Illegal drug trade
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Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/24.253.29.60|24.253.29.60]] ([[User talk:24.253.29.60|talk]]) to last version by 71.163.172.139
{{For|categorical legal drug trade|Bar (establishment)|Tobacco industry}}
{{Refimprove|date=November 2007}}
[[Image:MV Gatun Cocaine seizure by USCG.jpg|thumb|[[Panama]]nian motor vessel Gatun during the largest [[cocaine]] bust in [[United States Coast Guard]] history (20 tons), off the coast of Panama.]]
[[Image:Field of opium.jpg|thumb|A field of [[opium poppies]] in [[Burma]].]]
The '''illegal drug trade''' or '''drug trafficking''' is a global [[black market]] consisting of the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of illegal [[drug]]s. While some drugs are [[law|legal]] to possess and sell, in most jurisdictions laws [[prohibition (drugs)|prohibit]] the trade of certain types of drugs.
The illegal drug trade operates similarly to other underground markets. Various [[drug cartel]]s specialize in the separate processes along the [[supply chain]], often localized to maximize production efficiency and minimize damages caused by law enforcement. Depending on the profitability of each layer, cartels usually vary in size, consistency, and organization. The chain ranges from low-level street dealers who may be individual [[drug user]]s themselves, through [[street gang]]s and [[contractor]]-like [[middlemen]], up to multinational empires that rival governments in size.
Illegal drugs may be grown in [[wilderness]] areas, on [[farm]]s, produced in indoor or outdoor residential [[garden]]s or indoor [[hydroponic]] [[grow-op]]s, or manufactured in [[drug lab]]s located anywhere from a residential [[basement]] to an abandoned facility. The common characteristic binding these production locations is that they are discreet to avoid detection, and thus they may be located in any ordinary setting without raising notice. Much illegal drug cultivation and manufacture takes place in [[developing nations]], although production also occurs in the developed world.
In locales where the drug trade is illegal, [[police]] departments as well as [[court]]s and [[prison]]s may expend significant resources in pursuing [[drug-related crime]]. Additionally, through the influence of a number of black market players, corruption is a problem, especially in poorer societies.
Consumption of illegal drugs is widespread globally. While consumers avoid [[taxation]] by buying on the black market, the high costs involved in protecting [[trade route]]s from law enforcement lead to inflated prices.
Additionally, various laws criminalize certain kinds of ''trade'' of drugs that are otherwise legal (for example, untaxed cigarettes). In these cases, the drugs are often manufactured and partially distributed by the normal legal channels, and diverted at some point into illegal channels.
Finally, many governments restrict the production and sale of large classes of drugs through [[prescription drug|prescription]] systems.
==Origins==
In jurisdictions where [[legislation]] [[drug prohibition|restricts or prohibits]] the possession or sale of drugs, most commonly [[psychoactive drug]]s, potential drug buyers and sellers are unable to transact in the open. Only illegal drug trade remains an option, and when such trade occurs a black market is born.
Since the drug transaction itself is illegal, any participants in the trade are by definition [[criminal]]. With no significant additional cost to being convicted of drug charges, previous convicts hold a [[competitive advantage]] in providing illegal drug products.
==History==
[[Image:First Opium War Smuggling.jpg|thumb|upright|1921 photograph of Chinese Maritime Officers with {{convert|300|lb|abbr=on}} of smuggled [[morphine]] shipped in cylinders of [[sulphate of soda]] from Japan.]]
{{See also|Opium Wars}}
The trade of drugs has existed for as long as the drugs themselves have existed. However, the trade of drugs was fully legal until the introduction of [[drug prohibition]]. The history of the illegal drug trade is thus closely tied to the history of drug prohibition.
In the [[First Opium War]], [[Great Britain]] attempted to force [[China]] to allow British merchants to trade in [[opium]] with the general population of China. Although illegal by imperial decree, smoking opium was common in the 1800s and was believed to cure many health problems. In the [[United States]], a 1791 tax led to the [[Whiskey Rebellion]] in 1794.
