Illegal drug trade

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International drug routes





In the early 19th century, an illegal drug trade in China emerged. The Chinese government retaliated by enforcing a ban on the import of opium that led to the First Opium War (1839–1842) between the United Kingdom and Qing dynasty China. Chinese authorities had banned opium, but the United Kingdom forced China to allow British merchants to trade opium. Trading in opium was lucrative, and smoking opium had become common in the 19th Century, so British merchants increased trade with the Chinese. As a result of this illegal trade, by 1838 the number of Chinese opium addicts had grown to between four and twelve million.[6] The Second Opium War broke out in 1856, with the British joined this time by the French. After the two opium wars, the British Crown, via the treaties of Nanking and Tianjin, took large sums of money from the Chinese government through this illegal trade[clarification needed], which were referred to as "reparations".

In 1868, as a result of the increased use of opium, the UK restricted the sale of opium in Britain by implementing the 1868 Pharmacy Act.[7] In the United States, control of opium was a state responsibility until the introduction of the Harrison Act in 1914, following the passing of the International Opium Convention in 1912.

Between 1920 and 1933, alcohol was banned in the United States. This law was considered to have been very difficult to enforce and resulted in the growth of many criminal organizations, including the modern American Mafia.[8][9]

The Australian Crime Commission's illicit drug data report for 2011–2012 was released in Western Sydney on 20 May 2013, and revealed that the seizures of illegal substances in Australia during the reporting period were the largest in a decade, due to record interceptions of amphetamines, cocaine and steroids.[10]

The beginning of the 21st century saw a drug use increase in North America and Europe, with a particularly increased demand for marijuana and cocaine.[11][12] As a result, international organized crime syndicates such as the Sinaloa Cartel and 'Ndrangheta have increased cooperation among each other in order to facilitate trans-Atlantic drug trafficking.[13] Another illicit drug with increased demand in Europe is hashish, which is generally smuggled from Morocco to Spain, where it is later exported to its final markets (mostly France and Western Europe).[14][15]

The UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), the chief drug policymaking body of the United Nations, held its annual meeting in Vienna, Austria in mid-March 2014, following a period of historic drug policy reforms throughout the world—such as the decision of the Uruguay government to become the first national jurisdiction in the world to legalize cannabis.[16] The International Drug Policy Consortium stated in the lead-up to the meeting that "[t]he meeting itself is likely to feature standoffs between reform-oriented countries and governments that favour failed criminal justice models, which have resulted in mass incarceration and rampant human rights abuses such as the death penalty for non-violent drug offences." The support of drug policy reform by Joanne Csete, deputy director of the Open Society Global Drug Policy Program, was also published in the consortium's media release that “[t]here will be no shortage of governments that seek to bury their heads in the sand and pretend these drug policy reforms aren’t happening. But try as they might, the movement for drug law reform is unstoppable.”[17]

Legal penalties[edit]


Drug smuggling carries severe penalties in many countries. Sentencing may include lengthy periods of incarceration, flogging and even the death penalty (in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and elsewhere). In December 2005, Van Tuong Nguyen, a 25-year-old Australian drug smuggler, was hanged in Singapore after being convicted in March 2004.[18] In 2010, two people were sentenced to death in Malaysia for trafficking 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of cannabis into the country.[19] Execution is mostly used as a deterrent, and many have called upon much more effective measures to be taken by countries to tackle drug trafficking;[20] for example, targeting specific criminal organisations (which are often also active in the smuggling of other goods (i.e. wildlife) and even people[21][22] In some cases, even links between politicians and the criminal organisations have been proven to exist.[23]

Effects of the illegal drug trade on societies[edit]


Honduras, through which an estimated 79% of cocaine passes on its way to the United States,[25] has the highest murder rate in the world.[26] According to the International Crisis Group, the most violent regions in Central America, particularly along the Guatemala–Honduras border, are highly correlated with an abundance of drug trafficking activity.[27]

Violent crime[edit]

Jamaican drug lord Christopher Coke being escorted by DEA agents

In many countries worldwide, the illegal drug trade is thought to be directly linked to violent crimes such as murder. This is especially true in developing countries, such as Honduras, but is also an issue for many developed countries worldwide.[28][29] In the late 1990s in the United States the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimated that 5% of murders were drug-related.[28]



Illegal cocaine trade via Venezuela[edit]


According to the United Nations, there was an increase of cocaine trafficking through Venezuela since 2002.[32] In 2005 Venezuela severed ties with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), accusing its representatives of spying.[33] Following the departure of the DEA from Venezuela and the expansion of DEA's partnership with Colombia in 2005, Venezuela became more attractive to drug traffickers.[34] Between 2008 and 2012, Venezuela's cocaine seizure ranking among other countries declined, going from being ranked fourth in the world for cocaine seizures in 2008[35] to sixth in the world in 2012.[36]

Illegal cocaine trade via West Africa[edit]

Cocaine produced in Colombia and Bolivia increasingly has been shipped via West Africa (especially in Cape Verde, Mali, Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Guinea-Bissau and Ghana).[37] The money is often laundered in countries such as Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal.


