What I Already Know
The Facts
The totality of my known facts relate to drug trafficking in the USA with the aspiration to learn being international drug trafficking from a global perspective. Drug trafficking in the USA is one of the major current problems that the Union has acquired over time as it was not there in the beginning. Indeed, the original laws passed by the founding fathers did not envisage or canvas the problem. Most of the substances that are marked as hard drugs and form part of the main problem of drug abuse were not even in existence then. Marijuana was in existence but was not considered as a drug until much later. It is also worthy of notice that marijuana, the first drug to be proscribed by law has gone full cycle and is returning to full legality in several states in the USA.
Indeed, in the November, 2016 elections, some states even allowed its casual use. As the issue of marijuana is being resolved, several other more dangerous drugs are taking prominence in the nation and indeed the world with devastating effects. However, the biggest drug trafficking problem does not revolve around hard and illegal drugs. It is premised on legal prescription and other drugs that are safe when used in the right way but are being abused for pleasure. Leading in this arena is the Opioids pain relieving drugs.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Most of the drugs in America come from the Central and South America. Two countries are worthy of a special mention; Mexico right across the Southern border of the USA and Colombia in South America. Mexico has always been a problem since the proscription of marijuana but Colombia transformed the face of drug trafficking in the USA in the 1970s with the introduction of cocaine. In the 1980s, crack cocaine was developed out of cocaine and drug abuse took a deadly turn. Other common drugs include the opioid hard drug heroin and synthetic narcotics such as Methamphetamine and ecstasy. Methamphetamine albeit new in the narcotics scene is gradually increasing in prevalence and is approaching 25% of narcotic consumption in the USA. The main source of Methamphetamine in America is Mexico, where it is concocted in informal chemical laboratories.
The Law
There are two main areas of law relating to drugs in the USA. These are drug use and drug trafficking. Drug use is a misdemeanor offence in the USA and its jurisdiction is limited to the states. The laws vary from state to state. Drug trafficking on the other hand is a felony in all states and also under federal law as stated in the Controlled Substances Act. As with all state laws, the laws governing drug trafficking varies from state to state but there are several general congruencies. The first generality regards intent and possession. For the charge of drug trafficking to be established, the prosecution must prove that the defendant had the drugs and was aware of the fact.
If drugs are found in an area under the control of an individual, it will be necessary to prove that the individual was aware of the existence or in the very least a reasonable person would have been aware of that existence. The intention to distribute, which is the mens rea of trafficking does not have to be established. If the drugs are too much for personal consumption, the charge for trafficking is established. An example with regard to powdered cocaine is, if an individual is arrested with 10gms of cocaine popularly referred to as eight-ball, the charge of trafficking will not arise, possession of a kilo of powdered cocaine will however result in the charge of trafficking, even if the mens rea or intent to distribute is not established.
The second generality is that manufacturing is not a factor in a trafficking charge. When an individual is apprehended with an amount of drugs large enough to be distributed, the entire criminal burden for the drugs fall upon that individual whether or not the individual manufactured or processed them. Finally, when trafficking happens across state borders, it becomes a federal offence and is canvassed under federal laws. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is the main federal organization tasked with combating drug trafficking in the USA
Information Derived from the Current Research
Introduction
The leading authority on global drug trafficking is the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime UNODC (Andreas, 2015) . This international agency defines drug trafficking as a global illicit craft that involves the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, and sale of substances that have been proscribed by drug prohibition laws. The obligation of the UNODC is to monitor and research on the issue of drug trafficking on a global scale in order to have a better understanding thereof and assist in its combating (Andreas, 2015) . According to information stemming from current UNODC research, drug trafficking is a major global problem and concern due to its vastness.
From a global perspective, the two main drugs of concern are cocaine and heroin. Approximately 430 to 450 tons of heroin are trafficked every year globally (Andreas, 2015) . The main source of this drug is in the Asian continent. An overwhelming majority comes from Afghanistan while the rest comes from Myanmar and Laos. Out of this, 375 tons is trafficked to the rest of the world. Heroin is more of a European problem as far as consumption is concerned although there is a substantial consumption in the USA and Canada (Andreas, 2015) .
It is not possible to discuss the problem of cocaine as a global problem without the mention of two nations; Colombia and the USA. Colombia is the overwhelming majority producer of cocaine in the world while the USA is the majority consumer. According to the UNODC, there are 16 million to 17 million cocaine consumers globally and over 40% of them are in North America, mostly in the USA (Andreas, 2015) . The estimated annual consumption of cocaine currently stands at 470 tons. The second highest regional consumer of cocaine is Europe, mainly within the European Union, accounting for over 25% of the global consumption. This brings the total consumption of Europe and North America to over 80% of global consumption (Andreas, 2015) .
