INTRODUCTION
The illegal drug industry is a global black market consisting of the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws.
In spite of the lack of precise information, the drugs market can be considered the largest illegal market in existence nowadays, in terms of sales but also of people involved in it.
The production, trafficking and drug abuse has reached an enormous magnitude worldwide and, as it is a global phenomenon, the United Nations established in 1997 in Vienna the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) which is the combination of the United Nations International Drug Control Program (UNDCP) and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division.
The
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And the consequences of this illegal drug trade are countless for this developing country: as a matter of fact, the illegal drug production and trafficking have marked the country’s history. In no other country has the drug trafficking had such impressive social, political and economic repercussions (effects).
Furthermore, it’s important to focus the attention on this country not only because is the world’s principal cocaine producer- with a percentage from 70 up to 80 -, but also because, due to his geographical position, Colombia had and has a fundamental role in the drug market.
Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to study the drug trafficking in Colombia, the reason why this black market had such a role in this country; but also to analyze the effects –social, political and economic- had by the illegal drug trade in Colombia, without forgetting finally the policies adopted to fight this illegal market.
Chapter 1. The development of the Illegal Drugs Industry 1.1 An historical
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So, Colombia started playing a central role in this industry by producing and distributing the marijuana: by the end of the decade Colombia produced more than 70 percent of the marijuana.
Concerning the production and trade of cocaine, the Colombian cocaine market followed in the footsteps of the marijuana traffickers. Indeed, by the end of 1960s, a small cocaine smuggling network sprang up. At the beginning a small quantity of coca plantations were located in the Cordillera Occidental and in the San Jorge Valley in the department of Cauca. Smuggling was carried out largely by sea and by air through the Gulf of Mexico or The Pacific. In the 1970s, as the demand for cocaine increased rapidly in the United States, the limited coca supply produced in Colombia was no more sufficient in order to afford the demand, thus the supply increased through the import of cocaine from Bolivia and Peru, refined in laboratories in Colombia and then smuggled in the United
Drug enforcement agencies throughout North America spend over 40 billion tax dollars annually on their government funded war on drugs. The DEA currently classifies cocaine as an addictive and dangerous, schedule-two drug. Around the 1880’s, however, cocaine was celebrated in the United States for its “magical, medicinal purposes” (New Ulm Weekly Review). The miracle medicine of the late 19th century, cocaine, is derived from the coca plant native to South America, more specifically, the Andes Mountains. South Americans chewed the coca leaves for thousands of years to counter the nauseating effects of living in thin mountain-air environments and to stimulate their heart and breathing rates for hunting purposes.
Thus, this book also traces the origins of prohibitionist drug laws in Mexico and later the origins of Mexico’s war on drugs.
In a 1970 article about drugs, narcotics, and the government, “Drugs: Case for Legalizing Marijuana”, Gore Vidal explores how the illegalization of marijuana has created the opposite effect of what the legislation has intended to do. Vidal’s explanation and reasoning behind this idea is not entirely associated with drug users and the population in general, but also has a strong link to monetary gains in government bureaus and large-scale mafias. These financial motive claims are supported by logical appeal and evidence.1 To begin, Vidal points out that, “both the Bureau of Narcotics and the Mafia want strong laws against the sale and use of drugs because if drugs are sold at cost there would be no money in it for anyone” (par. 10). This statement
He mentions that some young men sell drugs because they have no choice and nothing to lose in society. He acknowledge that choice is immoral. However, the resources available to the young men are limited. He states that “the creative social and cultural capital that the boys developed in response to being prevented from acquiring capital to succeed in mainstream institutions” (Rios:98). Moreover, he argues that the punishments meted out by the criminal justice system usually fail to support rehabilitation and social reintegration.
South america is filled with over crowded streets. Slums are an over crowded area including the city and streets. There are very many drug problems in those slums because of the environment. Brazil is one of the top ten counties for cocaine usage. Bolivia now sits alongside the biggest consumers of illegal drug in the world.