According to the Africa Economic Institute, the value of illicit drug smuggling in Guinea-Bissau is almost twice the value of the country's GDP.[37] Police officers are often bribed. A police officer's normal monthly wage of €75($94) is less than 2% of the value of 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of cocaine (€7000 or $8821).[citation needed] The money can also be laundered using real estate. A house is built using illegal funds, and when the house is sold, legal money is earned.[38] When drugs are sent over land, through the Sahara, the drug traders have been forced to cooperate with terrorist organizations, such as Al Qaida in Islamic Maghreb.[39][40]

Main drug trafficking route in Asia[edit]



Drugs are increasingly traded online on the dark web on Darknet markets.[42]


Hashish seized in Operation Albatross, a joint operation of Afghan officials NATO and the DEA

Statistics about profits from the drug trade are largely unknown due to its illicit nature. In its 1997 World Drugs Report the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimated the value of the market at $4 trillion, ranking drugs alongside arms and oil among the world's largest traded goods.[43] An online report published by the UK Home Office in 2007 estimated the illicit drug market in the UK at £4–6.6 billion a year[44]




Drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere[edit]

Main article: Drug cartel


There are several arguments on whether or not free trade has a correlation to an increased activity in the illicit drug trade. Currently, the structure and operation of the illicit drug industry is described mainly in terms of an international division of labor.[46] Free trade can open new markets to domestic producers who would otherwise resort to exporting illicit drugs. Additionally, extensive free trade among states increases cross-border drug enforcement and coordination between law enforcement agencies in different countries.[46] However, free trade also increases the sheer volume of legal cross-border trade and provides cover for drug smuggling—by providing ample opportunity to conceal illicit cargo in legal trade. While international free trade continues to expand the volume of legal trade, the ability to detect and interdict drug trafficking is severely diminished. Towards the late 1990s, the top ten seaports in the world processed 33.6 million containers.[46] Free trade has fostered integration of financial markets and has provided drug traffickers with more opportunities to launder money and invest in other activities. This strengthens the drug industry while weakening the efforts of law enforcement to monitor the flow of drug money into the legitimate economy. Cooperation among cartels expands their scope to distant markets and strengthens their abilities to evade detection by local law enforcement.[46] Additionally, criminal organizations work together to coordinate money-laundering activities by having separate organizations handle specific stages of laundering process.[46] One organization structures the process of how financial transactions will be laundered, while another criminal group provides the “dirty” money to be cleaned.[46] By fostering expansion of trade and global transportation networks, free trade encourages cooperation and formation of alliances among criminal organizations across different countries. The drug trade in Latin America emerged in the early 1930s.[47] It saw significant growth in the Andean countries, including Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia and Argentina.[47] The underground market in the early half of the 20th century mainly had ties to Europe. After World War II, the Andean countries saw an expansion of trade, specifically with cocaine.[47]

The United States[edit]



Political impact[edit]


Marijuana was a popular drug seen through the Latin American trade route in the 1960s. Cocaine became a major drug product in the later decades.[48] Much of the cocaine is smuggled from Colombia and Mexico via Jamaica.[49] This led to several administrations combating the popularity of these drugs. Due to the influence of this development on the U.S. economy, the Reagan Administration began "certifying" countries for their attempts at controlling drug trafficking.[48] This allowed the US to intervene in activities related to illegal drug transport in Latin America. Continuing into the 1980s, the United States instated stricter policy pertaining to drug transit through sea. As a result, there was an influx in drug-trafficking across the Mexico–US border.[48] This increased the drug cartel activity in Mexico.[48] By the early 1990s, so much as 50% of the cocaine available in the United States market originated from Mexico, and by the 2000s, over 90% of the cocaine in the United States was imported from Mexico.[48] In Colombia, however, there was a fall of the major drug cartels in the mid-1990s. Visible shifts occurred in the drug market in the United States. Between the years 1996 and 2000, US consumption of cocaine had dropped by 11%.[50]


