Term Paper on "International Drug Trafficking"

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International Drug Trafficking number of drugs including cocaine, opiates, cannabis, and synthetic drugs such as MDMA (ecstasy) and methamphetamines are considered illegal in most parts of the world. Declaring a substance illegal, however, does not mean that its use or demand can be eliminated as was so famously experienced in the United States after the alcohol prohibition in the 1920s. It just results in the creation of a black market in which the demand for the banned substances (in this case, illicit drugs) is met by organized criminals. Similarly, the current worldwide demand for illicit drugs is largely met through international drug trafficking -- a multi-billion dollar cross-border business that links the growers and producers of the illicit drugs with the consumers. This paper about "International Drug Trafficking" describes the extent of the problem, analyzes the reasons for drug trafficking and the changing patterns in recent times, besides giving an overview of the major drugs being trafficked internationally. The related problem of money laundering through which most of global drug trade is financed is also touched briefly.

The Extent of the Problem

Statistics about the production, trafficking and consumption of illicit drugs are notoriously difficult to come by due to the hidden nature of the trade, but a recent report by the United Nations reveals that an estimated 3% of the global population (or 185 million people) are current consumers of illicit drugs. This translates into 4.7% of the world population in the age group of 15 to 64. Drug users include people from around the world, regardless of their cultural, social and economic background. It is generally ag

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reed that the total number of illicit drug users around the globe have stabilized over the last few years and illicit drug use is far lower than, for example, global tobacco use which is close to 30% among the 15 to 64 age-group. These figures, though encouraging, cannot be cause for complacency since notable increase in the use of certain individual drugs such as designer drugs (amphetamines and ecstasy) and cannabis have been observed of late. Most governments, policy makers and the public opinion in a majority of countries are in agreement that the current levels of drug use are very high and need to be brought down considerably. The concern about controlling drug abuse is due to health reasons, i.e., the death and destruction caused by drug abuse, particularly among the youth; the promotion of related criminal activities such as money laundering and terrorism, and other long-term effects on the social and political cultures of the countries involved in drug trade including the promotion of violence, corruption and the spread of HIV / AIDS along drug trafficking routes.

Reasons for Drug Trafficking

The single major reason why people get involved in drug trafficking is the enormous amount of profits that can be made in the business due to its illegal nature. Although considerable amounts of money are made from the growing and production of illicit drugs, drug trafficking is the most lucrative part of the drug trade because the share of underground money in drug trafficking is the largest. The desire to accumulate power, which is arguably just a corollary of money, is also cited as a reason for indulging in drug trafficking. Some dealers of soft drugs such as marijuana who work with relatively low profit margins cite a "philanthropic desire" to enable people to enjoy such illegal drugs and to help them to get "high" rather than pure profit as their main motivation for being in the drug trade. This may seem far fetched in a capitalist culture where all economic activities are supposed to be triggered by the desire to make money. On the other hand, we must keep in mind the idealistic nature of the counter-culture movement of the 1960s, which had adopted the use of marijuana as a symbol of its disdain for materialistic values and, therefore, there may be some truth in the assertion. However, there is little doubt that the overriding reason for drug trafficking -- including that of marijuana -- is the desire to tap the enormous amounts of profits in the trade due to the high cost of an illegal product, which is not very expensive to make.

The Changing Patterns of Drug Trafficking

Since the major objective of drug trafficking is making of money, the activity follows the basic economic rules of supply and demand, applying the best available technology and appropriating resources to maximize the profits. This also requires the drug traffickers making appropriate adjustments in their modus operandi to counter the moves of the drug enforcing agencies. For example, n recent times, there has been a significant reduction in the trafficking of opium-based drugs such as heroin, while trafficking of synthetic drugs (e.g., amphetamines and ecstasy) has increased probably due to higher profit margins in the trading of the new drugs.

Another discernable pattern in international drug trafficking is the trend to move towards harder drugs of higher potency that enables the transportation of substance of greater value in smaller bulks. This is reflected in the move towards the traffic of synthetic drugs and more potent / concentrated forms of other drugs such as crack and hashish. The trafficking trends are also affected by other factors such as political developments, fashions in drug-taking and the policies of the drug-enforcing agencies. In the recent past, cannabis has assumed a position of a quasi-legal drug in certain parts of the world such as parts of Europe and Canada, drawing less severe attention from the drug enforcers. This could be one of the reasons for the increase in its consumption and supply, which runs counter to a general shift towards trafficking of harder drugs.

