Three Types Of Drug Trafficking In The United States
English 121
October 2012
Drug Trafficking
All over the world there are different types of trafficking crimes committed every day. Whether it is sex, human, or weapon trafficking, all types are a serious crime and maintain a constant occurrence everyday. Besides those three types of trafficking, there is one in particular that happens all over the world and seems to make more of a statement than anything else, drug trafficking. The reason that it gains more attention than anything else is because it involves more ordinary people, and is extremely easy to come in contact with. Drug trafficking has estimated yearly revenue of over $400 Billion (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime). That is not even comparable when you consider …show more content…
weapon trafficking has yearly revenue of approximately $50 billion and is second behind drug trafficking. Not only is it important to understand exactly what drug trafficking is and consist of, it is important to know exactly where drug trafficking is taking place and know the penalties for drug trafficking for any future referencing. First of all, drug trafficking is a globalized illicit trade. What this means is that it is a crime that causes direct human, social, political, or environmental harm. By being an illicit trade, drug trafficking is involved with the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of substances that are subject to drug prohibition laws. Though drug trafficking is illegal, it is a major part of the world’s global economy (Van Solinge). With the amount of revenue drug trafficking brings in each year, the United Nations has reported that it accounts for about eight percent of the total international trade. In comparison, it represents about the same percentage of goods internationally traded from China to Wal-Mart. Within the revenue that is made each year are cold-hearted criminals who have no respect for the law. Even with drugs being illegal, people manage to traffic and conceal cocaine, heroin, marijuana, MDMA, and methamphetamine shipments for distribution in the U.S. With tight security in the United States as well as other countries, you would be led to believe that trafficking drugs from country to country is a difficult process. As time goes by, criminal justice officials adjust to the new technology and create more difficult ways for anything to be smuggled into and out of a country. Likewise to the criminal justice officials, criminals, or smugglers, are also adapting to the new era, and creating easier ways for them to pass through without turning a head. In our day and age, it is almost as easy to cross any border with drugs than it would be to cross without. Today, most illegal substances are shipped out of European and Middle Eastern countries with the destination of the North America. Most of the shipments that come into the United States are smuggled through the Mexican border and through Cargo ships entering Florida (Drug Trafficking in the United States). With every day going past and people attempting to stop drug trafficking, CNN reporters Feyerick, Cary and Steffen say, “Drug traffickers are throwing everything they 've got at getting drugs into the United States any way they can.” With that being said, every day is a challenge for both traffickers and law enforcement. Drug trafficking is a serious issue all over the world, and usually when officers easily find large amounts of drugs, it is only a distraction to sneak through more than triple what was actually found (Hayes). Though billions of dollars worth of drugs are trafficked into the United States each year, it is important to know that people are caught, and that saves millions of dollars worth of drugs from reaching its destination.
The amount of punishment a person can receive for being a drug trafficker varies depending on the type of drug, how much you have, and how many offenses you’ve had in the past. The most popular drug that is trafficked, for example, is marijuana. Major drug cartels usually carry between 100 and 1000 kilograms worth of marijuana when shipping it across borders. The punishment for your first offense with possession of 100-999 kilograms of weed is “Not less than 5 years or more than 40 years in prison. If death or serious bodily injury, not less than 20 years or more than life in prison. Fine not more than $5 million if an individual, $25 million if other than an individual” (DEA). If you have a second offense with the same amount, you double all of the numbers. Drug trafficking is something the DEA tells people not to play around with, because nothing good ever comes out of it. Other countries, such as the United Kingdom has a minimum penalty of seven years in prison and a maximum life in prison based on the courts discretion of the circumstances of the case. Spain, on the other hand, has only a maximum of nine years on an offence, and minimum of 1 year with small fines. As you can see, different countries handle drug trafficking in very different …show more content…
ways. In the United States, drugs such as marijuana are seen as bad and useless. But when traveling to Different continents such as Europe, you will find more of a social norm when it comes to drugs. The differences in the normality of drugs in different regions is what makes it possible for drugs to be grown or man made and shipped to different places to make millions of dollars. A pound of weed in Europe today is worth approximately $3000, while a pound of weed in the United States could be sold for approximately $6000. Being an illegal substance makes it more profitable for and provider because of such high demand. To conclude, drug trafficking is the number crime committed across the globe.
Millions of different people from different religious, cultural, and ethnic groups work together to buy, sell, and ship drugs from country to country. As drugs go from country to country, they are most likely becoming more profitable because of distance it has traveled and the area it is destined for. While being able to smuggle in drugs to different countries in order to double or even triple the amount of money you can sell them for is financially great, drug traffickers must know what they risk. If caught for any large shipment, that one person or group could owe millions in fines and spend up to life in prison. Even with the prison possibilities, most people who run drug trafficking organizations will probably tell you the $100 billion plus is well worth all of the risks that come
alone.
Work Cited Page
"DEA /Federal Trafficking Penalties." DEA /Federal Trafficking Penalties. DEA, n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. .
"Drug Trafficking in the United States." Drug Trafficking in the United States. Policy Almanac, May 2004. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. .
Feyerick, Deborah, Michael Cary, and Sheila Steffen. "Drug Smugglers Becoming More Creative, U.S. Agents Say." CNN. CNN, 16 Apr. 2009. Web. 14 Oct. 2012. .
Grey, Alex. "Federal Drug Trafficking Penalties." Federal Drug Trafficking Penalties. U.S. Department of Justice, n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. .
"Legal Topic Overviews: Penalties for Illegal Drug Trafficking." EMCDDA. European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2012. .
"United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime." Drug Trafficking. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2012. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. .
Van Solinge, Tim B. "Drug Use and Drug Trafficking in Europe." Drug Use and Drug Trafficking in Europe. CEDRO, 1998. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. .
