Illicit trade in narcotics in the United States is a multi-billion dollar business. Each year, tons of illegal drugs such as methamphetamine, cocaine, cannabis and heroin are smuggled into the US and distributed to various cities through drug cartels, street and prison gangs, and outlaw motorcycle groups, among other illegal groupings. A majority of these drugs enter through the 2000 mile US-Mexico border. The drugs majorly originate from Mexico, Central America, Afghanistan and transported through various illegal networks that penetrate through Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa (Finklea, 2016). These criminal activities are well organized, making it almost impossible to deal with the problem of drug abuse and drug-related violence in the United States
The Cost of Organized Illicit Drug Trade in the US
The illegal business of narcotics in the United States confers enormous and far-reaching costs on American society. Annually, the cost of illicit drugs on the American society is estimated to be in the region of $181 billion. These costs include the money spent on health services for drug users, deaths of cartel and gang members, law enforcement, litigation and prison expenses, addiction, homicide, and lost workplace productivity. For example, the economy suffers billions of dollars every year as a result of addiction. Addicted drug users may not be able to contribute to economic activities due to their overreliance on drug use. Such persons spend most of their time abusing drugs, and most of these individuals have lost their jobs due to addiction problems. The economy also loses a considerable amount of revenue as more money is channeled to the treatment and rehabilitation of victims of drug users. On the same note, drug use creates favorable conditions for the spread of diseases such HIV/AIDs and Hepatitis (Jenner, 2011; Porter, 2012). This is mostly prevalent in situations where different drug users use same syringes to inject themselves with drugs. More infections mean more health costs.
Law enforcement and litigation have also experienced a rise in expenditures as federal, state and local authorities intensify the war on illicit drug trade. An increase in expenditures has been witnessed in adjudication , correctional activities and also in equipping police to fight drug-related crime. Additionally, costs related to the treatment of law enforcement officers who are injured in the course of carrying drug trade prevention duties have also soared in the US and across the border in Mexico (Jenner, 2011; Finklea, 2016). Given these costs, it is critical that radical measures be implemented to deal with the problem drug trafficking in the United States.
Ways of Keeping Drug Trafficking in Control
Any approach towards the resolution of the issue of drug trafficking in the US must recognize the complexity of the forces that dictate the supply and demand of illegal drugs. First, it must be acknowledged that the problem of drugs and related crime may never be resolved in America. Overly, an eradication of the problem of drugs will entail dismantling of networks in Central America, Mexico, United States, Asia, Europe and Africa. And this is not possible by practical standards. As Porter (2012) observes, there war on drugs cannot be won, and an appreciation of this fact can enable policy makers to formulate policies that seek to mitigate the effects of the problem of drugs as opposed to the combative nature of current methods.
Legalization of some of the drugs can play a significant role in reducing the illicit trade as well as minimize violence related to control and distribution of narcotics across the United States. There have been suggestions for cannabis to be legalized so as to reduce the effects of its illegality on society. For one, legalization would keep a lot of drugs out of the streets thereby reducing the rate of petty crime related to rip-offs and double-crosses in the drug trade on the black market. Such move means arrests would not be carried out and enforcement efforts would focus on areas that cause harm to society. Further, legalization would ensure that addicts and other users access clinical services in health centers without fear of arrest and prosecution (Porter, 2012; Finklea, 2016).
Addressing the problem of unemployment among minorities in the United States and also collaborating with Mexico to deal with unemployment can go a long way in reducing the volume of drugs traded in the USs black markets. According to Veiras (2016), drugs and drug trafficking is influenced by social, cultural and economic factors. For instance, many growers of illicit drugs in Mexico do it because it is a source of employment. In other words, they need to grow and sell drugs to survive. Similarly, minority groups such as young Blacks and Latinos often fail to secure employment opportunities in the US, a situation that pushes them to engage in drug trafficking and crime to make a living. As such, a strategy that addresses the issue of unemployment on both sides of the divide can mitigate the problem of drug trade significantly.
Efforts of stopping the cycle of drug consumption, crime and incarceration have the potential to reduce violence-related drug trafficking and the problem of drug use (Finklea, 2016). Jails are overflowing with young and petty offenders. For instance, 41 percent of drug-related incarcerations are composed of those individuals that were arrested for possession of drugs worth less than $30(Veiras, 2016).Instead of spending their lives in jail, these offenders need to be introduced into rehabilitation programs and given offers of employment opportunities. This would give room for anti-drug efforts to be directed to cartels and extensive networks across the country and its neighbors.
The problem of drugs could also be kept in check if the efforts are reoriented to focus on the reduction of harm of drugs on American society instead of targeting the supply side and the supply networks. As indicated earlier, consumption and distribution should be decriminalized. Drugs should be allowed to flow, but more efforts and government investment should be directed to reducing health-related costs such as fatal overdoses, infections such as HIV and Hepatitis. Also, these efforts should be refocused on reducing prohibition-related costs such as corruption, violence, crime, displacement of communities, and human rights violations (Jenner, 2011; Cardoso, 2017).It should be noted that legalization does not imply a show of resignation on the part of security agencies to tack. Rather, it is an acknowledgment that drug use will ever remain part of American life in the foreseeable future and, therefore, what matters is the reduction of the social and economic effects of the trade.
Partnership with other countries apart from Mexico may also play a vital part in reducing the dependence of drug trade for economic reasons. This would ensure that governments that are worst affected by the problem of drugs and substance abuse come together to find solutions for the socioeconomic issues that make people grow, sell and use drugs (Jenner, 2011). Such efforts would give authorities the time to concentrate on cartels and international drug lords.
In conclusion, the problem of drugs can be controlled by legalizing some drugs, refocusing on cartels and international networks, and increasing health services to drug abusers. Mitigation of socioeconomic issues in Mexico and Colombia can reduce the supply of illegal drugs in the United States. All these efforts must be made while appreciating the fact that drug trafficking and drug abuse is a problem that will ever remain part and parcel of humanity.
References
Cardoso, F. H. (2017). Five Ways to End the Drug War; Start by Decriminalizing Drug Use. The Huffington Post [New York].
Finklea, K. (2016). Heroin Trafficking in the United States. Retrieved from Congressional Research Service website: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44599.pdf
Jenner, M. S. (2011). International Drug Trafficking: A Global Problem with a Domestic Solution. Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, 18(2), 901-927. doi:10.2979/indjglolegstu.18.2.901
Porter, E. (2012). Numbers Tell of Failure in Drug War. The New York Times [New York].
Veiras, J. L. (2016). A Decade of Failure in the War on Drugs. The New York Times [New York].
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