During the financial crisis in Mexico in 1995, it was estimated that the country’s earning from oil exports was equivalent to the same amount of money involved in the laundering of drugs and that major drug cartels in Mexico continually rake in profits in the region of ten to thirty billion dollars annually (UNESCOPRESS 2002). This goes to highlight the huge underworld of dealings in illicit drugs, not just in Mexico but globally. Following the UN Conventions of 1961, 1971 and 1988 states internationally, in particular the US, have waged an arguably failing war on drugs with one of the underlying motives being the reduction of drug-related crime. Such crimes range from addicts trying to feed their expensive habit through thefts, burglary …show more content…
The drugs in question are the 250 or so drugs deemed illegal by the UN conventions. Yet a focus on the licit nature of one of the most powerful drugs, alcohol, will be important in understanding the effects drugs have on crime and the lessons that can be learnt from alcohol prohibition in the past.
One of the main perpetrators of drug related crimes are drug addicts who seek to fund their expensive habits by committing crimes. First of all, it is important to note that despite the common perception of the drug abuser being a lifeless junkie with no real ambitions research has shown that most users of illicit drugs are independent individuals who are able to lead ordinary lives (Bennetto and Todd 1997). The minority of illicit drug users who do suffer from addiction and consequently engage in crime to fund their costly addictions have predominantly been found not to be acting out of violent impulses, but more out of motivation for money to purchase drugs. Research has shown that most crimes instigated by addicts have been of a peaceful nature and suggest a greater use of wit than force (Goldstein 1985: 5). What’s more, the characteristics attributed to drug abusers, such as paranoia, introversion and psychotic tendencies have been deemed to be under specific character traits that can be equally attributed to any criminal, even those who do not take drugs. Comparisons of drug addicted prisoners to non-addicted prisoners has shown that
Substance abuse and consumption have become an epidemic in America. The use of drugs results in countless drug-related deaths and causes states to spend billions of dollars to combat drug trafficking. Drugs are shipped in by sea, air, automobile, and even smuggled in by person. These drugs are supplied by drug cartels. These criminal organizations where formed to promote, control, produce, and distribute narcotic drugs. While these cartels operate from all parts of the world, some of the most infamous are the Mexican and Columbian Cartels. America has put policies into combating drug trafficking, however these policies are not
CRIMINOLOGYDoes drug use cause crime, does crime cause drug use or is the relationship entirely co-incidental?INTRODUCTIONIn this paper I will look at the amount and type of crime caused by drugs, the relationship between drugs and crime and the relationship between alcohol and crime.
After reading Mexico’s Illicit Drug Networks and the State Reaction, I have concluded that this short read is highly informative and intriguing. I personally was drawn in by the horrific stories of violence, kidnapping, and mass murders of deadly encounters, and fascinated by learning how the state planned and responded. Author Nathan Jones, is able to illustrate why Mexican drug cartels have been able to prolong existence while under attack by Mexico and the United States. He is able to do so by examining and comparing two types of illicit drug networks and how they provoke different state reactions based on their business strategy. Jones relates his discoveries to the Arellano Felix Organization because “it was one of the first Mexican cartel to be targeted by the state and split along trafficking-oriented and territorial lines [where] one survived and one did not” (p. 12). This read is significant because it allows for the government to better distinguish between drug networks that will withstand the test of time, and those that will crumble under pressure. Jones utilizes his findings and applied it to the novel, and the current drug prohibition program.
The Alcohol and other drug (AOD) field is dynamic and fluid and is constantly being shaped by a variety of forces (The Department of Health, 2004). Illicit drug use is a widespread issue around the world, posturing significant social and economic costs to the health care system, justice department and social welfare systems in both developing and developed countries (Damrongplasit, Hsiao, & Zhao, 2012). Criminal Justice and addictive drugs have been tangled in Australia and internationally for a century or more. Ever since the addictive and destructive properties were discover within certain drugs, officials have declared the production, distribution, sale and possession of drugs to be illegal (Sherman & Valenta, 2015).
The “War on Drugs” has been a hot topic for several decades in the United States. The argument for the success of this campaign usually varies depending on one’s political affiliation. The government handled the ongoing campaign differently with each new administration taking command, most of them having no little success. The fact of the matter is that the ideal of a “drug free civilization” is far from reality. The world is coming to terms that the various drug-fighting programs across the world are not producing the desired results. In fact, UN Office on Drugs and Crime doesn’t publicly aspire to reach a drug-free world. That wishful scenario seems very close to impossible at this moment. The office biggest claim to fame is that that the international drug markets have stabilized, which is not very optimistic.
The War on Drugs has become an epidemic today afflicting United States and the United Nations; which are swayed by global drug laws which preserve the criminal justice system. These new laws promote an ineffective policies on the war on drug. Therefore, communities are locked while the promotion of illicit drugs becomes the dominate framework to organized crimes. Today, the war on drugs continues to be an ongoing battle within our society. This paper will examine these issues focusing primarily on historical struggles controlling our society. Improvement must be lenient punishment policies based on the relevance and/or risk of these psychoactive drugs.
