Research Paper On Drug Trafficking
December 9, 2013
Drug Trafficking: The War on Drugs
There is a global-wide market that connects every continent. Drug smuggling has been a problem plaguing the world since the dawn of the age of imperialism. Smuggling is the direct result that comes from drug prohibition and the main reason for smuggling is the direct cash profit resulting from the transaction. Illegal drug smuggling can be seen as early in the 1800 's, a clear example would be the Opium War in China. The Chinese had become addicted to the opium provided to them by the British, and once the Chinese government banned it those who had become addicted still wanted their fill. The British then smuggled it into China and got large sums of money for the drug they provided. …show more content…
Eventually, the Chinese grew restless, they wanted their opium and the government would not allow for that, and then the Opium war broke out. The illegal drug trade led to violence, a common theme seen throughout history.
More recently, in the 1960 's drug use was at large within the United States and the government began placing restrictions on what was now deemed legal and illegal. In 1973, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was created to prevent the illegal trade of drugs. With the creation of this department came about the smuggling business inside of the United States. Those who still wanted their heroin, or cocaine, etc began looking elsewhere for their drugs and looked to those out of the country to begin smuggling the drugs, especially their bordering nation, Mexico. This was the start of the smuggling crusade in America that has yet to be stopped.
Drug trafficking (distributing or delivering illicit drugs) is a violation of the Texas Controlled Substances Act.
A person may be found guilty of drug trafficking if he or she is proven to have knowingly delivered marijuana or any other illicit or controlled substance in any of the four groups of drugs defined and listed in the Texas Controlled Substances Act. (Marijuana is classified separately under this law.) Drug trafficking or distribution in Texas is a felony upon which a wide gamut of penalties may be imposed. It may be anywhere from a state jail felony, which carries the lightest sentence, to a first degree felony, which carries the harshest. The factors influencing which sentence will be imposed are: the amount of the drug being distributed or delivered; and the type of drug and which of the four groups of drugs it is classified under. The smaller the amount of a drug in a certain group, the lighter the sentence may …show more content…
be.
The sentences involved may range anywhere from 180 days to two years in state jail and/or a fine of no more than $10,000 for a state jail felony, to life in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice or a term of 15 to 99 years in prison and/or a fine of not more than $250,000 for the heaviest first degree felony. The harshness of the sentence imposed depends on how much of the drug is being trafficked. For example, trafficking or distributing less than one gram of a substance in the first grouping of drugs carries a state jail felony charge, whereas trafficking 400 grams or more of any one of the same drugs carries a first degree felony charge that may include a life sentence.
In 2004 an estimated: 282,590 adults were arrested for drug trafficking; 201,760 persons were convicted of felony drug trafficking; 139,210 drug traffickers were sentenced to incarceration; 78,690 drug traffickers were sentenced to state prison (or 28 for every 100 drug trafficking arrests). In 2004, drug offenders comprised about a third (34%) of all persons convicted of a felony in state courts. Drug traffickers accounted for 19% of all convicted felons; drug possessors also accounted for 15% of all convicted felons. Ninety-six percent of drug trafficking convictions in 2004 resulted from guilty pleas; 2% resulted from jury trials; and 2% from bench trials. Sixty-nine percent of persons convicted of drug trafficking in 2004 were sentenced to some kind of incarceration: 39% to state prison and 30% to local jail. The average prison sentence for persons convicted of drug trafficking was 5 years, of which the estimated time to be served was 2 years and 4 months. (BJS, 2007)
The war on drugs is actively finding new ways to undermine security in different regions and states of the world. As a result, they target weak states to take over and corrupt government officials using armies of a sort. The profit from illegal drugs encourages traffickers to keep producing and grow in the area. There has been an explosion of violence in Mexico, with over 30,000 deaths since 2006, as the government has tried to use military force to crush the drug cartels. Instead, they have become sufficiently empowered and enriched to corrupt or outgun state enforcement efforts. The global war on drugs has historically been promoted as a policy that protects public health, on the basis that it can restrict or eliminate drug availability and use. Research shows it has failed to achieve either of these aims, with global trends in drug use – particularly high-risk use – rising consistently over the past half-century and illegal drugs cheaper and more available than ever. Worse, the policy has increased the risks associated with drug use, tilting the market towards ever more potent and risky products often cut with contaminants, and encouraging high-risk behaviors (such as injecting) in unsupervised and unhygienic environments. As a result, users suffer avoidable neonatal problems, overdoses and poisonings, and contract blood-borne diseases – such as HIV and hepatitis – that can spread to the general population, as well as devastate drug-using populations.
