Drug Smuggling in the United States

Drug Smuggling in the United States Name Institution Drug Smuggling in the United States Outline The following is the outline of my research paper on the topic of drug smuggling in the United States: Introduction This section will give a brief overview of the topic by focusing on why drug smuggling is such a serious issue in the United States. Statistics will be, thus, provided to indicate the severity of thematter, thus revealing the need for research on drug smuggling issue. It will also give the thesis statement of the paper which is “To effectively fight drug smuggling, the U.S. must understand the types and sources of drugs that are being smuggled in.” In addition, this section will also state the purpose of this research paper. Body This section will address each segment of the thesis statement in addition to the issues highlighted in the purpose statement. Thus, the section will cover the common types of illicit drugs in the U.S., the main sources of these drugs, and the means in which the drugs get into the country. Statistics will be provided to support the information provided in this section. Further, this section will also examine the approaches being used by other countries in the fight against drug addiction and smuggling. The main focus will be on China and Portugal which have used opposite approaches in this war and achieved different results. Basically, this section will have three subtitles. Conclusion This section will provide a summary of all issues covered in the research paper. In addition, a recommendation of what should be done to enhance the fight against drug smuggling will be provided in this last section. Drug Smuggling in the United States Illegal drug use has been one of the greatest challenges faced by Americans to the extent of the opioid epidemic being declared a homeland security and health issue. Death arising from illegal drug overdose has been on the rise and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2018) reveal that between 1999 and 2017, more than 700,000 American have died as a result of a drug overdose. The approach to dealing with this epidemic has been to protect the borders and eliminate drug smuggling into the United States (U.S.). However, the war on drugs has become a complicated affair in the country and in the recent past, there have been calls to legalize some of the illegal substances such as marijuana. Smith (2017) posits that this change of strategy is partly due to the politics involved in the war on drugs and partly due to the costs associated with policing in response to drug smuggling. To effectively fight drug smuggling, it is imperative to understand the types and sources of drugs being smuggled into the country. This paper examines the common drugs smuggled into the U.S., their major sources, and the approaches adopted by the U.S. and other countries in addressing the issue of drug smuggling. Common Illegal Drugs The most common illegal drugs that are smuggled into the U.S. are cocaine and marijuana. Cocaine became popular after it was introduced in Mexico and ultimately, became easily accessible to Americans (Medel, Lu, & Chow, 2014). Drug overdose as a result of cocaine consumption is common in the U.S., yet many Americans are still using the drug. In fact, the CDC (2018) reveals that approximately 2% of the American population is using cocaine which has resulted in about 14,000 deaths following an overdose. Marijuana, however, has not been associated with any overdose deaths, but it also has some negative health effects on users. The CDC (2018) reveals that approximately 9% of the American population uses marijuana and 1.5% of them have a marijuana use disorder. These statistics, especially on the number of users is alarming, but it is worth noting that marijuana use has been legalized in some states in the U.S. However, while marijuana can now be produced locally, it is still being smuggled into the country given that the demand is increasing in some states. Heroin is the most common opioid in the U.S. and over the past years, its use has increased at an alarming rate. In fact, Jones, Bruera, Abdi, and Kantarjian (2018) reveal that in 2015, heroin use caused over 15,000 deaths because it was used more than prescription drugs. The major problem with heroin is that it is mostly used concurrently with other drugs, thus increasing the chances of an overdose. The CDC (2018) reveals that people who are addicted to alcohol, cocaine, and marijuana are at high risk of using these substances together with heroin. Other than heroin, fentanyl is another opioid that ...