Combating Drugs - Essay Example

Drug Trafficking is a serious problem in America and many are affected by its presence.  The main groups of people in society that are under the biggest threat are our youth.  The main way to combat this crime is in starting in what area at a time, minimizing it, and gaining some control over it.  Once the youth are made aware of how serious drug trafficking is and what the consequences will be for becoming involved in it then there will be a better possibility of reducing it in this initial area and then moving on to larger problems found to be associated with it.  This is what this literature plans to discuss and will show using factual research and reports from the White House’s National Strategies on drug trafficking.

Drug Trafficking depicts the illegal activities of drugs being distributed throughout the world.  It is a criminal occurrence and has created widespread alarm in many parts of other countries but particularly in the United States.  In the 1960s the main area of concern was in the trafficking of heroin and its subsequent abuse.  Also at this time, there were other illegal drug activities going on, specifically with drugs that were considered to be recreational and psychoanalytical but which posed just as serious a problem as the harder drugs such as heroin, and cocaine.  The milder drugs like marijuana were also rampant and being elicited and distributed by many drug dealers and those smuggling it over the border. 

Because of past concerns and the current problems in law enforcement attempts to curtail the illegal distribution of these heavier drugs, there have been several policies established and strategies developed in order to gain a tighter reign on criminal drug cases involving the trafficking of them.  The Bush Administration has set aside funding for cracking down on drug abuse and the trafficking associated with it.  There have been monetary funding programs in areas such as Education and Community Action, Mental Health Service organizations, Drug Courts and Justice Programs, Drug Enforcement Administration, Drug Enforcement task forces, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (White House Drug Policy 2005).  There have been other government agencies that have received funding as well but the ones listed are the most proficient on controlling illegal drug use. 

The 2003 National Drug strategy campaign has been one of the largest initiatives by the government to dissuade the youth from becoming associative with drug trafficking and drug usage.  It is believed that by educating the youth about the consequences of drugs, they will be deterred from it and drug sellers and traffickers will be less able to sell to the youth therefore their capabilities to distribute illegal drugs will be minimized in this category (National Drug Control Strategy 2003).

Drug prevention programs seem to be very effective in bringing knowledge to the youth on what they can expect if they fall into the trap of drugs and selling them.  These programs make it clear that the misinformation that has been handed to the youth by drug sellers indicating that it is a simple teenage fad and it is ok to experiment with drugs during the teenage years has been substantially dispelled so that young people have a clearer interpretation of what is truth and what is a lie concerning drugs.  This has been very effective in decreasing the amount of drug trafficking around the youth population although there still exists a number of concerns. 

What has come into existence in the educational system now is a program that legally can test teenagers who are suspected of having a drug problem. The main goal of this program is not to punish the youth who are found to be associated with a form of drug use but rather to get them into proper treatment facilities where they can be rehabilitated and properly counseled as to the outcome they will ascertain if they continue in their illegal activities.  This isn’t to say that the youth won’t have consequences if they are found to be involved with drugs because they definitely will but the main issue is to deter them from it early on to prevent further occurrences later in life with stiffer penalties.

I personally feel that by working with the youth instead of those already in adulthood; it will be far more effective in getting control over the drug problem in America.  Young people learn at an early age and are more willing to listen and accept guidance than a person already established in life and use to doing what they want.  Drug trafficking can definitely start being reduced if there is more of a focus, by the many programs, to dissuade our youth from succumbing to the lies of drug dealers.  Once the majority of teenagers are diverted from wanting to have any contact with drug usage and the eliciting of it, then more attention can focus on other problematic areas and get them contained and minimized as well.

In conclusion, because drug trafficking is such a serious problem it's going to take a significant amount of time to see higher decreases in its activity but by focusing on one certain area at a time it can be done.  Our youth should be the main concern because they are a primary target of drug traffickers.