The human rights of drug users and local farming communities growing drug crops are rarely even mentioned in political discussions, whether at the domestic or UN level. Yet in many countries, drug control efforts result in serious human rights abuses: torture and ill treatment by police, mass incarceration, executions, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention, and denial of basic health services. Young people in particular, as both a key using group, and vulnerable population more broadly, have suffered a disproportionate burden of these human rights costs. Up to 1000 people are executed for drug offences each year, in direct violation of international law. (Gallahue, 2010) Between February and April 2003 there were 2,819 extrajudicial killings under the banner of the Thailand Government’s 'War on Drugs ' crackdown. (Barrett, 2008) Over 500,000 people are arbitrarily detained in drug detention centres in China – frequently subject to forced labour, and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. (Human rights watch, 2010) Far from eliminating drug use and the illicit trade, prohibition has inadvertently fuelled the development of the world’s largest illegal commodities market, estimated by the UN in 2005 to turn over more than $300 billion a year. Just as with US alcohol prohibition in the early 20th century, the profits flow untaxed into the hands of unregulated, often violent, criminal profiteers. The negative consequences can be felt from the producer countries, where drug money fuels instability, conflict and corruption, through to the streets of Western consumer countries, which are blighted by warring drug gangs, street violence and high volumes of property crime committed by low-income, dependent users. This is over and above the criminalization of hundreds of millions of consenting, non-violent adult drug users. The trade is additionally undermining the international financial system through money laundering and placing an intolerable burden on overstretched criminal justice systems and overflowing prisons across the world. The UK government has estimated that over 50% of property crime is committed by dependent heroin and cocaine users to fund their habits. (UK Prime Minister, 2003) In 1989, Forbes magazine listed Colombian cocaine dealer Pablo Escobar as the seventh richest man on earth, with a personal fortune of over $9 billion. The UN estimates that there are currently over 200 million illegal drug users, most criminalized purely because of their use. (Costa, 2008).
The funding cost for law enforcement reaches over $100 billion each year. Given the economic conditions it is much more important to spend wisely and not waste the taxpayers money. The goals to reduce production, supply and used have only created a huge criminal market causing more health and economic cost.
The task of reducing drug trafficking may be one of the most important goals that Americans can work towards.
Reducing drug trafficking in the United States is not only important for today 's generation, it is important for the safety, health and well-being of all future generations. Unfortunately, the only ways to stop it are to decrease the sales or demand of the drugs or tighten up border and highway laws. There are also plans in the U.S to make rehab mandatory for those convicted of drug-related crimes. Fred Reed from the Washington Times says, "Judges know rehab, counseling and therapy generally don 't work. But neither does prison. Both prisons and rehab are part of a poorly functioning system that can 't change either it or the cities." Although rehab doesn’t always work it does a lot of the time and helps the U.S succeed against the war on drugs. Prisons have given inmates the tools to get an education, learn a trade, and drug rehab if they wanted to pursue these things. Making drug rehab mandatory for those convicted of drug related crimes is another step that should be taken to at least lesson the amount of inmates who leave prison and return to the use and distribution of
drugs.
Since the drug prohibition the smuggling, selling, and use of drugs has become a vast market within the world. The drug business has created addiction, violence, and health issues around the U.S and the world. It profits billions of dollars a year and although all countries have cracked down on drug trafficking it has become very hard, almost impossible, to eliminate.
References
Texas Controlled Substances Act
Health and Safety Code, Title 6, Subtitle C, Chapter 481, Section 481.112 - 481.114
BJS, State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 2004, Statistical Tables, NCJ 217995, July 2007.
Gallahue P., Lines, R., ‘The Death Penalty for Drug Offences: Global Overview 2010 ', 2010
Barret, D. et., al. 'Recalibrating the Regime: The Need for a Human Rights-Based Approach to International Drug Policy ', p.25, 2008
Human Rights Watch., ‘Where darkness knows no limits: Incarceration, Ill-Treatment and Forced Labor as Drug Rehabilitation in China ', 2010
"Wasting Billions on Drug Law Enforcement." Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2013. <http://www.countthecosts.org/seven-costs/wasting-billions-drug-law-enforcement>.