Social impacts[edit]

Although narcotics are illegal in the US, they have become integrated into the nation's culture and are seen as a recreational activity by sections of the population.[52] Illicit drugs are considered to be a commodity with strong demand, as they are typically sold at a high value. This high price is caused by a combination of factors that include the potential legal ramifications that exist for suppliers of illicit drugs and their high demand.[53] Despite the constant effort by politicians to win the war on drugs, the US is still the world’s largest importer of illegal drugs.[53]

Throughout the 20th century, narcotics other than cocaine also crossed the Mexican border, meeting the US demand for alcohol during 1920s Prohibition, opiates in the 1940s, marijuana in the 1960s, and heroin in the 1970s.[54] Most of the U.S. imports of drugs come from Mexican drug cartels. In the United States, around 195 cities have been infiltrated by drug trafficking that originated in Mexico.[52] An estimated $10bn of the Mexican drug cartel’s profits come from the United States, not only supplying the Mexican drug cartels with the profit necessary for survival, but also furthering America's economic dependence on drugs.[52]


With a large wave of immigrants in the 1960s and onwards, the United States saw an increased heterogeneity in its public.[55] In the 1980s and 90s, drug related homicide was at a record high. This increase in drug violence became increasingly tied to these ethnic minorities. Though the rate of violence varied tremendously among cities in America, it was a common anxiety in communities across urban America. An example of this could be seen in Miami, a city with a host of ethnic enclaves.[55] Between 1985 and 1995, the homicide rate in Miami was one of the highest in the nation—four times the national homicide average. This crime rate was correlated with regions with low employment and was not entirely dependent on ethnicity.[55]

The baby boomer generation also felt the effects of the drug trade in their increased drug use from the 1960s to 80s.[56] Along with substance abuse, criminal involvement, suicide and murder were also on the rise. Due to the large amount of baby boomers, commercial marijuana use was on the rise. This increased the supply and demand for marijuana during this time period.[56]


Political influences[edit]


In 1929, The Institutional Revolutionary Party(PRI) was formed to resolve the chaos resulting from the Mexican Revolution. Over time, this party gained political influence and had a major impact on Mexico's social and economic policies.[48] The party created ties with various groups as a power play in order to gain influence, and as a result created more corruption in the government. One such power play was an alliance with drug traffickers. This political corruption obscured justice, making it difficult to identify violence when it related to drugs.[58] By the 1940s, the tie between the drug cartels and the PRI had solidified. This arrangement created immunity for the leaders of the drug cartels and allowed drug trafficking to grow under the protection of the government officials. During the 1990s, the PRI lost some elections to the new National Action Party(PAN). Chaos again emerged as elected government in Mexico changed drastically.[59] As the PAN party took control, drug cartel leaders took advantage of the ensuing confusion and used their existing influence to further gain power.[59] Instead of negotiating with the central government as was done with the PRI party, drug cartels utilized new ways to distribute their supply and continued operating through force and intimidation.[59] As Mexico became more democratized, the corruption fell from a centralized power to the local authorities.[59] Cartels began to bribe local authorities, thus eliminating the structure and rules placed by the government—giving cartels more freedom.[59] As a response, Mexico saw an increase in violence caused by drug trafficking.

The corruption cartels created resulted in distrust of government by the Mexican public.[59] This distrust became more prominent after the collapse of the PRI party.[59] In response, the presidents of Mexico, in the late twentieth century and early twenty-first century, implemented several different programs relating to law enforcement and regulation. In 1993, President Salinas created the National Institute for the Combat of Drugs in Mexico. From 1995–1998, President Zedillo established policies regarding increased punishment of organized crime, allowing "[wire taps], protected witnesses, covert agents and seizures of goods", and increasing the quality of law enforcement at the federal level. From 2001–2005, President Vicente Fox created the Federal Agency of Investigation.[57] These policies resulted in the arrests of major drug-trafficking bosses:

Arrested Drug Traffickers
Year Person Cartel
1989 Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo Sinaloa Cartel
1993 Joaquín Guzmán Loera Sinaloa Cartel
1995 Héctor Luis Palma  
1996 Juan Garcia Abrego Gulf Cartel
2002 Ismael Higuera Guerrero[57] Tijuana Cartel
Jesus Labra Tijuana Cartel
Adan Amezcua Colima Cartel
Benjamin Arellano Felix Tijuana Cartel
2003 Osiel Cardenas[57] Gulf Cartel

Mexico's economy[edit]