==Illegal trade of legal drugs==
Legal [[Psychoactive drug|drug]]s can be the subject of [[smuggling]] and illegal trading if the price difference between the origin and the destination are high enough to make it profitable, due to high taxes or other restrictions in the destination locale. If a large price difference exists without legal restrictions, then legal trade of drugs can take place between the two markets.
===Alcohol and tobacco===
{{Main|Alcohol|Tobacco}}
With [[tax]]es on tobacco much higher in the [[United Kingdom]] than on mainland [[Europe]] there exists a sizable untaxed cigarette market in the UK. <ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4355145.stm BBC NEWS | Politics | Smuggling worry over tobacco rise<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Likewise in other regions where high-tax and low- or no-tax societies exist nearby, such as [[Canada]] and parts of the [[United States]] as well as various [[Indian reservation]]s. It is also illegal to sell or give tobacco or alcohol to minors in some of these areas, which is considered smuggling throughout most [[Developed country|developed countries]]. Alcohol is also produced privately (and sometimes illegally) as [[moonshine]].
===Prescription drugs===
[[Image:CBP with bag of seized counterfeit Viagra.jpg|thumb|left|upright|A [[U.S. Customs and Border Protection]] agent displays a large bag of seized counterfeit [[Viagra]] pharmaceuticals.]]
Some [[prescription drug]]s are also available by illegal means, eliminating the need to manufacture and process the drugs. For example, a few prescription [[opioid]]s, such as the group of the [[fentanyl]] analogues, are much stronger than heroin found on the street. They are sourced either from stolen or partly divided prescriptions sold by medical practices and occasionally from Internet sale. [[Benzodiazepine]]s, in particular [[temazepam]] and [[flunitrazepam]], are also frequently diverted to the black market through [[forgery|forged]] prescriptions, pharmacy [[robbery|robberies]] and [[doctor shopping]].<ref>{{cite web |title= Injecting Temazepam—Temazepam Injection and Diversion |url=http://www.health.vic.gov.au/drugservices/pubs/temazepam/facts.htm |date=29 March, 2007 |publisher=Victorian Governmant Health Information |accessdate=2007-11-25}}</ref> In [[Malaysia]] and [[Singapore]], there occurs similar diversion of [[nimetazepam]]. In the [[United States]], similar diversion of [[alprazolam]] and [[clonazepam]] is also common. However, it is much easier to control traffic in prescription drugs than in banned drugs because the manufacturer is usually an originally legal enterprise and thus the leak can often be readily found and countered. There might also be an advantage in reduced risk of contaminated or poor to outright toxic produce common with illegal [[clandestine laboratory]] production.
===Internet and controlled substances===
"No Prescription Websites" (NPWs) offer to sell controlled substances without a valid prescription. NPWs were first recognized by the [[U.S. Justice Department]] in 1999, indicating that such sites had been operating at least through the late 1990s. NPWs enable dealers and users to complete transactions without direct contact, meanwhile many NPWs accept credit cards, others only accept cash thereby further reducing any paper trail. Many NPWs are hosted in countries in which specific categories of controlled substances are locally legal (e.g. prescription opioids in Mexico), but because of the global nature of the internet, NPWs are able to do (mostly illegal) business with customers around the globe. In addition to prescription opioids, stimulants, and sedatives, steroids are often widely distributed. To date, no websites have been found selling illegal drugs like heroin, or illegal amphetamine derivatives. Some police have uncovered several instances of drug vendors or drug rings using [[Craigslist]] personal ads to solicit drug business using code words and phrases. All other categories of drugs are available online.
2004 saw the conclusion of [[Operation Web Tryp]], focusing on companies selling so-called [[research chemicals]], legal psychedelic [[phenethylamine]]s and [[tryptamine]]s on the Internet.
==Foreign intervention==
Some governments that criminalize drug trade have a policy of interfering heavily with foreign states. In 1989, the United States intervened in [[Panama]] with the goal of disrupting the drug trade coming from Panama. The [[Indian government]] has several [[covert operations]] in the [[Middle East]] and [[Indian subcontinent]] to keep a track of various drug dealers. [[Opium production in Afghanistan]] is a current problem in the development of a licit economy for that country.