Drug Trafficking: The War on Drugs
There is a global-wide market that connects every continent. Drug smuggling has been a problem plaguing the world since the dawn of the age of imperialism. Smuggling is the direct result that comes from drug prohibition and the main reason for smuggling is the direct cash profit resulting from the transaction. Illegal drug smuggling can be seen as early in the 1800 's, a clear example would be the Opium War in China. The Chinese had become addicted to the opium provided to them by the British, and once the Chinese government banned it those who had become addicted still wanted their fill. The British then smuggled it into China and got large sums of money for the drug they provided. …show more content…
Eventually, the Chinese grew restless, they wanted their opium and the government would not allow for that, and then the Opium war broke out. The illegal drug trade led to violence, a common theme seen throughout history.
More recently, in the 1960 's drug use was at large within the United States and the government began placing restrictions on what was now deemed legal and illegal. In 1973, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was created to prevent the illegal trade of drugs. With the creation of this department came about the smuggling business inside of the United States. Those who still wanted their heroin, or cocaine, etc began looking elsewhere for their drugs and looked to those out of the country to begin smuggling the drugs, especially their bordering nation, Mexico. This was the start of the smuggling crusade in America that has yet to be stopped.
Drug trafficking (distributing or delivering illicit drugs) is a violation of the Texas Controlled Substances Act.
A person may be found guilty of drug trafficking if he or she is proven to have knowingly delivered marijuana or any other illicit or controlled substance in any of the four groups of drugs defined and listed in the Texas Controlled Substances Act. (Marijuana is classified separately under this law.) Drug trafficking or distribution in Texas is a felony upon which a wide gamut of penalties may be imposed. It may be anywhere from a state jail felony, which carries the lightest sentence, to a first degree felony, which carries the harshest. The factors influencing which sentence will be imposed are: the amount of the drug being distributed or delivered; and the type of drug and which of the four groups of drugs it is classified under. The smaller the amount of a drug in a certain group, the lighter the sentence may …show more content…
be.
The sentences involved may range anywhere from 180 days to two years in state jail and/or a fine of no more than $10,000 for a state jail felony, to life in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice or a term of 15 to 99 years in prison and/or a fine of not more than $250,000 for the heaviest first degree felony. The harshness of the sentence imposed depends on how much of the drug is being trafficked. For example, trafficking or distributing less than one gram of a substance in the first grouping of drugs carries a state jail felony charge, whereas trafficking 400 grams or more of any one of the same drugs carries a first degree felony charge that may include a life sentence.
In 2004 an estimated: 282,590 adults were arrested for drug trafficking; 201,760 persons were convicted of felony drug trafficking; 139,210 drug traffickers were sentenced to incarceration; 78,690 drug traffickers were sentenced to state prison (or 28 for every 100 drug trafficking arrests). In 2004, drug offenders comprised about a third (34%) of all persons convicted of a felony in state courts. Drug traffickers accounted for 19% of all convicted felons; drug possessors also accounted for 15% of all convicted felons. Ninety-six percent of drug trafficking convictions in 2004 resulted from guilty pleas; 2% resulted from jury trials; and 2% from bench trials. Sixty-nine percent of persons convicted of drug trafficking in 2004 were sentenced to some kind of incarceration: 39% to state prison and 30% to local jail. The average prison sentence for persons convicted of drug trafficking was 5 years, of which the estimated time to be served was 2 years and 4 months. (BJS, 2007)
The war on drugs is actively finding new ways to undermine security in different regions and states of the world. As a result, they target weak states to take over and corrupt government officials using armies of a sort. The profit from illegal drugs encourages traffickers to keep producing and grow in the area. There has been an explosion of violence in Mexico, with over 30,000 deaths since 2006, as the government has tried to use military force to crush the drug cartels. Instead, they have become sufficiently empowered and enriched to corrupt or outgun state enforcement efforts. The global war on drugs has historically been promoted as a policy that protects public health, on the basis that it can restrict or eliminate drug availability and use. Research shows it has failed to achieve either of these aims, with global trends in drug use – particularly high-risk use – rising consistently over the past half-century and illegal drugs cheaper and more available than ever. Worse, the policy has increased the risks associated with drug use, tilting the market towards ever more potent and risky products often cut with contaminants, and encouraging high-risk behaviors (such as injecting) in unsupervised and unhygienic environments. As a result, users suffer avoidable neonatal problems, overdoses and poisonings, and contract blood-borne diseases – such as HIV and hepatitis – that can spread to the general population, as well as devastate drug-using populations.
