The Geopolitics Of The Global Illegal Drug Trade Geography Essay

The Geopolitics Of The Global Illegal Drug Trade Geography testifyOne of the biggest problems facing the world today is the production, change and consumption of illegal medicates. Millions of people around the world be involved in either this concern either as producers, vendors or takers, despite it being a highly illegal activity with strict and oftentimes harsh penalties for even the possession of a small amount of these illegal substances. In this paper we will be discussing the consequences of the global illegal drugs look at in different areas of the world, and whether the legalization and regulation of this trade would be positive or negative. 2. AFGHANISTANAfghanistan is one of the worlds top producers of illegal substances, in particular opium, and there are many reasons why this is the case. It is one of the poo eternal rest countries in the world, agree to the CIA world fact book, with a GDP per capita of just $800 and ranked 181st on the UNs Human Development Index second lowest in the world. (CIA World particular Book, 2009) It is a landlocked country with direct links to Russia and the EU 2 of the worlds largest illegal drug markets with land movement being extensive due to privation of border control. Rugged terrain, with many isolated areas makes government surveillance and law enforcement difficult. Due to this and Afghanistans notoriety for lawlessness, instability and poverty (resulting from decades of war which have ravaged the country) the opium trade has flourished and now a huge proportion of the country is dependent upon its subtlety. It is interesting that infra the Taliban regime, levels of opium production were showing signs of falling, but since 2001 when the USA declared its War on Terror, this level has increased signifi basistly from around 75,000 hectares in 2000 to nearing 200,000 hectares in 2007.So why is the opium trade much(prenominal) a huge issue? land is the countrys main form of industry and the col lapse of the economy forced more and more farmers to seek alternative methods of generating revenue from crops. This came at a time when consider for opium was increasing due to restrictions being made in nearby opium producing countries such as India. Farmers realised there huge profits could be made from the cultivation of opium poppies, with the risk of being caught relatively low due to the reasons mentioned in the previous paragraph, despite it being a punishable offence. In addition, opium poppies are notoriously clayeyy- they are almost drought resistant compared to legal crops such as wheat. Many Afghans have used poppy cultivation as a means of investment in legitimate businesses due to lack of personal loans resulting from the poor economy while illegitimate moneylenders have high interest rates and use various forms of warnment such as kidnapping. The seriousness of this situation being that many farmers in Afghanistan have little other legal lucrative alternative, an d the government is doing little to push farmers to do so. There is also significant evidence to suggest that the since the fall of Taliban, they and other terrorist groups are now significantly funded by the drug trade.What then are the options available? The first is enforcement of current laws whilst offering alternative livelihood options. This involves expose monitoring of opium puzzleers in the country and eradication of Heroin production factories, and offering farmers incentives to grow alternative crops. One suggestion is substitution with Saffron, another lucrative crop which has proven to grow well in Afghanistans climate. This would also involve improving the cornerstone needed to support legal crop cultivation. The other option which has been suggested is licensing the opium trade. This gives the government much more control over the end use of opium, as it could be used in the production of valuable legal opiates such as morphine. Trade could also be taxed, providi ng valuable revenue for the undeveloped economy of Afghanistan. other issue this would solve is eliminating warlords and severing the ties between the drug trade and human/weapons trafficking as it could be regulated and monitored by government authorities . (Licensing) combines the best of both worlds. It stabilizes a crucial country in the global war on terrorism and alleviates the pain crisis in AIDS stricken developing countries. It is not a silver bullet for Afghanistans many troubles, but it does pave the way for the country to escape its current development and security crisis (Kamminga , Van Ham. 2006). This is not necessarily construction that Heroin should be made legal but is another option that could be looked into with the legitimation and regulation of all drugs, rather than a select few.3. THE NETHERLANDSThe Netherlands government takes an alternative approach to the enforcement of anti-drug laws, believing that drug use is a public health issue, rather than a crim inal one and that there is a contrariety between soft drugs (cannabis) and spartan drugs (cocaine, heroin). A quote which summarises this attitude is if a problem has proved to be un law of closurepable, it is better to try controlling it instead of chronic to enforce laws that have shown to be unable to stop the problem (WordIQ Drug policy of the Netherlands. 