==Terror organizations and illegal drug trade==
{{weasel|section|date=April 2008}}
There may be a link between drugs and terrorism, though this remains unconfirmed so far. The United Nations (UN) reports that the illegal drug trade is worth $400 Billion a year—more than the U.S. Department of Defense budget. The mass traffic in illegal drugs has greatly contributed to violence across the globe. Before drug trafficking was blamed for international terrorism, it was financing the arms race on America's streets. Similarly, any terrorist group with a militant agenda can tap into the huge resource. Yet it is the drug war itself that creates the drug-terror link, not vice-versa [http://www.drugpolicy.org/global/terrorism/] Many terrorist organisation are active in drug trade.<ref name="VonBuelow-ImNamenDesStaates">{{cite book |title=Im Namen des Staates. CIA, BND und die kriminellen Machenschaften der Geheimdienste |last=von Bülow |first=Andreas |authorlink=Andreas von Bülow |year=2000 |publisher=Pieper |language=German |isbn=3-492-23050-4 }}</ref> The PKK for instance[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4305692.stm] has allegedly controlled a big part of the European drug market.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.turkishweekly.net/comments.php?id=2827 |title=Drug Smuggling As Main Source of [[PKK]] Terrorism |accessdate=2008-03-07 |last=Laciner |first=Sedat |date=2008-02-11 |work=Opinion |publisher=Turkish Weekly}}</ref>
==Value of the illegal drug trade==
{{main|Drug-related crime}}
[[Image:Narco sub2.jpg|thumb|A Colombian [[drug submarine]] moments before interception by the U.S. Coast Guard in August 2007.]]
Some estimates placed the value of the global trade in illegal drugs at around [[USD|US$]]400 billion in the year 2000; that, added to the global trade value of legal drugs at the same time, totals to an amount higher than the amount of money spent for food in the same period of time. In the 2005 United Nations World Drug Report, the value of the global illicit drug market for the
year 2003 was estimated at US$13 billion at the production level, at US$94 billion at the wholesale level, and US$322–$400<ref>{{cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Drugs: A global business | date= | publisher= | url =http://observer.guardian.co.uk/drugs/story/0,11908,686664,00.html | work =[[BBC]] | pages = | accessdate = 2007-08-21 | language = }}</ref> billion based on retail prices and taking seizures and other losses into account. A recently published account of the mechanics of the drug trade ''The Illicit Drug Trade in the United Kingdom''<ref>[http://www.matrixknowledge.co.uk/the-illicit-drug-trade-in-the-united-kingdom/ Matrix Knowledge Group » The illicit drug trade in the United Kingdom<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> sized the UK Market at £8bn and estimated the amount spent on drugs each year was equal to 33% of the tobacco market and 41% of that for alcohol. The report included a detailed analysis of the illicit drug trade based upon over 220 interviews with high level drug traffickers in the UK.
==Violent resolutions==
In the late 1990s in the United States, the FBI estimates that 5% of murders were drug-related.<ref>Office of National Drug Control Policy. 2000. http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/factsht/crime/index.html</ref> In addition, drug smuggling can lead to harsh penalties, including the [[death penalty]], in certain countries (for example, [[Capital punishment in Singapore|Singapore]]).
Many have argued that the arbitrariness of drug prohibition laws from the medical point of view, especially the theory of [[harm reduction]], worsens the problems around these substances.
