Drug Trafficking in the United States - Research Paper Example

Drug Trafficking In the United States Introduction The drug availability in the United States is on the increase and is one of the most hotly debated topics in the public as well as private circles. This debate has particularly been fuelled by the increase in the number of drug cartels in the U.S. In fact, Mexico accounts for more of these cartels than any other country does (Longmire, 2011). Besides the illegal drug use, there has also been a reported increase in the abuse of controlled prescription drugs according to the National Drug Threat Assessment 2011 report. The effects of drug trafficking and abuse in the U.S cut across the society, not to mention the economic losses, which are rarely emphasized similarly to the social implications. The National Drug Threat Assessment 2011 Report also indicated that Mexican cartels remained the biggest threat as far as drug trafficking and distribution is concerned, and they are found operating in every region, city, and suburban area of the country. These cartels do not only operate in the streets, but they have also upped their game inside schools, colleges, offices, and U.S prisons. Just like drug-related violence, disorderliness, and crimes, which are on the increase, there have been greater levels of heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine trafficking and use across the U.S/Mexico border (Longmire, 2011). This paper explores drug trafficking in the United States discussing the drug cartels, their countries of origin, their entry routes, distributors, and target markets. Drug Trafficking in the United States The United States’ drug market is perhaps the most profitable and lucrative in the world. That is the reason why it attracts the most belligerent, callous, and intricate traffickers, distributors, and dealers. Dealing with these ruthless traffickers is, thus, one among the many challenges that the U.S government, through its various drug law enforcement agencies such as the DEA, faces. The sophistication and the aggression with which these ruthless drug traffickers execute their operations and evade law enforcers, thus, hinder the efforts of the U.S drug agencies aimed at reducing drug trafficking into and within the U.S, more so border protection operations. The large volumes of people and cargo that enter the United States through commercial and private flights, express cargo carriers, vehicles, and passenger ships pose serious impediments to the war against drug trafficking into and within the United States (Cratty, 2010). It is through these movements into the U.S that shipments of drugs such as methamphetamine, marijuana, MDMA (3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), cocaine, and heroin find their way into the country. Once these drugs find their way into the United States, distributing them in the neighborhoods is not a difficult task for the local drug lords, criminal gangs, and drug distributors/peddlers. The distribution of drugs trafficked into the U.S involves a great and diverse number of groups and individuals, further making it more difficult for drug enforcement agencies to track them down. The first groups in the drug trafficking chain are the drug groups/cartels and drug lords from South America who smuggle their merchandise, such as cocaine and heroin, into the U.S through Mexican land routes, Mexican western coast and east maritime routes, Caribbean sea routes, and international airports/corridors among others (Youngers & Rosin, 2004). Besides the drug lords and groups, there are criminal gangs operating in Mexico who smuggle drugs into the U.S on behalf of the drug lords/cartels, particularly through the Southwest Border (Youngers & Rosin, 2004). In fact, drug routes have also been expanded even into the eastern parts of the U.S where drug markets have considerably expanded in recent times. In fact, the U.S drug market has become so lucrative that drug syndicates from as far as Russia, Western Europe, and Israel have ventured to ply their trade in the U.S. Predominantly trafficked from Western Europe is MDMA, popularly referred to as "Ecstasy" in the streets, which majorly originates from Western Europe. The main vessels through which MDMA is trafficked into the U.S are commercial carriers/express package. In U.S cities, such as New York, there are well established Southeast and Southwest Asian criminal groups who distribute drugs to the eastern parts of the country. In addition to the foreign-based criminal gangs, there are domestic organizations that grow, produce, manufacture, and distribute illegal substances such as phencyclidine (PCP), methamphetamine, marijuana, and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) (Cratty, 2010). Notorious among these domestic drug traffickers are the growers of marijuana of a quality high enough to compete favorably with other quality imported illegal drugs. The high demand for drugs such as heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine has translated into an increase in the number of illicit laboratories that keep drug suppliers to the many addicts spread all over the U.S (Youngers & Rosin, 2004). Cocaine, Marijuana, and Heroin Trafficking Cocaine is one of the most trafficked and abused drug not only in the United States, but also in other regions of the world. It is, thus, a major health and safety hazard and consequently a major worry for the government. Drug abuse indicators by agencies such as Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) reveal that the distribution and use of cocaine has stabilized at high levels in recent times. This trend is not only observed in major cities, such as New York and Chicago, but also in small cities and suburban neighborhoods. In fact, there is a corresponding increase in violence, crimes, and other acts of disorderliness among individuals and neighborhoods that register high levels of drug use. As indicated earlier, the main point of entry of cocaine into the U.S is shipment via the U.S/Mexico border. Evidently, this trafficking is spearheaded by Colombian and Mexican drug organizations (Marcy, 2010). The other drug readily available in the U.S drug markets is heroin, which has recorded hitherto unseen usage and purity levels. In fact, the increasingly pure form of heroin has attracted a new group of young users, who prefer to ingest large volumes of the substance for fear of the stigmatization caused by needle use (Marcy, 2010). According to health and drug specialists, this ingestion of pure heroin leads to quicker addiction compared to other forms of consumption. Just like in the case of cocaine, heroin is mainly distributed by poly-drug traffickers from Mexico, some of which have been in the business for over twenty years. These groups mainly use private vehicles to smuggle the drug through U.S/Mexico border. Marijuana, often described as the gateway into the world of illicit substance trafficking, distribution, and use, is the most widely abused and readily available illicit substance in the United States of America. Among the reasons for marijuana’s wide distribution and usage is the relaxed attitude the public has adopted regarding the dangers of its use (Grayson, 2009). In fact, there is a section of the public that has publicly called for the legalization of the substance. These reasons, coupled with the common trend of smoking marijuana-filled cigars, have contributed to the popularity of the substance. The increase in the trafficking of the above mentioned drugs among others has partly resulted in the drop of their prices and the observable increase in overdose, addiction, drug-related deaths, violence, and other types of crimes (Grayson, 2009). However, there have been efforts by both Mexican and U.S governments to curb these worrying trends in drug trafficking. For instance, recently, the Mexican government banned the importation of certain chemicals that are used in the manufacturing of illicit substances such as methamphetamine and MDMA (3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine). Unfortunately, the cartels always have a way of finding substitutes of these banned chemicals. Conclusion Drug trafficking remains a rather serious public problem in the United States. Marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and MDMA (3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) are among the mostly trafficked and consumed illicit drugs in the U.S. Among the major players in the U.S drug trafficking syndicates are Mexican drug lords, cartels, criminal gangs as well as local drug cartels and criminal gangs. Despite government efforts at fighting drug trafficking, the cartels continue to find new manufacturing methods and chemical not to mention the new routes of entry into the United States’ drug markets. References Cratty, C. (2010). Prescription drugs: Mexico drug cartels extend reach in U.S .Retrieved from http://articles.cnn.com/2010-03-26/us/drug.trends_1_drug-cartels-mexican-border-drug-violence?_s=PM:US Grayson, G. W. (2009). Mexico: arco-violence and a failed state? Transaction Publishers. Longmire, S. (2011). Cartel: the coming invasion of Mexico’s drug wars. Palgrave Macmillan. Marcy, W. L. (2010). The politics of cocaine: how U.S. foreign policy has created a thriving drug industry in Central and South America. Lawrence Hill Books. Youngers, C. A., & Rosin, E. (2004). Drugs and democracy in Latin America: the impact of U.S. Policy. Lynne Rienner Publishers. Read More