Over the past few decades drug cartels have become integrated into Mexico’s economy. Approximately 500 cities are directly engaged in drug trafficking and nearly 450,000 people are employed by drug cartels.[59] Additionally, the livelihood of 3.2 million people is dependent on the drug cartels.[59] Between local and international sales, such as to Europe and the United States, drug cartels in Mexico see a $25–30bn yearly profit, a great deal of which circulates through international banks such as HSBC.[59] Drug cartels are fundamental in local economics. A percentage of the profits seen from the trade are invested in the local community.[59] Such profits contribute to the education and healthcare of the community.[59] While these cartels bring violence and hazards into communities, they create jobs and provide income for its many members.[59]

Culture of drug cartels[edit]

Major cartels saw growth due to a prominent set culture of Mexican society that created the means for drug capital. One of the sites of origin for drug trafficking within Mexico, was the state of Michoacán. In the past, Michoacán was mainly an agricultural society. This provided an initial growth of trade. Industrialization of rural areas of Mexico facilitated a greater distribution of drugs, expanding the drug market into different provinces.[58] Once towns became industrialized, cartels such as the Sinaloa Cartel started to form and expand. The proliferation of drug cartel culture largely stemmed from the ranchero culture seen in Michoacán. Ranchero culture values the individual as opposed to the society as a whole.[58] This culture fostered the drug culture of valuing the family that is formed within the cartel. This ideal allowed for greater organization within the cartels. Gangs play a major role in the activity of drug cartels. MS-13 and the 18th Street gang are notorious for their contributions and influence over drug trafficking throughout Latin America. MS-13 has controlled much of the activity in the drug trade spanning from Mexico to Panama[59] Female involvement is present in the Mexican drug culture. Although females are not treated as equals to males, they typically hold more power than their culture allows and acquire some independence. The increase in power has attracted females from higher social classes.[60] Financial gain has also prompted women to become involved in the illegal drug market. Many women in the lower levels of major drug cartels belong to a low economic class. Drug trafficking offers women an accessible way to earn income.[60] Females from all social classes have become involved in the trade due to outside pressure from their social and economic environments.


Political ties[edit]

It was common for smugglers in Colombia to import liquor, alcohol, cigarettes and textiles, while exporting cocaine.[47] Personnel with knowledge of the terrain were able to supply the local market while also exporting a large amount of product.[47] The established trade that began in the 1960s involved Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela and Cuba. Peasant farmers produced coca paste in Peru and Bolivia, while Colombian smugglers would process the coca paste into cocaine in Colombia, and trafficked product through Cuba.[47] This trade route established ties between Cuban and Colombian organized crime. From Cuba, cocaine would be transported to Miami, Florida; and Union City, New Jersey. Quantities of the drug were then smuggled throughout the US.[47] The international drug trade created political ties between the involved countries, encouraging the governments of the countries involved to collaborate and instate common policies to eradicate drug cartels. Cuba stopped being a center for transport of cocaine following the establishment of a communist government in 1959. As a result, Miami and Union City became the sole locations for trafficking.[47] The relations between Cuban and Colombian organized crime remained strong until the 1970s, when Colombian cartels began to vie for power. In the 1980s and 90s, Colombia emerged as a key contributor of the drug trade industry in the Western Hemisphere. While the smuggling of drugs such as marijuana, poppy, opium and heroin became more ubiquitous during this time period, the activity of cocaine cartels drove the development of the Latin American drug trade. The trade emerged as a multinational effort as supplies (i.e. coca plant substances) were imported from countries such as Bolivia and Peru, were refined in Colombian cocaine labs and smuggled through Colombia, and exported to countries such as the US.[61]

Colombia's economy[edit]