==Minors and the illegal drug trade==
The U.S. government's most recent 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) reported that nationwide over 800,000 adolescents ages 12-17 sold illegal drugs during the 12 months preceding the survey. [http://oas.samhsa.gov/nsduh/2k5nsduh/2k5Results.htm] The 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey by the U.S. [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC) reported that nationwide 25.4% of students had been offered, sold, or given an illegal drug by someone on school property. The prevalence of having been offered, sold, or given an illegal drug on school property ranged from 15.5% to 38.7% across state CDC surveys (median: 26.1%) and from 20.3% to 40.0% across local surveys (median: 29.4%). [http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5505a1.htm]
Despite over $7 billion spent annually towards arresting [http://www.prohibitioncosts.org/] and prosecuting nearly 800,000 people across the country for marijuana offenses in 2005 (FBI Uniform Crime Reports), the federally-funded Monitoring the Future Survey reports about 85% of high school seniors find marijuana “easy to obtain.” That figure has remained virtually unchanged since 1975, never dropping below 82.7% in three decades of national surveys. [http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/data/05data/pr05t13.pdf]
==Trade of specific drugs==
{{Unreferencedsection|date=February 2008}}
The price per gram of heroin is typically 8 to 10 times that of cocaine on US streets. [http://www.dea.gov/pubs/cngrtest/ct110905.html]
Generally in Europe (except the transit countries Portugal and the Netherlands), a purported gram of street Heroin, which is usually between 0.7 and 0.8 grams light to dark brown powder consisting of 5-10%, less commonly up to 20%, heroin base, is between 30 and 70 euros, which makes for an effective price of pure heroin per gram of between 300 and 2000 euros.
The purity of street cocaine in Europe is usually in the same range as it is for heroin, the price being between 50 and 100 euros per between 0.7 and 1.0 grams. This totals to a cocaine price range between 500 and 2000 euros.
===Anabolic steroids===
{{main|Anabolic steroids}}
According to the [[Office of National Drug Control Policy]], anabolic steroids are relatively easy to smuggle into the United States. Once there, they are often sold at gyms and competitions as well as through mail operations.
===Cannabis===
[[Image:4 ounces of marijuana.JPG|thumb|left|A box of Cannabis]]
{{main|Cannabis (drug)}}
In World Drug report 2006 [[UNODC]] focused on ''The New cannabis'', distribution of stronger marijuana with more [[THC]] and its health effects.<ref>[http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/world_drug_report.html UNODC World drug report 2006]</ref>
Most of the dank cannabis (headies) sold in the U.S. is grown in hidden grow operations indoors. The number 1 producer is California with an annual revenue of nearly 14 billion dollars in production, Tennessee is second with nearly 5 billion in production, Kentucky is third with around 4.5 billion, Hawaii is fourth with close to 4 billion, and Washington is fifth with a little over a billion (http://www.drugscience.org/Archive/bcr2/MJCropReport_2006.pdf). Much of the commercial cannabis (middies) in the United States is imported from Mexico. The cannabis imported from British Columbia in Canada, known as [[BC bud]], is sometimes of higher quality than cannabis grown in the United States (professionally grown herb from California medicinal dispensaries has a reputation as well). Cannabis that is old or has been dried and cured improperly frequently is tainted with a strong smell of grass, hay or alfalfa (beaster smell). Locally grown produce does not ordinarily smell this way, although outdoor-grown marijuana often smells of other plant material due to its mingled upbringing in nature. The beaster bud usually comes from an outdoor grow op within one of the top 5 producing states. Around 40% of US marijuana is grown inside of the country {{Fact|date=January 2008}}.
===Psilocybin mushrooms===
[[Psilocybe mushrooms]] grow naturally in tropical and sub-tropical climates, thus this drug market is financially less lucrative, even though there is no doubt a certain kind of commercial growing of the Psilocybe mushrooms, from different stages of maturity/manufacture of chewable dried mushroom tissue. [[Psychonaut]]s will often grow these mushrooms or pick them for themselves as they are common to find in many places of the world. This type of mushroom is commonly picked from cow pastures after rainfall, where the mushrooms sprout out of the cow manure when it is moist. People who trespass on cow pastures and are caught, often are suspected of illicit drug activity.
===Alcohol===
{{main|Alcoholic beverage}}
In some areas of the world, particularly in and around the Arabian peninsula, the trade of alcohol is strictly prohibited. For example, [[Pakistan]] bans the trade because of its large Muslim population. Similarly, [[Saudi Arabia]] forbids the importation of alcohol into its kingdom, however, alcohol is smuggled in very high quantities. Fugitive [[Cassandra Dickerson]] was a noted criminal smuggler responsible for 90% of the alcohol being smuggled into Saudi Arabia in 2003. [http://www.vheadline.com/printer_news.asp?id=55262] In other areas it is considered like any other beverage, and is legal. In still other areas, there is an age limit for consumers, and a license is necessary to sell alcohol.
