Illegal drug trade in the United States

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International drug routes.
Panamanian motor vessel Gatun during the largest cocaine bust in United States Coast Guard history (totalling 20 tons, worth over 600 million USD), off the coast of Panama.

The U.S. Federal Government is an opponent of the illegal drug trade; however, state laws vary greatly and in some cases contradict federal laws.

The Organization of American States estimated that the revenue for cocaine sales in the U.S. was $34 billion in 2013. The Office of National Drug Control Policy estimates that $100 billion worth of illegal drugs were sold in the U.S. in 2013.[1]

In the fiscal year of 2023, a total of 19,066 cases related to drugs were reported, with drug trafficking accounting for 18,939 of these cases. The majority of drug trafficking crimes, amounting to 98.1%, involved seven specific types of drugs. Quick Facts offers a general understanding of these crimes, although the details may differ depending on the specific drug involved in the offense.[2]

War on Drugs[edit]

Main article: War on Drugs
Marijuana seized at the Nogales border by U.S. Border Patrol
Total incarceration in the United States by year

The "War on Drugs" is a term commonly applied to a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid and military intervention undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, and the stated aim to define and reduce the illegal drug trade. This initiative includes a set of drug policies of the United States that are intended to discourage the production, distribution, and consumption of illegal psychoactive drugs. The term was first used by U.S. President Richard Nixon, and was later popularized by the media.[3]

Minors[edit]

The U.S. government's most recent 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) reported that nationwide over 800,000 adolescents ages 12–17 sold illegal drugs during the twelve months preceding the survey.[4] The 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that nationwide 25.4% of students had been offered, sold, or given an illegal drug by someone on school property. The prevalence of having been offered, sold, or given an illegal drug on school property ranged from 15.5% to 38.8% across state CDC surveys (median: 26.1%) and from 20.3% to 40.0% across local surveys (median: 29.4%).[5]

Despite over US$7 billion spent annually towards arresting[6] and prosecuting nearly 800,000 people across the country for marijuana offenses in 2005 (FBI Uniform Crime Reports), the federally funded Monitoring the Future Survey reports about 85% of high school seniors find marijuana “easy to obtain.” That figure has remained virtually unchanged since 1975, never dropping below 82.7% in three decades of national surveys.[7]

In 2009, the Justice Department identified more than 200 U.S. cities in which Mexican drug cartels "maintain drug distribution networks or supply drugs to distributors"- up from 100 three years earlier.[8]

Women[edit]

Main article: Women in the drug economy in the United States

Women are often involved in the illegal drug trade in the United States, typically in marginal, low-level roles.[9]

Controversies[edit]

See also: Allegations of CIA drug trafficking and CIA involvement in Contra cocaine trafficking

Smuggling[edit]

Drug smuggling across US borders may be done by several means.[10] Packages may be carried by people, or by cars, trucks and Railcar, hidden in Compartment.[10] Boats and submarines penetrate sea borders.[10] Drones pass above and tunnels pass below the usual routes of smuggling.[10]

Monitoring[edit]

Environmental monitoring can be used to map trafficking.[11] Trafficking of a substance tends to incidentally, disproportionately increase its nearby usage, and thus excretion.[11] This has been used to quantify trafficking into this country, and has also highlighted routes of smuggling through nearby countries which feed this country's large market – for example, Martinique.[11] Drug abuse poses a significant challenge in the United States, with individuals looking to abuse drugs having easy access to such substances. The abuse of prescription and nonprescription opioids remains a critical public health issue. A consequence of the widespread abuse of prescription opioids is the rise in new heroin users. This increase is partly due to a growing number of individuals transitioning from prescription opioids to heroin in search of a cheaper and more accessible alternative. Synthetic opioids, like fentanyl, are contributing significantly to the alarming increase in overdose deaths. A considerable amount of illicitly produced fentanyl originates from Mexico and China. Moreover, dangerous analogs of fentanyl, such as acetyl fentanyl, are frequently manufactured in China and smuggled into the U.S. Fentanyl is up to 40 times more potent than heroin and approximately 100 times more potent than morphine. Acetyl fentanyl, a close relative of fentanyl, has been associated with numerous overdose fatalities in the U.S. Opioid-dependent individuals often use fentanyl and acetyl fentanyl as substitutes for heroin, or these substances are mixed with heroin to increase volume or enhance effects.[12]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The Biggest Organized Crime Groups in the World". Fortune. 2014-09-14.
  2. ^ Drug Trafficking Retrieved 28 May 2024
  3. ^ "החזקת סמים". Saturday, 5 June 2021
  4. ^ "Results from the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings". Archived from the original on 18 October 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  5. ^ "Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance - United States, 2005". Cdc.gov. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
  6. ^ "Costs of Marijuana Prohibition: Economic Analysis". Prohibitioncosts.org. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
  7. ^ "Trends in Availability of Drugs as Perceived by Twelfth Graders" (PDF). Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  8. ^ "Border violence threatens Americans". The Washington Times. April 1, 2010.
  9. ^ Maher, L.; Hudson, S. L. (1 October 2007). "Women in the Drug Economy: A Metasynthesis of the Qualitative Literature". Journal of Drug Issues. 37 (4): 805–826. doi:10.1177/002204260703700404. S2CID 145168397.
  10. ^ a b c d Brown, Theresa (2017). "Drug Smugglers Have Already Beaten Trump's Wall". Reason.
  11. ^ a b c {{ Unbulleted list citebundle | • Damien, Devault; Thomas, Nefau; Helene, Pascaline; Sara, Karolak; Yves, Levi (2014). "First evaluation of illicit and licit drug consumption based on wastewater analysis in Fort de France urban area (Martinique, Caribbean), a transit area for drug smuggling". Science of the Total Environment. 490. Elsevier B.V.: 970–978. Bibcode:2014ScTEn.490..970D. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.05.090. ISSN 0048-9697. PMID 24914526. S2CID 5477664. | This is cited by the following review: | • Hernandez, Felix (2018). "Mass spectrometric strategies for the investigation of biomarkers of illicit drug use in wastewater". Review Article. Mass Spectrometry Reviews. 37 (3). Wiley Periodicals, Inc.: 258–280. Bibcode:2018MSRv...37..258H. doi:10.1002/mas.21525. eISSN 1098-2787. PMC 6191649. PMID 27750373. S2CID 206232532.
  12. ^ Trafficking Statistics Retrieved 28 May 2024

External links[edit]

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