Illegal Drug Trafficking in the USA - Essay Example

Unit Campaign against Drugs Drug trafficking is illegal in many countries. US government has taken several initiatives to prevent and regulate drug use among her citizens. Illegal use of drugs is common especially among the youth from the poor urban communities. New strategies are required in the new drug “czar” to campaign against the drugs in US. The current criminal records are drug related which implies that criminal behaviors are curbed only if drug trafficking is curbed. Due to the need to reduced and finally curb the drug abuse, the president selected a panel to identify the strategies that would help reduce drug dealing that is expanding in the United States. This article will analyze the various strategies proposed by drug control experts at the opening of the hearing. First suggestion: Hiring new enforcement agents The panel experts suggested that money be used in hiring new law enforcement agents who will patrol the country’s boarders targeting large drug dealers and making drug raids here and abroad. This policy will demand new tough measures like mandatory waiver of drug dealers to the adult court system, strict punishment for drug possession and sale as well as imposing death penalty on for drug related gang killings. The police executives need to know that they can make more arrests than prosecutors can prosecute. However, arresting remains the most effective way of keeping drug traffickers afraid of the police arrests (Taylor, 40). More money should be channeled to the police departments and particularly to the anti-narcotic unit. The money will be used in establishing special drug forces that will particularly deal with the threatening drug market. These operators will perform the role of patrolling within the country borders and in the country. The officers will patrol all the drug prone areas like the poor cities. Patrolling will also involve police check on those goods brought into the country and on the goods exported. This will limit the imports and exports thus reducing illegal drug trade. Increasing the money spent on drug trafficking is because few resources tend to limit the operations of the narcotic enforcement. Success in the patrolling operations depends on the amount of resources channeled by the government into the narcotic unit (Taylor, 310). Narcotics law enforcers need to be empowered to become expressive in law enforcement. The worse situation of drug trafficking that exist in the country needs more resources to be devoted in the sector. These resources include more employees’ operational tasks that will deal with the street dealers. The employees seeking to curb drug use should not be responsible for the outcomes that go beyond their control. The courts systems, on the other hand, need to provide corrections systems that support the police strategies; the strategies should aim at bringing the drug trafficking into control through the mechanisms of deterrence and incapacitation. Police direct involvement in the deterrence and incapacitation of drug criminals will result to the creation of hostile environments that will bring a hostile norm towards drug use. Another important strategy that should be applied by the narcotic department is to find and arrest big drug criminals. These significant drug criminals consist of a lot of information concerning the drug big deals, evidence purchases, and plans of the drug traffickers. Arrests of big criminals is more important compared to the arrest of small drug dealers and users. The big drug dealers are the major sources of the drug problem. Their arrest, therefore, is a milestone to the law enforcement officers. The court justice system should support these arrests by enforcing punishments that result satisfaction of the law enforces. Gangs related to drug abuse should be given capital punishments. Death penalty, life imprisonment and other reasonable punishment will result in a reduction of drug dealing since the criminals will become alarmed on the punishments they will face if found handling illegal drugs (Peterson,20). Second suggestion: Treatment of addicts and research on the ways of reducing drug dependency clinically The current clinical approach aimed at reducing drug use is drug testing. Drug testing targets students, sports people, and common people. The approach reduces drug use among students because many schools have set measures that discourage drug use among students. The measures set by schools include suspensions and expulsions to those students who test positively. This policy prevents drug use as well as provides room for administration to help the students affected by drug use. Other than students, general people in the airports or transportation workers and other workers in the US need to be subjected to drug test. Health interventions are necessary to support the youth affected by drugs. US have very high drug users with about 19.7 million having used the drug at least once in their lifetime. Drugs are a threat to a person’s health thus; many health interventions and researches have been carried to promote medical help to drug victims and to prevent further use of drugs. Research shows that people using drugs suffer health problems throughout their lifetime. A Research on effects of the use of marijuana on adolescent shows that drugs creates a dependency syndrome. These findings show that marijuana has a biological effect on the individual adolescent and can persist up to adulthood. The research findings are helpful in suggesting the strategies that will help prevent future drug use by the individuals. Most drug use by adults result from the exposure of drugs that a person experienced during his /her childhood. Solutions to the current drug abuse are found in analyzing a person’s drug history. Health practitioners especially those dealing with drug abuse need to recognize that a person taking drugs do not intend to become addicts and that the addiction results from a person’s biological changes that occur when a person undergoes a single exposure to some highly addictive drugs. The panel recognizes the existing drug health strategies as effective on helping the addicts overcome their addiction. However, the existing medical treatments are not enough to counter the growing abuse of drugs. Advocates of this approach suggest a new public health program that will intervene with the full spectrum of the drug users in all levels. This approach will target all the drug users irrespective of whether they know that they need