Pure alcohol or liquids with high alcohol content over a certain percentage or proof, calculated by volume or weight, are also banned in many countries. In [[Russia]], for example, rubbing alcohol is a scheduled drug on par with heroin, and theoretically has the same legal penalties.
===Tobacco===
{{main|Tobacco}}
The illegal trade of tobacco is motivated primarily by increasingly heavy taxation. When tobacco products such as name-brand cigarettes are traded illegally, the cost is as little as one third that of retail price due to the lack of taxes being applied as the product is sold from manufacturer to buyer to retailer. It has been reported that smuggling one truckload of cigarettes within the United States leads to a profit of 2 million U.S. dollars. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23384-2004Jun7.html]
The source of the illegally-traded tobacco is often the proceeds from other crimes, such as store and transportation robberies.
Sometimes, the illegal trade of tobacco is motivated by differences in taxes in two jurisdictions, including smuggling across international borders. Smuggling of tobacco from the US into Canada has been problematic, and sometimes political where trans-national native communities are involved in the illegal trade.
The kingdom of [[Bhutan]] made the sale of tobacco illegal in December 2004, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4012639.stm] and since this time a flourishing black market in tobacco products has sprung up. In 2006, tobacco and [[betel nut]] were the most commonly seized illicit drugs in Bhutan. [http://www.tobacco.org/articles/country/bhutan/]
===Temazepam===
{{main|Temazepam}}
Temazepam, which is a strong hypnotic [[benzodiazepine]] is being illicitly manufactured in clandestine laboratories (called ''jellie labs'') to supply the increasingly high demand for the hypnotic drug internationally.<ref>{{cite web |author= Alex Robertson |title=Deadly 'jellies' flood city from Eastern Europe; Police chiefs fear drug-fuelled crime surge as home-made tablets hit streets again|url= http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P2-14277770.html|publisher= Evening Times |year=2003/10/10 | doi=}}</ref> Most clandestine temazepam labs are in [[Eastern Europe]]. The way in which they manufacture the temazepam is through chemical alteration of diazepam, oxazepam or lorazepam. <ref>European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), 2006. Annual Report 2006: The State of the Drugs Problem in Europe, EMCDDA, Luxembourg.</ref> Clandestine "jellie labs" have been identified and shutdown in Russia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Latvia and Belarus.<ref>UNODC Regional Office for Russia and Belarus, Illicit drug trends in the Russian Federation 2005. Moscow: UNODC, 2006</ref>
In the [[United Kingdom]], temazepam is the most widely-abused legal, prescription drug. About one in five people abuse temazepam in the country. It's also the most commonly abused benzodiazepine in [[Finland]], [[Ireland]], the [[Netherlands]], [[Poland]], [[Czech Republic]], [[Hungary]], [[India]], [[Russia]], [[People's Republic of China|China]], [[New Zealand]], [[Australia]] and some parts of [[Southeast Asia]]. In [[Sweden]] it has been banned due to a problem with [[drug abuse]] issues and a high rate of death caused by temazepam alone relative to other drugs of its group. Surveys in many countries showed that temazepam, [[heroin]], [[cocaine]], [[MDMA]], [[cannabis]], [[nimetazepam]], and [[amphetamines]] rank among the top drugs most frequently abused.<ref>Niaz, K (1998). Drug Abuse Monitoring System in Rawalpindiislamabad. Report of the Asian Multicity Epidemiology Workgroup. Eds. Navaratnam V and Bakar A.A., 151-l 60.</ref><ref>Morrisos V. (1989). Psychoactive substance use and related behaviors of 135 regular illicit drug users in Scotland. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 23: 95-101.</ref><ref>Sakol, M.S., Stark, C. & Sykes, R (1989). Buprenorphine and temazepam abuse by drug takers in GIasgow- an increase. Br. J. Addiction. 84: 439-4 1.</ref><ref>LavelIe, T., Hamrnersley, R., Forsyth, A. & Bain, D. (1991). The use of buprenorphine and temazepam by drug injectors. J Addictive Diseases, 10: 5-l 4.