Jack Tidd - Drugs on Drugs (real one)

Columbian Drug Trade

The Issue lies in Columbia where cocaine and marijuana are being gown and smuggled into the US and Canada. Since 1970 Columbia has been solely responsible for some of the most violent and sophisticated drug trafficking gangs and organizations in the world. This trade is so profitable that the traffickers are able to purchase and build high tech equipment for smuggling even more cocaine into the US. What only cost roughly $1,500 to make in a lab in the jungle, sold for around $50,000 a kilo on the streets in America. This astounding profit led to the business attracting characters you wouldn’t normally expect to see taking over such as cattle farmers and businessmen.

The two biggest cartels involved were the Medellin and Cali Cartels. The Medellin cartel self destructed when it grew to power too quickly and the Cali cartel is said to still be operating even though the leaders are behind bars.

This issue was, and still is mainly involving Columbia, the US and Canada. Although, notably, cocaine usage in Britain and many European countries has more than doubled in the past few years, most of their cocaine is exported from Brazil, Bolivia and Peru. It negatively impacts the social aspect of the countries the drugs are smuggled into. Drug usage went up as more and more cocaine began to enter the US and recent studies show that 1 in 15 citizens in the US have ‘tried’ cocaine. This impacts users families and close friends and increases criminal gang activity in many major cities.

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Cocaine being such a widely exported good is obviously a major component of Latin America’s economy. The drugs annual revenue is estimated to rake in $9-10 billion. Cocaine accounts for around two thirds of America’s annual drug spending which is a total of $31 billion of the $49 billion annual spending. A funny fact is that Americans spend more money on cocaine than on airline tickets, gas utilities, or magazines and newspapers. Due to the market being so large it is considered the lifeline of Colombia, Bolivia and Peru’s economies. An estimated 500,000 Andeans work in the cocaine cycle. About 1.5 percent of Columbia’s work force, and 3 Percent of Bolivia and Peru work in cocaine. These staggering number go to show just how reliant certain economies can be on these illicit hard drugs.

Today Columbia has fallen from the #1 spot for cocaine distribution. Many wonder why. Colombia used to be responsible for 42% of the worlds cocaine and in 2012 it was reported that Columbia had fallen behind Peru and Bolivia. This is believed to have been due to a ramping up of enforcement by the Colombian government. The US helped to fund Plan Columbia, spraying weed killer from planes. This was coupled with the demand from the US dropping. In just a two-year span from 2006-2008, regular cocaine usage went from 3% of American adults to 2.2%. Colombia’s fall from the #1 spot is being described as “historic”. If we are able to use the same methods on other major cocaine distributors we can potentially solve the cocaine problem in North America.

Though the statistics look hopeful, there’s always more statistics to squash them over. Peru’s cocaine production has increased by 40% and is coming up as the world Cocaine leader. This goes to show that no matter whom you crush, another leader will always rise. Latin Americans call this ‘Cockroach Effect’ you can kill the cockroaches in one corner of your house but regardless they’ll pop up in another. We are far from finding a permanent solution to this issue; rather, the war on drugs is constantly going one step forward and two steps back.