The United States and Europe remain the major markets for drug trafficking but, increasingly, the traffickers are now targeting the markets of the countries of their origin for their operations too. For example heroin abuse was unknown in Afghanistan and Pakistan until the 1980s -- two major producers of opium. Now, the countries have a serious internal drug problem on their hands with millions of local heroin addicts. This aspect of the drug problem provides a strong incentive for the producer countries to crack down on drug trafficking in their own country -- something they may have neglected to do in the past by considering the drug trade as "someone else's problem."

Overview of Major Drugs Being Trafficked Internationally

The major drugs being trafficked internationally are cannabis (marijuana and hashish), cocaine, opiates (heroin, morphine, and opium), and amphetamine type stimulants (ats) (methamphetamine, ecstacy, and amphetamine). The major target markets for the sale of most illegal drugs are Europe and the United States mainly because the highest profits can be extracted only from high-income countries while different regions of the world "specialize" in the farming and manufacturing of different drugs. Notable areas of origin are: Columbia and other Latin American countries for cocaine; the "golden triangle" -- border areas of Thailand, Laos, and Burma -- as well as Afghanistan and the border areas of Pakistan for heroin. Cannabis is grown in many countries around the world and the synthetic drugs such as MDMA (ecstasy) and Methamphetamines are also manufactured in different countries, most notably in the United States, Myanmar and Netherlands.

Cannabis (marijuana & hashish):

Cannabis, usually distributed in the form of cannabis herb (marijuana) and cannabis resin (hashish), is the most extensively trafficked drug in the world and it is produced and consumed in virtually every country. In 2002 alone, a total of 5800 tons of cannabis products (4700 tons of herbs, 1000 tons of resin and 1 ton of cannabis oil) were seized worldwide -- a total which is more than 100 times of heroin seized in the same period. These seizure figures indicate a generally upward trend from the 1990s onward with overall figures for 2002 being twice as high as a decade earlier.

The main market for cannabis herb (marijuana) is the United States with Mexico being its main supplier, followed by other Latin American countries, while the main market for cannabis resin (hashish) is Europe -- Morocco, Pakistan and Afghanistan being the main suppliers to the region. Country-wise cannabis seizures for 2002 show that Mexico leads the pack for marijuana followed by the United States, while for hashish, most seizures were made in Morocco, followed by Pakistan.

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), most of the marijuana is smuggled into the U.S. By organized crime groups operating from Mexico, who maintain extensive networks of associates, often related through familial or regional ties to people living in the United States. These criminal groups also control the smuggling and wholesale distribution network from the so-called "hub cities" to retail markets throughout the country.

Cocaine:

Cocaine, produced from the Coca plant is mostly grown and produced in South America, with Columbia being the leading producer. The main market for the product is the United States, although the latest trend in cocaine traffic indicates that drug… READ MORE

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Quoted Instructions for "International Drug Trafficking" Assignment:

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I would like the following research paper with the following details. This is the instructions I received from the professor. I did know how else to give you the details of my research paper other than coping it from my course instructions. I apologize if I have given you too much. Most of this I'm sure you already know.

Before submitting your paper for a grade, there are several questions you will want to ask.

(1) Is the topic I chose one that came from the approved list in the syllabus? Don’t deviate at all unless you get it cleared first.

(2) Is the paper the required length? Ten pages means ten pages of text, and this it doesn’t include the cover page. In addition, do not include a ‘Works Cited’ page or bibliography, as these do not substitute for footnotes.

(3) Is my style acceptable for a college-level submission? This means you must avoid the use of short, choppy sentences; that is, those containing seven and eight words (or fewer) as the norm. Sentence after sentence of this length drives the reader half-crazy, and if there is anything that is guaranteed to get you a low grade, it is writing like this. If you have any doubt about what I’m looking for, you should read a good newspaper and note how smoothly the sentence structure flows. Compound sentences in this kind of forum are the norm.

(4) Is my submission grammatically and syntactically sound? Are words spelled correctly? Are you using the proper case and tense? Is there subject/verb agreement? Are you using antecedents and their nouns and pronouns properly? Do you even care what an antecedent is? The way you write is the way you think, and sloppy, careless prose belies a disorganized mind.

(5) Did I use the first person at all? This is obviously a paper that illustrates what you think about something, but you must do so without using the pronoun ‘I,’ as in ‘I think this about so and so.’