</ref><ref>Harnmerseley, R., Lavelle, T. & Forsyth, A. (1990). Temazepam-abuse. British J Addiction 85: 301-303.</ref><ref>Hammersley R, Cassidy MT, Oliver J.( 19953. Drugs associated with drug-related deaths in Edinburgh and Glasgow, November 1990 to October 1992. Addiction. 90(7):959-65.</ref><ref>Forsyth, A. J. M., Farquhar, D., Germnell, M., Shewq D., and Davies, J. B. (1993). ‘The &al use of opioids and temazepam by drug injectors in Glasgow (ScotIand),” Drug & Alcohol Dependence, 3’2: 277-80.</ref><ref>Chowclhury, S. & R&ma& A. (1998). Pattern and trends of drug abuse in Dh&a, Bangladesh. Report of the Asian Multicity Epidemiology Workgroup. Eds. Navamtnam V. and B&a-, A. A.. 144-50.</ref><ref>BaumevieiUe M., Hararnburu, F., Begaud, B. (1997). “Abuse of prescription medicines in southwestern France, Ann. Pharmacother., 3 1: 847850.</ref><ref>Chapleo, C-B., Reisinger, M. and Rindom, H. (1997). European update. Research & Clinical Forums, 19: 33-38.</ref><ref>Chattejee, A. (1996). Drug abuse in Nepal: a rapid assessment study. Bulletin on Narcotics, 47:l l-33.</ref>
===Opium===
{{main|Opium}}
International illicit trade in opium is relatively rare. Major smuggling organizations prefer to further refine opium into [[heroin]] before shipping to the consumer countries, since a given quantity of heroin is worth much more than an equivalent amount of opium. As such, heroin is more profitable, and much stronger, because heroin metabolizes directly into the main naturally occurring psychoactive substance in opium—[[morphine]].
===Heroin/Morphine===
{{main|Heroin|Morphine}}
Heroin is smuggled into the [[United States]] and [[Europe]] from areas such as the [[Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia)]]; with [[Afghanistan]] currently being "the world's largest exporter of heroin"<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/afghanistan-claims-title-of-worlds-largest-heroin-producer-45907.php |title=AFGHANISTAN CLAIMS TITLE OF WORLD'S LARGEST HEROIN PRODUCER |publisher=24-7 Press Release |date=2008-04-06 |accessdate=2008-06-29 }}</ref>. Allegedly, during the [[Vietnam war]], drug lords such as [[Ike Atkinson]] used to smuggle hundreds of kilos of heroin to the U.S. in coffins of dead American soldiers (see [[Ike_Atkinson#Cadaver_Connection|Cadaver Connection)]]. Since that time it has become more difficult for drugs to be imported into the United States than it had been in previous decades, but that does not stop the drug industry from getting their drugs onto U.S. soil. Purity levels vary greatly by region with, for the most part, Northeastern cities having the most pure heroin in the United States (according to a recently released report by the DEA, [[Elizabeth, New Jersey|Elizabeth]] and [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]], [[New Jersey]], have the purest street grade A heroin in the country). Heroin is a very easily smuggled drug because a small, quarter-sized vial can contain hundreds of doses{{Fact|date=August 2007}}. Heroin is also widely (and usually illegally) used as a powerful and addictive drug that produces intense euphoria, which often gradually disappears with increasing tolerance. This 'rush' comes from its high [[lipid solubility]] provided by the two [[acetyl]] groups, resulting in a very rapid penetration of the [[blood-brain barrier]] after use. Once in the blood stream, heroin is rapidly converted to morphine. The morphine then binds to the opioid receptors in the brain and spinal cord, causing the subjective effects. Heroin and morphine can be taken or administered in a number of ways, including snorting and injection. They may also be smoked by inhaling the vapors produced when heated from below, usually on aluminum foil (known as "[[chasing the dragon]]"). Penalties for smuggling heroin and/or morphine are often harsh in most countries. Some countries will readily hand down a death sentence or a few days in prison for the illegal smuggling of heroin or morphine, which are both, internationally, Schedule I drugs under the [[Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs]].
