Monday, February 5, 2007

Illegal Drug Smuggling

My question is: “What does illegal drug smuggling have to do with the global market place and how does it affect the countries of Columbia and Afghanistan?” The reason I am interested in this question is because I have heard a lot about illegal drug smuggling and I want to find out by writing this paper. My issue takes place in many countries but I am focusing my attention on Columbia which is in South America and Afghanistan which is in Asia. My question relates to the global market place because illicit drugs are bought and sold in nearly every country. Some drugs are produced in the United States but most are made or grown in other countries and smuggled here. (CIA World Fact Book, 2007) This type of trade influences the global market. Since the illicit drug trade accounts for 321.6 billion dollars, this amount of money can affect governments politically, economically, and socially (U.N. World Drug Repot, 2006).
Other questions that might be raised when considering this issue are: “How does this smuggling of illegal drugs effect other governments?” “What is the connection of illegal drug smuggling and how does it increase global crime?” “How and where do most drugs get produced and how does it affect the producing country’s economy?” “How does the production of illegal drugs affect the economy of the United States?” “What types of people are involved in the illegal drug trade and what are the punishments for being involved in this crime?” (CIA World Fact Book, 2007)
“The use of psychoactive plants may have been with us for a millennium, but a series of local or national drug problems only turned into an international problem at the beginning of the twentieth century.” (CIA World Fact Book, 2007) Facts about the history of drug smuggling are really hard to find because these things were not talked about or written about. Therefore the facts about drug smuggling in the early 1900’s would take research beyond my researching skills.
Afghanistan is the world’s largest producer of opium which comes from the poppy plant and is made into heroin which is a very addictive illegal drug. Eighty to ninety percent of the heroin consumed in Europe comes from the opium in Afghanistan. The government of Afghanistan is not strong enough to fight the huge amounts of money made by illegal drug smuggling from Afghanistan to Europe and other places. (CIA World Fact Book, 2007)
Columbia is the world leading producer of illicit coca (cocaine) according to the CIA World Fact Book. It also produces; opium, poppies, and cannabis (Marijuana). All these drugs are highly addictive and sold illegally on the streets of the U.S. The drug trade influences the government in Columbia. Top officials of the government of Columbia have been murdered trying to reduce the drug trade of Columbia. War has been going on for 40 years between the government and the guerillas (an illegal army not related to the government in the same country.) Money and energy has been going on into the war and is not being used to make the country better for their people. Most of the drugs are being trafficked up to Mexico and then to the United States. The drugs are sold to people on the street. As a result of the trafficking of illegal drugs we have a high crime rate in the United States. (CIA World Fact Book, 2007)
The question I am trying to answer is, “ What solutions are there to end the smuggling of drugs?” One of the solutions to my problem is to legalize drugs that are now illegal. There are positive reasons to legalize drugs. There would be no more need for drug smuggling. Drugs would be taxed just like cigarettes and the taxes would go to hospitals, schools, police, drug treatment programs, and drug educations programs. Also so much money would not be spent on border patrols and the money could go to building orphanages for children who roam the streets with nothing to eat, homeless shelters for adults and animal shelters for animals who roam the streets with nothing to eat. The negative views of this solution are people who do drugs will make stupid choices and cause more crime. People who use drugs become mentally and physically ill and make decisions that will badly affect their whole futures. The countries of Afghanistan and Columbia would be even poorer because the growers would not be making as much money as they do with illegal drug smuggling. Unfortunately people are greedy and it will be hard to convince the farmer in these countries to grow something more useful and healthy when the money that the illegal drugs brings in a lot more.

#1. My first question is how does the illegal drug smuggling affect other governments. The answer is that drug smugglers bribe the officials of governments to look the other way. The people who run these governments are often as bad as the smugglers themselves. Sometimes the officials will not be a part of it and will be honest and often they will be murdered or members of their families killed.
#2. A lot of money is being used to patrol borders and that money could be used better to keep crime off the streets of these countries. There could never be enough police to properly affect the crime at the borders of the countries and inside the countries.
In Afghanistan there are many chiefs who are fighting each other with weapons and their own little armies.
#3. All the countries economies are affected by the crime rates. The producing countries are making so much money on drugs that if you took away that crop what would the country have left? In 2002, 4.5 billion dollars was donated to Afghanistan to be used for education, health, building and its own priority uses. (world fact book 2002).
#4 The USA is involved in huge donations to help Afghanistan. We also have troops over there helping them fight the drug lords. In Columbia the USA is involved in the forty year war against the drug cartels.
#5. When drug smugglers are caught, we either send them back to their own countries to face whatever charges are waiting for them or we ask the countries to send them here to face charges in our court. Sometimes they will be sentenced to fifteen years in prison like Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, a Columbian drug lord. (wikipidia)
The solution to my question which is to legalize illicit drugs is practical and or feasible. This solution has not been used to my knowledge so I am not sure wether my idea whould be successful. In order to make my idea a reality the people involved would be the President and government, law makers in every community across the United States. The impacts of my solution would be on individuals who are using drugs, the drug makers, the government, police department, and mental health agencies. There would have to be a vote of the people to make it into law. It would probably take years of education to make it work. I give it an estimate of about twenty years.
Drugs have affected the lifes of children all across the world. I have to live with my grandma because the mental effect of drugs had taken hold of my parents. I hope the solution I have provided will not effect the life of future generation of children as it has in the present generation.

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