A pressing question stands for illicit drug use in the United States: why are these drugs labeled illicit even illegal? Drugs such as marijuana, heroin, cocaine, and most pills are termed illegal simply because the United States government believes that these drugs affect our bodies in the most terrible ways. The problem occurs when we can connect social problems between crime and drugs. According to Drugs, Crime, & Contemporary Perspectives, the use of drugs is connected to crime rates in the United States and around the world. It is believed that people commit crimes because of the effects of drugs.
War on Drugs in Guatemala Oriana Peñaranda Introduction to International Relations 1011 Dr. Charles MacDonald March 23, 2012 The Central American country of Guatemala has experienced the traumatic effects of drug trafficking for about 30 years now and is desperately trying to find solutions to resolve this problem. Drug cartels have taken over large swathes of Guatemala and other Central American countries, fueling some of the highest murder rates in the world. Drug trafficking is a major issue because it threatens the stability, prosperity and peace of the country. The issue of illegal drug trafficking and the violence that comes with it is nothing new to Guatemala. Why does Guatemala suffer from the immense amount of drug trafficking?
In addition, gangs increasingly are smuggling large quantities of heroin, cocaine, and MDMA (also known as ecstasy) into the United States. Local street gangs in rural, suburban, and urban areas transport drugs within very specific areas, most of what seem to be low socio-economical areas. Some gangs collect millions of dollars per month selling illegal drugs, trafficking weapons, operating prostitutions rings, and selling stolen property. Gangs launder their proceeds by investing in real estate, recording studios, motor cycle shops, and construction companies. The extent of gangs/drugs A proliferation in gangs will also mean a growth in drug and violence in our community’s and threatening society in general.
Mexicans can smuggle just about anything across the border and upon this realization came the Mexican drug cartel boom. “The Columbians began heavily relying on Mexican smuggling prowess in the 1990’s as Columbia’s larger criminal factions dissolved into smaller groups” (Mexico’s Internal Drug War, 2006). The Columbians soon began selling cocaine at wholesale price to Mexican cartels, which caused the rival cartels (the Sinaloa cartel and the Juarez cartel) to battle over the control of the profit. “The downstream revenue is largely dictated by points of entry into the United States, such as Nuevo Laredo, and points of reception from Columbia, such as Acapulco” (Mexico’s Internal Drug War, 2006). The demand for drugs, such as cocaine and marijuana, in the United States has steadily increased in the last few decades.
I feel the criminal justice system needs to be stricter. In Canada, British Columbia is the worst place for problems with crystal meth. The number of deaths has increased from three in 2000 to thirty-three in 2004. Most of those deaths have been caused by drug overdoses or car accidents in which the driver was high on meth. When the RCMP in Canada investigated drug labs they found, about 60% of them produce crystal meth and about 40% produce ecstasy.
“Illegal immigration is a major cause in the overcrowding of our schools and our prisons.” (Bender, David) Michael Huffington, a former member of the US House of Reps. For California says that, “Many illegal immigrants come for two purposes that are both destructive and expensive: to commit crimes or to receive government benefits.” (Huffington, 63) “For instance, the 18th Street gang in Southern California is one of the nation’s most violent street gangs with a staggering 20,000 members. More appalling is the fact that 60 percent of the 18the Street gang’s
One of the main roots that has lead to the increasing of gangs, violence, murder rates, corruption, impunity, smuggling and crime of Mexico is drugs. Drug trafficking, drug production and drug consumption are all prevailing in the Mexican society. As they continue to grow so has the relationship between Mexico and other countries has been horribly affected. The border country, the United States receives about 90% of cocaine from South America through Mexico. Mexico provides the United States with the largest supply of marijuana and is the second largest source for heroin.
Drug trafficking, in years past, have been very present in countries like Cuba, where drug lords attempted to run the country. Through drug cartels, as mentioned earlier, groups of people try to sell these illegal drugs in attempt to gain money and power. However, these type of cartels are very dangerous as the affect the lives of individuals. More recently, Mexico has been heavily hit by the drug trafficking epidemic, and this has caused an ongoing war that seems almost impossible to end. Living the United States, one can easily forget how great a right it is to practice free speech.
The alarming statistics that relate to youth violence are alarming and over whelming. Upon review of a study about youth violence, The Center for Disease Control (CDC) states that in 2007, 5764 young people aged 10-24 were murdered, that’s an average of 16 each day (CDC2010). With that said murder is the second leading cause of death for that age group. Other less severe crimes, but still inexcusable are also on the rise. Assaults committed by young people ages 10-24 were responsible for more than 656,000 injuries treated in an emergency room (CDC2010).
In the United States, The War on Drugs is a major event that has been negatively affecting our country for many years. Since it began, the War on Drugs has wasted a ton of money and put harmless people in jail. All drugs should be legalized. It has been proven, and is blatantly clear that people are doing drugs whether they are legal or not. The War on Drugs is causing more harm than good in our country.