===Methamphetamine===
{{main|Methamphetamine}}
In some areas of the United States, the trade of methamphetamine is rampant. Because of the ease of production and its addiction rate, methamphetamine is a favorite amongst many drug distributors.
According to the Community Epidemiology Work Group, the numbers of clandestine methamphetamine laboratory incidents reported to the National Clandestine Laboratory Database decreased from 1999 to 2004. During this same period, methamphetamine lab incidents increased in midwestern States ([[Illinois]], [[Michigan]], and [[Ohio]]), and in [[Pennsylvania]]. In 2004, more lab incidents were reported in Illinois (926) than in California (673). In 2003, methamphetamine lab incidents reached new highs in Georgia (250), Minnesota (309), and Texas (677). There were only seven methamphetamine lab incidents reported in Hawaii in 2004, though nearly 59 percent of substance abuse treatment admissions (excluding alcohol) were for primary methamphetamine abuse during the first six months of 2004.
Methamphetamine is sometimes used in an injectable form, placing users and their partners at risk for transmission of [[HIV]] and [[hepatitis C]]<ref>{{cite web | title=NIDA InfoFacts: Methamphetamine |date=2008|author=NIDA|url=http://www.nida.nih.gov/infofacts/methamphetamine.html}}</ref>. "Meth" can also be inhaled, most commonly on aluminum foil or through a [[Pyrex]] test tube or light bulb fashioned into a pipe. This method is reported to give "an unnatural high" and a "brief intense rush"<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3076519/ |title=Beating an addiction to meth |work=Meth's Deadly Buzz |publisher=MSNBC |last=Sommerfeld |first=Julia |date=February, 2001 |accessdate=2008-06-29 }}</ref> to its users.
In South Africa the abuse of methamphetamine has reached epidemic proportions in especially the [[Cape Flats]] area of [[Cape Town]] where it is called "tik" or "tik-tik". Youngsters as young as eight are abusing the substance where it is smoked in crude glass vials constructed from light bulbs. Since methamphetamine is easy to produce the substance is manufactured in staggering quantities in "backyard" factories. After the new South African government came into power, the [[South African Narcotics Bureau]] (SANAB) was disbanded, allowing dealers an unprecedented freedom of operation and causing a simultaneous drop in prices and rise in availability. <ref>See http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2005/june/tik.htm</ref>
==U.S. Government involvement==
{{main|War on Drugs}}
The U.S. federal government is a vocal opponent of the drug industry and it has set the fact of international standards {{Fact|date=March 2007}} regarding the legality and illegality of different drugs. State laws vary greatly and in some cases defy federal laws. Despite the US government's official position against the drug trade, US government agents and assets have been implicated in the drug trade. <ref>[http://www.madcowprod.com/05252006.html DC 9 CARRYING 5.5 TONS OF COCAINE WAS CIA PLANE<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>{{Clarifyme|date=February 2008}}
[[Oliver North]] and [[Barry Seal]] were caught and investigated during the [[Iran-Contra]] scandal, implicated in the use of the drug trade as a secret source of funding for the USA's support of the [[Contras]]. Page 41 of the December 1988 Kerry report to the US Senate [http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB113/north06.pdf] states that "''indeed senior US policy makers were not immune to the idea that drug money was a perfect solution to the Contra's funding problem''".