Drugs play a tremendous role in the world of crime. In 2004, the United States Department of Justice stated 64% of Federal prisoners and 70% of State prisoners regularly used drugs. 25% of current inmates felt intoxicated on drugs when they committed whatever crime got them in jail. Narcotics not only cause addiction problems, but they also motivate crime. Contrabands lead to crime
Drug trafficking is one of the most serious problems in the world.It is indeed an international concern, especially in the American continent. Sadly, this apparently shows no signs of changing anytime soon. Researchers believe that it will end when the UNODC (United Nations office on drugs and crime.) pressures and investigates corruption into Mexico and the South America‘s Governments leading to intervention and effective punishment. First of all, the US is trying to end corruption within their own borders. It is not known if the full impact of this “disease” or “habit” has been fully recognized. It is not a secret that drugs and illegal immigration is crossing everyday through the borders of the United States, then they must pressure and investigate corruption into Mexico and the South America‘s Governments. what really make the attractive is that the drug business is that it is so productive that it had grab the attention of thousands of people, which have got involved all kind of societies. the rich people wants more money and poor people
There is clearly a high demand for recreational drugs in the United States, and because of this drug cartels all through Mexico and South America have thrived for decades. This essay will explore some of the reasons why Mexican Cartels have thrived in the new Millennium creating a drug trade that is estimated to bring The Cartels over 3 billion dollars in profits this year alone. It will also explore the tactics used by both the United States and Mexico in combatting the illicit drug trade and the cartels that have their hands firmly in their control.
Mexico is currently the largest foreign supplier of methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana, and heroin to the United States. Corruption in Mexico’s political system has allowed drug trade operations to flourish and for cartels to become lethal and powerful forces. Along with the influx of drugs, the wave of violence that followed President Calderon’s declaration of war on drug trafficking in 2006 has taken an estimated 164,000 lives as of July 2015.2 The United States has been waging a war on drugs for over 40 years. President Nixon was the first president to declare a war on drugs in June 1971 to combat a rise in
Large organizations called cartels reign over the illegal drug economy in Mexico which are in constant violent competition against U.S. law enforcement officials and members of the Mexican government. According to Campbell (2008), there are four main cartels including the Chapo Guzmán Cartel, the Tijuana Cartel, the Gulf Cartel, and the Juárez Cartel. Attempts to control the multi-billion dollar drug trafficking trade leads to dangerous and often fatal circumstances that have evolved from the “informal, unregulated, underworld nature of smuggling” (Nordstrom 2007) created by pressures from the Mexican government and the United States’ “War on Drugs”.
There is a popular widespread belief in the media, politics and society that illegal drugs and addiction to illegal drugs, in general, is the cause of a significant proportion of crime (Seddon, 2000). This idea has exerted an increasingly strong hold on drug policies around the world (Bean, 2008), including New Zealand. The drug-crime link refers to the argument that crime is one of, if not the major, consequent problems of drug use (Bean, 2008), essentially, crime is a problem that arises from drug use and drug use can arise from crime also. Drugs and crime are consistently related to each other in a number of studies, however, despite popular belief, the connection between the two are far too complicated to summarise as a straightforward
Drug trafficking has become an increasingly growing problem in the world today. Illegal drug trade is a worldwide black market consisting of production, distribution, packaging, and sale of illegal substances. Although today’s "War on Drugs" is a modern phenomenon, drug problems have been a common problem throughout history. The market for illegal drugs is massive, when we consider the estimated global drug trade value is worth $321 billion (Vulliamy). The most drug trafficking happens on the border between Mexico and the United States. Former Mexican President Felipe Calderon said, “Our neighbor is the largest consumer of drugs in the world. And everybody wants to sell him drugs through our door and our window”
A lot of people link drug abuse with crime, at times even with violent crime. This association comes from psychopharmacological association that imply that people may engage in criminal acts after taking some kind of substance known to undermine their judgment as well as self-control result in paranoid thoughts and distortion of inhibitions (Sewell, Poling and Sofuoglu, 189). Though all substances that affect the central nervous system might result in this kind of relationships, scientific information indicates that some type of drugs have a more strong effect than others. Such drugs are alcohol, cocaine, phencyclidine and amphetamines (McCauley, Ruggiero, Resnick and Kilpatrick, 136). Inversely, cannabis and heroin are less associated with desire to commit
There has always been a close association between drugs and crime. Drugs have been seen as a way out of suffering in one’s life and so as long as there is suffering there will always be a market for drugs. The struggle to keep one’s self sane when away from a substance they need can cause them to do crazy and even violent things to others. Things like murdering someone because they did not have proper control of themselves is not something unheard of by any means. These people can been seen as both victims and criminals, as they were not in a sound state of mind when doing these actions, however them doing the actions does not mean they should get off scot-free. The users are only one side of the coin, the other is the drug dealers. The dealers do not have to be selling purely illegal drugs, they may be selling prescription drugs too, but in the pursuit of their own survival in a struggling life, they turn to selling substances to others. By doing so they can even amass a fortune, but this is still a crime, and what people will do to try to get all this potential money can span from robbing to murder. The articles I read from different media support the fact there is indeed a tie with crime and drugs, being that an increase of drugs on the street leads to more crime.