(6) Am I being too polemical? Watch the harsh, argumentative language, because all it will do is alienate the reader. Remember, you are trying to convince him to come across to your point of view, and insulting rhetoric directed towards someone or something is seldom going to sway the uncommitted. This is not to say that you can’t criticize, only that you do so constructively.

(7) Am I editorializing? Are you too emotional in your arguments? In good writing, balance is the key, and a well-reasoned argument resting on verifiable research will always win out over one based on ecstasy or anguish or, at the other end of the spectrum, platitudinous drivel.

(8) How sound is my research? Are you just being lazy and taking the easy way out by handing in a paper that rests on a few articles and newspapers and other secondary material, or are you going to put some work into this thing and look for primary sources that really do strengthen your argument?

(9) Am I being prescriptive? This paper is supposed to be an analytical assessment of an issue where you tell the reader why something has happened, and not how to correct it. Analyze, don’t offer a remedy. I want to know the reasons something happened, not what to do about it. That style of writing is more suitable for newsmagazines or think tanks that have been hired to offer solutions to problems, and not necessarily something that falls within the realm of scholarly endeavors.

(10) Am I including too much unnecessary information? Get to the point. If you are writing about Iran’s nuclear capability, don’t bore the reader with a history of the country. Stay on message and don’t get distracted. Take a utilitarian approach whereby every word you write is done so with your thesis in mind: does this word I’m using right now help further my goal of explaining my subject? Put the paper down for a few days after you’ve finished writing it and then look at it again. Does what you say still make sense? Be your own harshest judge so that you can be proud of what you write. You’re not doing yourself any favors by allowing a marginal piece of fluff to get into my hands.

(11) Did I use the proper citation style? This course requires the use of the MLA style

(which uses footnotes) and a paper using another methodology will not be accepted. Please see the course syllabus (Instructional Materials) for a recommended research text.

(12) Have I plagiarized at all? This is a critical area, so these are the questions you need to ask yourself: did I buy my paper from a papermill? If so, the chances are better than even that I’m going to get caught, mostly because the average paper from such a source is so contrary to my style that even a half wit could tell the difference. And if the professor misses these signals, products of papermills are invariably such pieces of junk and are so poorly written that I’ll get bombed for a grade anyway. And I’m out $50!! But if I did write it, did I give proper credit to the authors from whom I quoted and whose ideas I used? Either way, I have plagiarized and Dr. Cronin, who has seen some very inventive cheating in his time, will catch me and nail me but good.

The professor threaten to use search engines of colleges and universities to check to see of the paper we submit has been plagiarized. PLEASE MAKE THIS RESEARCH PAPER "CUSTOM" AS YOU INIDICATED SO THAT IT CANNOT BE TRACED.

Additional information given by the professor:

The Components of a Research Paper

Any paper you submit in undergraduate or graduate school will contain the same components: an introduction, a body and a conclusion. It is important to have a general idea of the composition of these parts, because an inaccurate usage of any of them will result in a disjointed submission that distorts what you are trying to tell the reader.

The introduction need not be long, and in a 12-page paper, it might be no more than one-half page long, and a page at the most. Quite simply, the introduction tells the reader what he is about to read by outlining the thesis of your paper. If you have a point to make, then you make it here and be done with it.

The body will be where you convince the reader that you know what you are talking about. It is here that you must make your case and convince your audience that yours is the most compelling point of view available. And you make your case through the use of primary sources that support your thesis. The more sources of this nature that you use, the more convincing your argument.

Your conclusion should be about the same length as your introduction and do nothing more than summarize your thesis without being repetitive.

Quoting is the usage of exact wording from a source.

Paraphrasing is accurately restating the information in your own words.

Summarizing is breaking down the information to its main ideas.

When relying on information that you obtain from research sources, you must acknowledge where the information comes from by the way that you introduce the information (identifying tag word or phrase) or proper citation.

Possible steps to follow when using original sources in you paper:

1)Introduce your idea into a paragraph before you provide your source. This thought can be your topic sentence.

2)Having established a context, guide the reader directly to your source using an identifying tag word or phrase. Do not use dropped quotes.

3) Quote, paraphrase or summarize the source.

4) Correctly cite (document) the source.

5) Effectively use the source by commenting on it, responding to it, explaining its significance.

Remember to use proper punctuation with quotes:

Use “ “ for direct quotations

Use ‘ ‘ for a quotation within a quotation

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SERVICE. I LOOK FORWARD TO THE FINISED PRODUCT.

Sheila Feimster

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