The 2014 National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA) Summary discourses evolving expansions associated with the trafficking and use of main illicit drugs abuse. The U.S. seizures of illegal substances in shipment exceeded 1,626 metric tons, demonstrating that DTOs have great succeed in shipping thousand tons of cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, heroin, and MDMA into the United States each year. (DEA 2014) There are exceptional smuggling and shipping methods related with each drug type, but drug seizure statistics and federal, state, and local law enforcement reporting shows that smuggling overland and transportation by vehicle surpass all other methods of smuggling combined. The 2014 National Drug Control Strategy, in which has had very little
Introduction Written and published in 2008 by Paul Gootenberg, History professor and Latin American studies at University of New York at Stony Brook, “Andean Cocaine: The Making of a Global drug” retraces the pivotal stages of the illicit cocaine trafficking, starting from the boundless coca fields in Latin America to the chemistry laboratories in Europe up until the streets of U.S. cities. The aim of this book review is to provide the reader with a short but detailed insight of what is the main content of the book, by paying particular attention to its structure, objectivity and style. Scope & Organisation Adopting a meticulous chronological approach, Gootenberg describes the infamous and complex untold history of cocaine, analysing and
The Culture of Colombia and the Colombian People Culture is defined as the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization. This definition of culture is very true in the country of Colombia. In this paper, I will be going over the three major topics that I believe to be the most important about the Colombian culture: religion, language, and food and customs. Also, while covering these main topics, I will overview terrain, infrastructure, and military conflicts.
The purpose of this research is to draw a connection between a history of gang violence in Central America and drug trafficking in Mexico and Central American and Mexican migration patterns to the U.S. Beyond that, this paper highlights U.S. involvement in the increase of gang violence specifically in Honduras and El Salvador, and how the U.S. demand for narcotics has fueled the Drug War throughout Latin America but mostly in Mexico. This paper also shows how U.S. policies on the legalization of certain drugs and criminal justice reforms can decrease illegal immigration and improve the lives of people seeking to migrate north. Introduction As large numbers of Central American and Mexican migrants continue to cross the United States’ southern border, many
For example, agencies have been established with the sole intent to manage drug use and distribution and technology has been exclusively developed to detect the presence of drugs. Yet, evidence has indicated that such exhaustive efforts have been relatively unsuccessful. First, it has been assumed that drugs have perpetuated violence in society and based on this rationale, it was believed that by the suppressing the pervasiveness of drugs that incidents of violence would simultaneously diminish. However, reality has failed to align with the expectations that had initially been anticipated. Research findings have suggested that the decriminalization of drugs would result in a less adversarial drug market in which conflicts have tended to arise among dealers as well as between dealers and buyers (Common Sense for Drug Policy, 2007, p. 21).
During the continuous growth of the Medellin Cartel, there were many effects on worldwide politics, and they severely affected the nation of Columbia as a whole. Narcoterrorism is a term that perfectly sums up the Medellin Cartel’s effects on the people and government of Columbia. High profile assassinations and kidnappings causing fear for Columbia’s politicians. Acts of terror committed toward certain characters, harming innocent bystanders in the process were carried out numerous times. Escobar 's ruthless policy towards judges, police and political officials was one he called "Silver or Lead.
The damaging effects of cocaine and its destructive influences in Western society were first observed over 100 years ago. They led to the national and international establishment of strict legal controls to limit the use of cocaine to medical applications only. For fifty years, from 1910 to 1960, such regulations along with social disapproval were sufficient to curtail cocaine use to a very small group of high class society. Now, cocaine is used by all levels of society. It can be found in the executive suite, the suburban living room for cocktail hour, the college dorm, and the high school locker
Drugs are the dangerous substances that will destroy the consumer both physically and mentally; therefore, it is necessary to determine these substances restrictively. In order to do that, I am strongly assuring that the drugs should be legalized. There are three main reasons why the drugs should be legalized: diminution of crime rates, health guarantee, and extending of drugs regulation. Drugs are one of the crime sources, although not by the drugs, itself, but the condition. Illegal drugs are rare products that could not be found in the normal market, the cost for its rarity is totally expensive.
Plan Colombia, an initiative created to combat the increasing drug epidemic in Colombia, has been in action for over a decade. In an effort to bring peace to the nation and reduce the production and sale of narcotics, numerous key agents have become involved in the affair at both the regional and international level. Utilizing geo-cultural structures and a variety of ideologies, these agents are able to justify their actions in the nation and continue diffusing tension in Colombia as well as combating the drug trade. In addition, limitations of both sovereignty and absolutism are evident in this initiative. Overall, these aspects of Plan Colombia have led to its tremendous influence in the world today.
The legal definition of drug trafficking generally refers to the cultivation, manufacture, sale and distribution of illicit narcotic substances. With the augmenting rate of drug addiction, drug trafficking has become a greater complication for numerous nations including Spain. Spain is considered to be a key gateway to drugs entering the European Union, and this figure is in line with other European drug trade markets. About half of the drugs entering Europe come from Spain. According to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), Spain is the main entry point of cocaine and cannabis into Europe.