Colombia has had a significant role in the illegal drug trade in Latin America. While active in the drug trade since the 1930s, Colombia's role in the drug trade did not truly become dominant until the 1970s.[61] When Mexico eradicated marijuana plantations, demand stayed the same. Colombia met much of the demand by growing more marijuana. Grown in the strategic northeast region of Colombia, marijuana soon became the leading cash crop in Colombia.[47] This success was short-lived due to anti-marijuana campaigns that were enforced by the US military throughout the Caribbean.[47] Instead, drug traffickers in Colombia continued their focus on the exportation of cocaine.[47] Having been an export of Colombia since the early 1950s, cocaine remained popular for a host of reasons. Colombia's location facilitated its transportation from South America into Central America, and then to its destination of North America. This continued into the 1990s, when Colombia remained the chief exporter of cocaine.[50] The business of drug trafficking can be seen in several stages in Colombia towards the latter half of the 20th century. Colombia served as the dominant force in the distribution and sale of cocaine by the 1980s. As drug producers gained more power, they became more centralized and organized into what became drug cartels.[50] Cartels controlled the major aspects of each stage in the traffic of their product. Their organization allowed cocaine to be distributed in great amounts throughout the United States. By the late 1980s, intra-industry strife arose within the cartels.[50] This stage was marked by increased violence as different cartels fought for control of export markets. Despite this strife, this power struggle led to then having multiple producers of coca leaf farms. This in turn caused an improvement in quality control and reduction of police interdiction in the distribution of cocaine.[50] This also led to cartels attempting to repatriate their earnings which would eventually make up 5.5% of Colombia's GDP.[50] This drive to repatriate earnings led to the pressure of legitimizing their wealth, causing an increase in violence throughout Colombia.[50]

Throughout the 1980s, estimates of illegal drug value in Colombia ranged from $2bn to $4bn.[61] This made up about 7-10% of the $36bn estimated GNP of Colombia during this decade. In the 1990s, the estimates of the illegal drug value remained roughly within the same range (~$2.5bn).[61] As the Colombian GNP rose throughout the 90's ($68.5bn in 1994 and $96.3bn in 1997),[61] illegal drug values began to comprise a decreasing fraction of the national economy.[61] By the early 1990s, although Colombia led in the exportation of cocaine, it found increasing confrontations within its state. These confrontations were primarily between cartels and government institutions. This led to a decrease in the drug trade's contribution to the GDP of Colombia; dropping from 5.5% to 2.6%.[50] Though a contributor of wealth, the distribution of cocaine has had negative effects on the socio-political situation of Colombia and has weakened its economy as well.[50]

Social impacts[edit]


Trade in specific drugs[edit]


Four ounces of cannabis
Main article: Legality of cannabis

While the recreational use of (and consequently the distribution of) cannabis is illegal in most countries throughout the world, it is available by prescription or recommendation in many places, including Canada and some US states, with Washington state and Colorado being the two first states to legalize marijuana for recreational use, although importation and distribution is prohibited at the federal level.[62] Beginning in 2014, Uruguay will be the first country to legalize cultivation, sale, and consumption of cannabis for recreational use for adult residents.[verification needed]




Main article: Ethanol

Alcohol, in the context of alcoholic beverages rather than denatured alcohol, is illegal in a number of countries, such as Saudi Arabia, and this has resulted in a thriving illegal trade in alcohol.[67][vague] The manufacture, sale, transportation, importation and exportation of alcoholic beverage were illegal in the United States during the time known as the Prohibition in the 1920s and early 1930s.


Main article: Heroin
A field of opium poppies in Burma
Heroin woven into a hand-made carpet seized at Manchester Airport, 2012

Up until around 2004 the majority of the world's heroin was produced in an area known as the Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia).[68][page needed] However, by 2007, 93% of the opiates on the world market originated in Afghanistan.[69] This amounted to an export value of about US$64 billion, with a quarter being earned by opium farmers and the rest going to district officials, insurgents, warlords and drug traffickers.[70] Another significant area where poppy fields are grown for the manufacture of heroin is Mexico.





Main article: Methamphetamine



Methamphetamine is sometimes used in inject-able form, placing users and their partners at risk for transmission of HIV and hepatitis C.[75] "Meth" can also be inhaled, most commonly vaporized on aluminum foil or in a glass pipe. This method is reported to give "an unnatural high" and a "brief intense rush".[76]

In South Africa methamphetamine is called "tik" or "tik-tik".[citation needed] Children as young as eight are abusing the substance, smoking it in crude glass vials made from light bulbs.[citation needed] Since methamphetamine is easy to produce, the substance is manufactured locally in staggering quantities.[citation needed]




Main article: Temazepam

Temazepam, a strong hypnotic benzodiazepine, is illicitly manufactured in clandestine laboratories (called jellie labs) to supply the increasingly high demand for the drug internationally.[78] Many clandestine temazepam labs are in Eastern Europe. The labs manufacture temazepam by chemically altering diazepam, oxazepam or lorazepam.[79] "Jellie labs" have been identified and shutdown in Russia, the Ukraine, Czech Republic, Latvia and Belarus.[80]

Surveys in many countries show that temazepam, MDMA, nimetazepam, and methamphetamine rank among the top illegal drugs most frequently abused.[81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91]

See also[edit]

International coordination:


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External links[edit]