2010). They therefore employ a policy of non-enforcement towards soft drugs such as cannabis, but will still prosecute users if they are found causing a public disturbance, or pose a risk to themselves or others whilst under the influence of drugs. The Netherlands drug policy has a number of aims which are To separate the market between hard and soft drugs so that soft drug users do not come into contact with hard drugs To limit the sale of soft drugs to minors To divert profits from the sale of soft drugs away from criminal drug dealers To gain tax from the legitimate sale of soft drugs To use the money gained to assist pro blem drug users (i.e. Treatment and rehabilitation) and promote awareness and education of hard drugs To prevent soft drug users being criminalised unnecessarilySo is this policy working? In the USA where cannabis is strictly illegal and carries severe fines and prison house time, 42.4% of Americans have tried the drug, whilst in The Netherlands only 19.8% of the population have tried cannabis, despite it being tolerated and sold freely in coffee shops (Degenhardt et al. 2008) 9.7% of youthfulness adults consume soft drugs once a month in Holland this figure is far lower than the UK level of 15.8%, but higher than in other European countries such as Sweden (3%). The EU average of soft drug users that go on to become problem drug users is 0.52%, in The Netherlands this figure is just 0.3%, and the number of hard drug users is also considerably lower. These statistics show that while levels of soft drug use in The Netherlands is not significantly higher or lower than the rest of Eur ope, the levels of problem drug users and hard drug users is considerably lower. It is also interesting to note that due to taxes gained from the legitimate sale of cannabis, around 90% of drug users can be treated effectively. 4. NON-GOVERNEMENT ORGANISATIONSNGOs around the world aim to eradicate problems associated with the illegal drug trade however without financial backing and access to resources, their policies are often limited. Their strategies focus on influencing government protocol and targeting social issues in a prevention over cure approach. The social aspect focuses on education of the young and those vulnerable to drug addiction, in addition to financing and organising rehabilitation for those suffering from addiction. Strategies also target producers of drugs, particularly agricultural ones. These producers are influenced to cultivate alternative products (such as wheat), both through financial incentives and legal prevention. All aspects of the global illegal drugs trade span over large areas, making it difficult for individual verbalize governments to act effectively. NGOs such as the UN, WHO and the EU create policies targeting drug abuse issues to socially improve nations. High costs and infrastructure requirements for drugs trade prevention deter LEDCs from acting, as their costs do not warrant their benefits it is the state importing that often suffers the most.So what would be the effect of the legalisation of the illegal drugs trade in regards to NGOs? Effectively there would be dissolution of all strategies to cease and prevent the global trade in illegal drugs. Trade would shift to safer routes through legally disclosed transport subject to scrutiny at borders, so potential would remain for NGO involvement in cases of unregulated drugs being traded across borders. 5. closureA quote from The Economist claims that the UN believes thatThe drug market has stabilised, meaning that more than 200 m people, or almost 5% of the worlds adu lt population still take illegal drugs and goes on to say that by providing honest information about the health risks of drugs and pricing them accordingly, governments could steer consumers towards the least harmful ones (The Economist, 2009). However, the legalisation of drugs is a highly complex and sensitive issue which has many social, political, moral and economic implications. The scale of which is unimaginable and is something which many people feel would be an infeasible task. It is a known fact that people around the world produce, distribute and use drugs- as they have done for thousands of years. Perhaps money would be better spent on educating people about the dangers of certain drugs (including legal ones) as well as helping those that have become dependent on either the sale or use of illegal drugs, rather than criminalising those that use them safely, or have little other viable options other than producing drugs. This could also have benefits for those in the devel oping world who rely on the illegal drugs trade as a source of income, and could eliminate the violence involved with the illegal drugs trade. REFERENCESCIA The World FactBook Afghanistan. 2009. https//www.cia.gov/ subroutine library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/af.htmlDegenhardt et al. 2008. Toward a global view of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and cocaine use Findings from the WHO World Mental Health Surveys. PLoS Medicine 5(7) e141Kamminga, Van Ham. 2006. Poppies for peace Reforming Afghanistans opium industry. The Washington Quarterly. 301 pp 69-81The Economist. 2009. Failed states and failed policies How to stop the drug wars.http//www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13237193source=login_payBarrierWordIQ Drug policy of the Netherlands Definition. 2010.http//www.wordiq.com/definition/Drug_policy_of_the_NetherlandsAshley White Registration No 090167133