The human rights of drug users and local farming communities growing drug crops are rarely even mentioned in political discussions, whether at the domestic or UN level. Yet in many countries, drug control efforts result in serious human rights abuses: torture and ill treatment by police, mass incarceration, executions, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention, and denial of basic health services. Young people in particular, as both a key using group, and vulnerable population more broadly, have suffered a disproportionate burden of these human rights costs. Up to 1000 people are executed for drug offences each year, in direct violation of international law. (Gallahue, 2010) Between February and April 2003 there were 2,819 extrajudicial killings under the banner of the Thailand Government’s 'War on Drugs ' crackdown. (Barrett, 2008) Over 500,000 people are arbitrarily detained in drug detention centres in China – frequently subject to forced labour, and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. (Human rights watch, 2010) Far from eliminating drug use and the illicit trade, prohibition has inadvertently fuelled the development of the world’s largest illegal commodities market, estimated by the UN in 2005 to turn over more than $300 billion a year. Just as with US alcohol prohibition in the early 20th century, the profits flow untaxed into the hands of unregulated, often violent, criminal profiteers. The negative consequences can be felt from the producer countries, where drug money fuels instability, conflict and corruption, through to the streets of Western consumer countries, which are blighted by warring drug gangs, street violence and high volumes of property crime committed by low-income, dependent users. This is over and above the criminalization of hundreds of millions of consenting, non-violent adult drug users. The trade is additionally undermining the international financial system through money laundering and placing an intolerable burden on overstretched criminal justice systems and overflowing prisons across the world. The UK government has estimated that over 50% of property crime is committed by dependent heroin and cocaine users to fund their habits. (UK Prime Minister, 2003) In 1989, Forbes magazine listed Colombian cocaine dealer Pablo Escobar as the seventh richest man on earth, with a personal fortune of over $9 billion. The UN estimates that there are currently over 200 million illegal drug users, most criminalized purely because of their use. (Costa, 2008).
The funding cost for law enforcement reaches over $100 billion each year. Given the economic conditions it is much more important to spend wisely and not waste the taxpayers money. The goals to reduce production, supply and used have only created a huge criminal market causing more health and economic cost.
The task of reducing drug trafficking may be one of the most important goals that Americans can work towards.
Reducing drug trafficking in the United States is not only important for today 's generation, it is important for the safety, health and well-being of all future generations. Unfortunately, the only ways to stop it are to decrease the sales or demand of the drugs or tighten up border and highway laws. There are also plans in the U.S to make rehab mandatory for those convicted of drug-related crimes. Fred Reed from the Washington Times says, "Judges know rehab, counseling and therapy generally don 't work. But neither does prison. Both prisons and rehab are part of a poorly functioning system that can 't change either it or the cities." Although rehab doesn’t always work it does a lot of the time and helps the U.S succeed against the war on drugs. Prisons have given inmates the tools to get an education, learn a trade, and drug rehab if they wanted to pursue these things. Making drug rehab mandatory for those convicted of drug related crimes is another step that should be taken to at least lesson the amount of inmates who leave prison and return to the use and distribution of
drugs.
Since the drug prohibition the smuggling, selling, and use of drugs has become a vast market within the world. The drug business has created addiction, violence, and health issues around the U.S and the world. It profits billions of dollars a year and although all countries have cracked down on drug trafficking it has become very hard, almost impossible, to eliminate.
References
Texas Controlled Substances Act
Health and Safety Code, Title 6, Subtitle C, Chapter 481, Section 481.112 - 481.114
BJS, State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 2004, Statistical Tables, NCJ 217995, July 2007.
Gallahue P., Lines, R., ‘The Death Penalty for Drug Offences: Global Overview 2010 ', 2010
Barret, D. et., al. 'Recalibrating the Regime: The Need for a Human Rights-Based Approach to International Drug Policy ', p.25, 2008
Human Rights Watch., ‘Where darkness knows no limits: Incarceration, Ill-Treatment and Forced Labor as Drug Rehabilitation in China ', 2010
"Wasting Billions on Drug Law Enforcement." Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2013. <http://www.countthecosts.org/seven-costs/wasting-billions-drug-law-enforcement>.