Highly decorated US military [[Special Forces]] veteran Colonel [[Bo Gritz]] (retired) has accused the USA of collaborating with and supporting [[Manuel Noriega]] in his drug trafficking operations. In his book ''[[Called To Serve]]'', Gritz details his role as a key US Government employee tasked with protecting the USA's relationship with Noriega.{{Fact|date=February 2008}}
Contrary to its official goals, the US has suppressed research on drug usage. For example, in 1995 the [[World Health Organization]] (WHO) and the [[United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute]] (UNICRI) announced in a press release the publication of the results of the largest global study on cocaine use ever undertaken. However, a decision in the [[World Health Assembly]] banned the publication of the study. In the sixth meeting of the B committee the US representative threatened that "If [[World Health Organization|WHO]] activities relating to drugs failed to reinforce proven drug control approaches, funds for the relevant programmes should be curtailed". This led to the decision to discontinue publication. A part of the study has been released.<ref>{{cite web | title=WHO Cocaine Project |date=1995|author=WHO/UNICRI|url=http://www.tni.org/drugscoca-docs/coca.htm}}</ref>
==In the media==
Drug smuggling was the topic of:
===Films===
*''[[The French Connection (film)|The French Connection]]'' (1971)
*''[[Live and Let Die]]'' (1973)
*''[[Midnight Express (film)|Midnight Express]]'' (1978)
*''[[Scarface (1983 film)|Scarface]]'' (1983)
*''[[Drugstore Cowboy]]'' (1989)
*''[[License to Kill]]'' (1989)
*''[[Goodfellas]]'' (1990)
*''[[King of New York]]'' (1990)
*''[[New Jack City]]'' (1991)
*''[[Rush (1991 film)|Rush]]'' (1991)
*''[[Deep Cover]]'' (1992)
*''[[True Romance]]'' (1993)
*''[[Clear and Present Danger]]'' (1994)
*''[[Clockers]]'' (1995)
*''[[Trainspotting (film)|Trainspotting]]'' (1996)
*''[[Bullet (film)|Bullet]]'' (1996)
*''[[Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (film)|Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas]]'' (1998)
*''[[Brokedown Palace]]'' (1999)
*''[[Traffic (film)|Traffic]]'' (2000)
*''[[Requiem for a Dream]]'' (2000)
*''[[Blow (film)|Blow]]'' (2001)
*''[[Empire (film)|Empire]]'' (2002)
*''[[Spun (film)|Spun]]'' (2002)
*''[[2 Fast 2 Furious]]'' (2003)
*''[[Bad Boys II]]'' (2003)
*''[[A Man Apart]]'' (2003)
*''[[Maria Full of Grace]]'' (2004)
*''[[Layer Cake (film)|Layer Cake]]'' (2004)
*''[[Starsky and Hutch]]'' (2004)
*''[[Miami Vice (film)|Miami Vice]]'' (2006)
*''[[Cocaine Cowboys]]'' (2006)
*''[[Protégé (2007 film)|Protégé]]'' (2007)
*''[[Alpha Dog]]'' (2007)
*''[[American Gangster (film)|American Gangster]]'' (2007)
*''[[Pineapple Express (film)|Pineapple Express]]'' (2008)
*''Addicted'' (Independent Film) (2009)
===Novels===
*''[[Go Ask Alice]]'' (1971)
*''[[Clear and Present Danger]]'' (1989)
*''[[Trainspotting (novel)|Trainspotting]]'' (1993)
*''[[The Power of the Dog]]'' (2005)
*''[[Devil May Care (novel)|Devil May Care]]'' - rumoured (2008)
===Games===
*Various games of [[Grand Theft Auto (series)|''Grand Theft Auto'' series]]
*In "The Warriors", another Rockstar title from Grand Theft Auto makers, players snort "flash" to regain health and buy them from street vendors who promise a high from it.
*Cocaine plays a major role in the "Scarface" video game
==See also==
*[[Counterfeit drug]]
*[[Drug paraphernalia]]
*[[The Yogurt Connection]] ([[Indianapolis]] drug smuggling ring)
*[[United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances]]
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
==External links==
*[http://www.cfr.org/publication/10373/forgotten_drug_war.html "The Forgotten Drug War"], published by the [[Council on Foreign Relations]]
*[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2086.html Illicit drug issues by country, by the CIA]
*[http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/s22001.htm United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime / Drug Supply Reduction]
*[http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/rdsolr2007.pdf The illicit drug trade in the United Kingdom] - 2007 Home Office report
[[Category:Illegal drug trade|*]]
[[Category:Smuggling]]
[[de:Drogenhandel]]
[[es:Narcotráfico]]
[[fr:Trafic de stupéfiant]]
[[it:Traffico di droga]]
[[pl:Handel narkotykami]]
[[pt:Narcotráfico]]
[[ro:Comerţul cu droguri]]
[[ru:Наркоторговля]]
[[fi:Huumekauppa]]