help or not. Research shows that many American drug users who need help are not aware that they actually need help and may end up rejecting any health intervention. In order to support drug victims, the state needs to cooperate with the health practitioners and professionals in identifying and helping these people. The panelists suggest an expansion on the existing treatment options. The administration need to make sure that there is full Access to Recovery Program (ATR) that is key to innovations in drug recovery sector. The program should include provision of treatment vouchers to the clients as well as expanding treatments beyond clinical to faith based procedures. The expansion should be client based to allow the client feel comfortable with the selected procedure. Third suggestion: Education based strategy The panelists who supported education based drug control argued that preventing drug abuse is better than curing addicts and that education on the key effects of drug abuse will help reduce drug abuse. They suggest that the people should be reached before they become addicts and even if they are already addicted, they need information bon the available services offered in their support. Drug users can easily change their behaviors before they become addicted to the drugs. The panelists, therefore, recommend that the youth abusing drugs do so because they did were not educated on the negative effects of drugs during their childhood. Youth abuse of the drug is also attributed to the child delinquency that is common among the poor families that face abject poverty and lack of education and schoolings. The young people are prone to drug abuse in America due to the popular culture that promotes drug abuse. This culture involves watching movies, listening to music and even watching popular stars glorifying the drug abuse. Peer pressure is an important factor that promotes drug abuse among the adolescents and needs to be considered. In order to prevent the youth from abuse of drugs, more education strategies that would warn children about the grave dangers associated with drug abuse should develop. Researches show that the drug abuse correlate with lack of information on the harmful effect of drugs. Education on issues related to drug abuse, as well as criminal acts, should take place beyond the school set up. The government has to apply the use of media to curb the use of drugs. Film, movies, and music that glorify drug use need to be censored. Parents, schools, and coaches among other important people in the lives of adolescents need consistently educate them about the benefits of abstaining from drugs. The administration, on the other hand, must, support the parents and teachers in educating their children against drug abuse through supporting community based education programs. The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign needs to clarify issues concerning drug use. In a study conducted by anti-drug dealers, many youths argued that they received mixed messages on the use of drugs like marijuana. The youths in America tend to receive drug abuse supporting messages than the anti-drug messages (Krauss and Lazear 94). Young people need care, support and education that will allow them achieve their potential thus avoid issues like frustrations and low self-esteem. Providing the youth with education will help them achieve their dreams and live a happy life. Education also helps the youth overcome poverty. Poverty is a great factor that contributes to drug abuse. Most of the youths abusing drugs come from the poor urban dwellings. This youth uses drugs to hide their frustrations in life and as a way of earning their living. The administration should heavily tax drugs and use the income gained from drugs in providing public education. Education provided will not only help in discouraging drugs but also reduce crime rates and violence among drug users (Siegel and Welsh, 40). Proposed strategy The best approach to curb drug abuse is provision of information to the public. Educating the youth and the public is the best method to handle drug issues. This is because people react positively when persuasion and knowledge are applied compared to the use of force or compulsion. Information is power and informed individuals are able to make sound decisions. Education strategies should take three quarter of the allocated funds while the rest is used on campaigns and crusades against drug abuse (Inciardi 201). The money allocated on educating the public on the negative effects of drug abuse will facilitate the recruiting of individuals from respective regions, cater for their training, and promote their education activities. Public education requires brochures ant teaching aids for the educators. The educated youth need to be given brochures so that they can refer to it anytime they need clarity of certain information related to drug abuse. Among the students, peer educators and peer counselors groups or initiatives should be developed to allow the youth share information with their peers. Training of peer educators will require money; this indicates that more money needs to be allocated to school to promote peer education strategies. Conclusively, drug abuse is a challenge that affects the youth worldwide. Suggestions on the best strategies to regulate the use of drugs have arisen. Many criminal cases come because of drug abuse that influences the biological and psychological functioning of an individual. Use of the police force and medical interventions is an effective way of regulating drug use. However, education is the most effective way of preventing drug abuse among the youth. Works cited Bewley-Taylor, David R. International Drug Control: Consensus Fractured. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. Print. Bewley-Taylor, David R. The United States and International Drug Control, 1909-1997. London: Continuum, 2001. Print. Inciardi, James A. Handbook of Drug Control in the United States. New York: Greenwood Press, 1990. Print. Krauss, Melvyn B, and Edward P. Lazear. Searching for Alternatives: Drug-control Policy in the United States. Stanford, Calif: Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University, 1991. Print. Peterson, Rebecca. Understanding contemporary Gangs in America: An Interdisciplinary Approach, new Jersey: prentice Hall, 2004.print. Siegel, Larry, and Welsh Brandon. Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Practice and law. 11th edition. Belmon,CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, Inc. Read More