The Political Perspective
Politics is at the heart of global drug trafficking with political instability being the major bearing factor (Jonsson, Brennan, & O’Hara, 2016) . These drugs are cultivated, manufactured and processed in third world, poor and politically unstable counties. A good case in point is Afghanistan, Laos, Myanmar and Colombia. They are then trafficked through other poor nations or rich nations with vast poor majorities (Jonsson, Brennan, & O’Hara, 2016) . The trafficking routes of cocaine include countries such as Mexico, the Central American strip and countries in the Spanish Main. A majority of these countries are extremely poor. It would be difficult to classify Mexico as poor but it has a majority of very poor people and an extremely rich minority elite.
Similarly, Heroin is trafficked through poor nations in Asia and Africa such as Sri Lanka and Kenya. India is also a powerful transit route for heroine. Like Mexico, India is not a poor country as it has a very wealthy elite but also a very poor majority (Jonsson, Brennan & O’Hara, 2016) . Finally, the consumers are mainly found in the richest populaces and nations of earth with powerful economies, free societies and democratic governments. These are North America, Canada as well as the European Union (Jonsson, Brennan, & O’Hara, 2016) . From a political perspective, this is the reality of globalization. Unless the whole world is politically stable, problems from the unstable parts of the world will always catch up with the stable parts (Jonsson, Brennan, & O’Hara, 2016) .
The Organized Crime Perspective
The scope of global drug abuse is grander than the governments of some countries and even some regions. So grand are the organizations that control drug abuse that in some nations like Colombia, Afghanistan and Mexico they have absolute control of sections of the nations where government agents cannot access. This confirms drug trafficking as forming part of global organized crime.
Effectiveness of Global Anti-Drug Trafficking Efforts
Global organized crime falls under the ambit of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime adopted on the 15 th day of November, 2000 with membership from a majority of global countries (Global Commission on Drug Policy, 2011) . The convention handles many world issues relating to the kind of crime that cannot be handled unless a well-organized global system is in place. This include drug trafficking, human trafficking, and gun control. The most effective aspect of this law is that it is binding on all parties (Global Commission on Drug Policy , 2011 ) .
Once a nation or state becomes a member of the convention, they are bound to assist one another on issues such as extradition, legal issues, cooperation in law enforcement as well as technical assistance and training. There is also the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 as amended by the 1972 Protocol, Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 and recently the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988 (Global Commission on Drug Policy, 2011 ) . These conventions give a global definition to drugs, drug abuse and drug trafficking and also provide for ways and means for the nations to handle the problem singularly and severally (Global Commission on Drug Policy, 2011 ) .
However, all these conventions have one major handicap; the membership thereof is voluntary (Global Commission on Drug Policy, 2011 ) . Nations who suffer from the menace of drug abuse rushed to be members but nations that support the manufacture and transit of drugs which is the backbone of global trafficking are not (Global Commission on Drug Policy, 2011 ) . Unless the UN finds a way of ensuring that countries such as Colombia, Myanmar, Laos and Sri Lanka become members of these conventions, it will remain an effort of solving the problem of drug trafficking from the end and not the source. This can never be effective. The fight against drug abuse will be won when globalization rises above just the commercial interests of the affluent but the wellbeing of the whole world. As was stated by the Global Commission on Drug Policy ( 2011 ) the war of drugs has failed.
Reflections on what has been learned from the Research
The American effort on the war against drug trafficking is massive complete with an impressive propaganda campaign that creates an impression that the war on drugs is being won. The only war that can be won locally however, is one involving drug abuse but not drug trafficking. This entails drugs such as medical opioids and other prescription drugs. This is a legal problem that can be managed and solved through local legal means. It also has not elicited interest from a global scale. The war on drug trafficking on the other hand cannot be won locally and must be approached from a global perspective as recommended by the international community. Most of the trafficked drugs emanate from complex processes that involve farming and manufacturing which is the difficult part.
Once this process is undertaken, transporting the drug to the markets is easy since even if only a percentage of the product reaches the market, enough income to run the business will still be gained. Further, drug trafficking involves massive organized cartels that are more powerful than some governments and control vast areas thus providing avenues for drug trafficking. This problem can only be solved through a global mutual understanding that focuses on where the drugs are coming from, not where they are being sold.
For over half a century, the war on drug trafficking has been raging. Despite her military might, America has not even been able to combat the vice in neighboring Mexico. To combat it in the world, a new approach is necessary. If all nations in the world achieved political stability, signed the conventions against drug trafficking, and conscientiously adhered to the said treaties and convention, the war of drug trafficking will be won. Until then, drug trafficking will continue to be a global menace.
References
Andreas, P. (2015). International politics and the illicit global economy. Perspectives on Politics, 13(03), 782-788.
Global Commission on Drug Policy (2011). War on drugs . Retrieved from https://www.safeandsmartpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Global_Commission_Report_English.pdf
Jonsson, M., Brennan, E., & O'Hara, C. (2016). Financing War or Facilitating Peace? The impact of rebel drug trafficking on peace negotiations in Colombia and Myanmar. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism . 39(6), 542-559
