Drug War in the USA

DRUG WAR IN THE USA – STUDYING CURRENT & FUTURE TRENDS
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Abstract
The drug war took place in the United States of America (USA) in 1971 under the leadership of Richard Nixon, former US President. Since 1971, the USA has spent approximately USD1 trillion to eliminate drug trading and peddlers from society. Until recent times, the American government took strict actions, engaged different institutions, and strengthened financial crime monitoring to create barriers for drug lords situated in neighboring countries. The provisions were successful as countries like Mexico and Vietnam experienced challenges while circulating drugs in the USA. However, the efficacy of the American government got disturbed after the pandemic outbreak. The imposed lockdowns and social distancing policies altered the lifestyles of an average American household. The USA's law enforcement agencies (LEAs) failed to maintain monitoring or engage healthcare and educational institutions to continue the campaign with an impact. The LEAs require necessary improvements to overcome the gaps and regain control over the drug war in the USA.
Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Abstract PAGEREF _Toc92956541 \h 21. Introduction PAGEREF _Toc92956542 \h 42. Discussion PAGEREF _Toc92956543 \h 52.1 Background of Drug Wars in the USA PAGEREF _Toc92956544 \h 52.2 Crimes related to Drug Trading in the USA PAGEREF _Toc92956545 \h 62.3 Policies and Actions Declared during the War PAGEREF _Toc92956546 \h 82.4 Gains and Losses of the Drug War Policies in the USA PAGEREF _Toc92956547 \h 102.5 Current Trends PAGEREF _Toc92956548 \h 112.6 Future Trends PAGEREF _Toc92956549 \h 133. Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc92956550 \h 14References PAGEREF _Toc92956551 \h 15
Drug War in the USA – Studying Current & Future Trends
1. Introduction
The American War on illegal drugs is a nation-altering event in the United States of America (USA). Over the years, the drug war in the USA introduced a paradigm shift in the American politics, social, and economic settings nationwide. The government spent trillions of dollars to intervene in the drug trade in the country while educating generations to prevent abusive habits (Hobson, 2014). In decades, most countries, including the USA, encountered different challenges, opportunities, and drug lords, making policies and provisions success and failure at regular intervals. The War on illegal drugs in the USA also influenced the political relationships of the American government with notable trading countries. The American government invested significant resources to protect communities from adverse indulgence, which holds power to destroy the generations (Regilme Jr., 2020). According to Hobson (2014), the drug war is a more sensitive event in American history, having equal relevance to the 9/11 terror attacks.
Illegal drug trading in the USA, or any country, is one of the foundational sources for organized crimes. Countries experience illicit actions among the generation. Besides, most countries, such as the USA, are more likely to compromise the valuable resources that could contribute to the wellbeing of the political and economic landscapes of the country (Regilme Jr., 2020). In this context, the objective of this paper is to investigate the role of the American government in mitigating illegal drug trading in the country. The investigation would identify the crimes associated with illicit drug trading, policies introduced by the American government, gains and losses of actions taken by the government, followed by an analysis of current and future trends in the illegal drug trade. The illicit trading drug has been a toxin for generations, and countries encounter unprecedented challenges if the activities are not stopped by the law enforcement agencies (LEAs).
2. Discussion
2.1 Background of Drug Wars in the USA
According to Lee (2021), the American government announced a war against drug trading and pedaling in the USA in 1971. The country experienced notable substance abuse, domestic violence, and health declination. Ex-President Richard Nixon launched the campaign. By profession, Ex-President Nixon was a part of different LEAs, serving in the roles of enforcement administration. In the president-ship role, Nixon envisioned the sensitivity of drugs widespread in society and caused a domestic imbalance in the USA (Lee, 2021). In 1971, the American government allocated USD155 million to the drug war campaign, which was necessary to identify, fight, and eliminate the public enemy in society (Smith, 2021).
According to Smith (2021), the introduction to the campaign brought a paradigm shift in the political provisions and social engagement among the LEAs. The drug policies drew a sharp line between the USA and states engaged in drug production. Countries in Latin and Central America, particularly Mexico, are proactive in producing drugs and pedaling to other states in the USA (Smith, 2021). However, the militarization of drugs created barriers for Mexico until the 1980s. In the early 1960s, Mexico recorded a 90% growth in the marijuana industry. The country established a separate sector for heroin and cocaine by collaborating with Vietnam (Smith, 2021). After introducing anti-drug policies and launching a drug war campaign, the industries penetrating the USA from Mexico and Vietnam collapsed evidently in the early phases. LEAs in America adopted different tactics and methods to fight the drug lords entering Mexico and Vietnam. The campaign started aggressive awareness programs to educate youth about drug protection and avoidance (Smith, 2021).