October 2012
Drug Trafficking
All over the world there are different types of trafficking crimes committed every day. Whether it is sex, human, or weapon trafficking, all types are a serious crime and maintain a constant occurrence everyday. Besides those three types of trafficking, there is one in particular that happens all over the world and seems to make more of a statement than anything else, drug trafficking. The reason that it gains more attention than anything else is because it involves more ordinary people, and is extremely easy to come in contact with. Drug trafficking has estimated yearly revenue of over $400 Billion (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime). That is not even comparable when you consider …show more content…
weapon trafficking has yearly revenue of approximately $50 billion and is second behind drug trafficking. Not only is it important to understand exactly what drug trafficking is and consist of, it is important to know exactly where drug trafficking is taking place and know the penalties for drug trafficking for any future referencing. First of all, drug trafficking is a globalized illicit trade. What this means is that it is a crime that causes direct human, social, political, or environmental harm. By being an illicit trade, drug trafficking is involved with the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of substances that are subject to drug prohibition laws. Though drug trafficking is illegal, it is a major part of the world’s global economy (Van Solinge). With the amount of revenue drug trafficking brings in each year, the United Nations has reported that it accounts for about eight percent of the total international trade. In comparison, it represents about the same percentage of goods internationally traded from China to Wal-Mart. Within the revenue that is made each year are cold-hearted criminals who have no respect for the law. Even with drugs being illegal, people manage to traffic and conceal cocaine, heroin, marijuana, MDMA, and methamphetamine shipments for distribution in the U.S. With tight security in the United States as well as other countries, you would be led to believe that trafficking drugs from country to country is a difficult process. As time goes by, criminal justice officials adjust to the new technology and create more difficult ways for anything to be smuggled into and out of a country. Likewise to the criminal justice officials, criminals, or smugglers, are also adapting to the new era, and creating easier ways for them to pass through without turning a head. In our day and age, it is almost as easy to cross any border with drugs than it would be to cross without. Today, most illegal substances are shipped out of European and Middle Eastern countries with the destination of the North America. Most of the shipments that come into the United States are smuggled through the Mexican border and through Cargo ships entering Florida (Drug Trafficking in the United States). With every day going past and people attempting to stop drug trafficking, CNN reporters Feyerick, Cary and Steffen say, “Drug traffickers are throwing everything they 've got at getting drugs into the United States any way they can.” With that being said, every day is a challenge for both traffickers and law enforcement. Drug trafficking is a serious issue all over the world, and usually when officers easily find large amounts of drugs, it is only a distraction to sneak through more than triple what was actually found (Hayes). Though billions of dollars worth of drugs are trafficked into the United States each year, it is important to know that people are caught, and that saves millions of dollars worth of drugs from reaching its destination.
The amount of punishment a person can receive for being a drug trafficker varies depending on the type of drug, how much you have, and how many offenses you’ve had in the past. The most popular drug that is trafficked, for example, is marijuana. Major drug cartels usually carry between 100 and 1000 kilograms worth of marijuana when shipping it across borders. The punishment for your first offense with possession of 100-999 kilograms of weed is “Not less than 5 years or more than 40 years in prison. If death or serious bodily injury, not less than 20 years or more than life in prison. Fine not more than $5 million if an individual, $25 million if other than an individual” (DEA). If you have a second offense with the same amount, you double all of the numbers. Drug trafficking is something the DEA tells people not to play around with, because nothing good ever comes out of it. Other countries, such as the United Kingdom has a minimum penalty of seven years in prison and a maximum life in prison based on the courts discretion of the circumstances of the case. Spain, on the other hand, has only a maximum of nine years on an offence, and minimum of 1 year with small fines. As you can see, different countries handle drug trafficking in very different …show more content…
ways. In the United States, drugs such as marijuana are seen as bad and useless. But when traveling to Different continents such as Europe, you will find more of a social norm when it comes to drugs. The differences in the normality of drugs in different regions is what makes it possible for drugs to be grown or man made and shipped to different places to make millions of dollars. A pound of weed in Europe today is worth approximately $3000, while a pound of weed in the United States could be sold for approximately $6000. Being an illegal substance makes it more profitable for and provider because of such high demand. To conclude, drug trafficking is the number crime committed across the globe.
Millions of different people from different religious, cultural, and ethnic groups work together to buy, sell, and ship drugs from country to country. As drugs go from country to country, they are most likely becoming more profitable because of distance it has traveled and the area it is destined for. While being able to smuggle in drugs to different countries in order to double or even triple the amount of money you can sell them for is financially great, drug traffickers must know what they risk. If caught for any large shipment, that one person or group could owe millions in fines and spend up to life in prison. Even with the prison possibilities, most people who run drug trafficking organizations will probably tell you the $100 billion plus is well worth all of the risks that come
alone.
Work Cited Page
"DEA /Federal Trafficking Penalties." DEA /Federal Trafficking Penalties. DEA, n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. .
"Drug Trafficking in the United States." Drug Trafficking in the United States. Policy Almanac, May 2004. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. .
Feyerick, Deborah, Michael Cary, and Sheila Steffen. "Drug Smugglers Becoming More Creative, U.S. Agents Say." CNN. CNN, 16 Apr. 2009. Web. 14 Oct. 2012. .
Grey, Alex. "Federal Drug Trafficking Penalties." Federal Drug Trafficking Penalties. U.S. Department of Justice, n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. .
"Legal Topic Overviews: Penalties for Illegal Drug Trafficking." EMCDDA. European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2012. .
"United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime." Drug Trafficking. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2012. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. .
Van Solinge, Tim B. "Drug Use and Drug Trafficking in Europe." Drug Use and Drug Trafficking in Europe. CEDRO, 1998. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. .