The Economic and Social Costs of Drugs” by David Mineta, Mineta argues about why drugs should not be decriminalized and how keeping illicit drugs illegal outweigh the possible negative consequences of legalizing these substances. Mineta himself writes that, “Our position is simple and evidence-based: both decriminalization and legalization of illicit drugs would increase their use, along with their associated health and social costs” (Americas Quarterly). According to Mineta the decriminalization of drugs will only allow more people to become addicted causing more health and social costs because seen as they will be more widely used. (Americas Quarterly)

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 Drug war in Mexico and Colombia has persisted for decades and will continue to do so if we don’t change our plan of action. Colombia notoriously was and still continues to be a major drug producer, exporting a large percentage of its drugs to the U.S and neighboring Latin America. Analysts predict that Mexico is soon becoming the next Colombia of the 1960-1990 era and has the potential to surpass Colombia in terms of producing, selling and distributing drugs both domestically and internationally. There have been numerous strategies to detain and halt the production, and flow of drugs altogether, yet it seems like they are inefficient and incapable of doing away with this problem. Some governments have sought to increase legislative and

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.

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.

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.

When I first had any thoughts about the war on drugs I believed that this issue had nearly been completely eradicated due to the tireless efforts of law enforcement. One of my preconceived ideas was that the individuals involved in this trade lacked any autonomy of what they were doing to their societies. But one thing that I never doubted was that those in charge of these drug-dealings were cunning and calculated people. Through applying various sociological concepts such as; the influence of race, ethnicity, bureaucracies, among other sociological ideas one can see that there is more to the war on drugs than people selling narcotics and people buying narcotics. An important sociological term to familiarize oneself with to understand this

The so-called “War on Drugs,” as declared by the Nixon administration in the signing of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, marked the beginning of the current era of mandatory minimum sentencing, racism, privatized prisons, and a powerful constituency that profits as a result of the prohibition of drugs. Psychoactive substances have been apart of the human experience as long as humans have walked the earth. There is little hope that drug production will ever be curtailed, so long as there is a demand; a demand that has remained steady even though it has been forty years since the beginning of said war. As Judge James P. Gray from the Superior Court of Orange County has so plainly put it: “Where did this policy