Under Nixon's leadership, the LEAs remained stealthy and aggressive in tracking the drug peddlers in the USA and overseas borders. However, the administration changed in 1974 as Gerald Ford was appointed as the President of the USA (Smith, 2021). Ford provided further support to the LEAs by introducing transparency in actions. Ford emphasized the LEAs to penetrate drug-producing villages in Mexico and nearby countries to destroy marijuana and opium fields.
American government went into an international conflict with the neighboring countries to protect the generations from drug addiction (Smith, 2021). Until FY2021, the American government invested trillions of dollars in mitigating the country's drug spread. The government took strict provisions against the countries like Mexico and Vietnam to eliminate the source. However, the drug war campaign is still undergoing aggressively to educate the American society and maintain barriers for the drug peddlers locally and internationally.
2.2 Crimes related to Drug Trading in the USA
Drug trafficking in the USA introduced new avenues for organized crimes in the country. Most peddlers are conducting criminal actions by placing legitimate businesses upfront. The American LEAs identified a few notable organized crimes injected by the drug trafficking in the USA:
* Money Laundering and Other Financial Crimes – Money laundering is an actual crime associated with drug trafficking. The drug lords and peddlers would use drug money in financial institutions. The placement is performed by parking drug money into different bank accounts or investing in capital market instruments for earning additional capital gain. The order is time-consuming as the drug traders would remain camouflaged with the financial activities and movement. Secondly, the drug money would experience layering, which the peddlers convert into foreign currencies or disburse to relevant counterparties (Marine, 2006).
The peddlers perform the integration by investing drug money into legitimate businesses. LEAs responsible for investigating financial crimes experience challenges acquiring traces of money laundering originating from drug trading activities. Money laundering is a fundamental concern for LEAs while investigating cases of drug lords. The drug peddlers could route money for terrorism funding or create bottlenecks for national reserves (Deblis III, 2014). Over the decades, the American government experienced notable events of terrorism and financial adversities originated by drug trading, resulting in a weakened economic structure.
* Organized Immigration Crime – Illegal immigration circles also receive fundamental support from drug trading activities. In the USA, 1.6 illegal immigrants enter the country every minute. The majority of cases of unlawful immigrants are performed for drug peddling and trading. The drug mafias use illicit immigrants as hippies to penetrate society and distribute drugs among the public. The immigrants do not have concrete associations or identification that could risk drug traders. Besides, LEAs experience challenges in tracing the origination and background of peddlers with a relevant country, which keeps cases open (Galemba, 2021). Hence, illegal immigration became a subsidiary of drug mafias worldwide.
* Forced Labor and Modern Slavery – Drug trafficking also promotes modern slavery culture in the USA. The peddlers use people under debt or other circumstances to distribute drugs in society. Modern slavery allows the peddlers to trade drugs without encountering financial or identification risks. Individuals under modern slavery are forced to labor, serving drug peddlers to overcome debts or other life-altering threats (Frazier & Walts, 2021). LEAs introduced different acts and policies to prevent modern slavery used for drug trafficking.
* Illegal Firearm Trafficking – The organized crimes promote illegal firearm trafficking through drug peddling. The drug mafias provide illegal firearms to hippies and roadside distributors to escape unexpected situations. The guns are not licensed, creating complexities for the LEAs to trace the origination. Besides, the peddlers would risk the safety measures of innocents while carrying an illegal firearm during drug trafficking (Santiago, 2021). Hence, the LEAs experience a fundamental challenge to overcome the unwanted inflow of illicit guns, drugs, and substances in society, creating social vulnerability nationwide.
2.3 Policies and Actions Declared during the War
The American government strengthened and expanded policies for combating drug trading in the USA. The LEAs created guidelines for separate crimes associated with drug trading. The government also enforced schools and medical institutions to spread awareness towards drug trading, trafficking, and substance abuse. Some essential policies and actions declared by the American government during the drug war are as follows:
* Making School Education Mandatory – Education institutions are the fundamental target market for drug peddlers. The drug traders intend to influence the cognitive behaviors of youth and create attraction for drug consumption. In this context, the American government introduced policies for schools to conduct awareness programs and educate children about drug consumption, substance abuse, and related consequences. LEAs bind the schools to develop civic sense among the children early. Institutions failing to comply or provide necessary anti-drug awareness are penalized by the LEAs accordingly (Lesser, 2021).
* Responsibilities of Healthcare Institutions – During the drug war in the USA, the American government introduced provisions for the healthcare facilities simultaneously, which is a secondary or post-consumption target market for the drug peddlers. The American government introduced policies and actions to legalize and decriminalize medical drugs, such as marijuana. The healthcare facilities are guided to use appropriate channels and concrete reasons for prescribing marijuana under medical treatments (Lesser, 2021).
Healthcare facilities could experience license termination and other legal consequences from Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) and related LEAs if the practitioners' policy guidelines for decriminalization and legalization are breac...