Muhammad Mamsa
Professor Voisard
English 110
25 April 2022
Drug trafficking is a 32-billion-dollar business that’s impacting America in a negative way. America has a long history with drug trafficking and it has affected the economy. More so it has affected the people that live there, the working people that work 8-10 hours a day trying to feed their families and get by. Entire communities were left in ruins and countless lives lost. Using what little they have to get high and make the problems go away, it’s okay that their child hasn’t eaten, they’ll worry about that tomorrow. That child turning towards the streets and gangs because nobody else will take care of him. Many jobs are lost but few are gained through this business. The Scar that drugs and drug trafficking have left on America will never disappear. It is an ongoing war that will only cease to exist when everyone involved is 6 feet under. Drug trafficking has Impacted people in every community all over America.
The Economy is one of the thing’s America prides itself in. Drug trafficking has affected the economy in a negative way. The labor productivity costs and health care costs have all risen. This is due to less people doing legal/ on the book work. Also, more money is lost because of the expensive government programs put in place to help people cope and stop the use of drugs. According to the U.S government “$120 billion in lost productivity, mainly due to labor participation costs, participation in drug abuse treatment, incarceration, and premature death” This shows how much money is indirectly lost overall because of drug trafficking in America. So much money is going into these government programs to help people who take and use drugs and only 1/3rd of the people that need it get help. The other 1/3rd is incarcerated and the rest are still in the business. The incarcerated ones are also accommodating by losing the country even more money. The U.S government also states “$61 billion in criminal justice costs, primarily due to criminal investigation, prosecution and incarceration, and victim costs”. Added up that’s 181 billion dollars used on drug trafficking alone. America is losing billions and billions of dollars on useless ineffective programs that people rarely use. This is why Drug trafficking is such an issue in America. It spends time and money it could be using on other ongoing issues in the country.
The economy is not the only thing devastated by drug trafficking. Communities all over America are torn down either by the users, or gang violence increases over selling it. Dr. Scot Thomas says “Stronger, synthetic drugs are now entering the market, often disguised as heroin or other drugs. Cases involving carfentanil—a synthetic opioid with a potency 10,000 times that of morphine—is a huge threat to public safety”. This demonstrates that these new drugs are endangering the public because they are very potent and can easily be overdosed. It’s also cheaper to mass produce if you add chemicals to it which is harmful to your body. Dr.Thomas also says “With an influx of trafficked drugs, users cannot be sure if what they are buying is truly a prescription opioid or if it’s laced with other harmful adulterants like fentanyl, carfentanil, or “pink.” In 2014, 129 people died every day from a drug overdose, and 2017 saw a majority of overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids.” More and more people overdose to the point where overdosing is the leading cause of injury death in the U.S. killing more people only next to gun violence. Drug trafficking leads to people not knowing what they put in their bodies. There are no FDA approved stickers on the drugs you buy from shady dealers on the corner. This leads to addiction and overdose. Young Children are left without their parents because of the grip drug abuse and drug trafficking have on people. Drug trafficking has separated families time and time again and annihilated communities all across America.
Some people say that drugs should be legal and it would benefit the economy and communities. In some cases, they’re right. America would save billions of dollars if they legalized drugs. According to S B Duke “About one-third of inmates would not be in prison if it were no longer a crime to possess or traffic in illicit drugs.” This would greatly impact communities by bringing back family members incarcerated over small drug possession charges. Less money would be used from the 81 million dollars spent on mass incarceration. Another positive effect drugs have is on the individual themselves. Nova recovery center states “In some cases, people may feel like drugs or alcohol gives them the energy they need to get through the day, complete a task, or just feel normal. Oftentimes the extreme lack of energy they feel is actually due to a mood disorder such as depression, withdrawal, a nutritional deficiency, or a general lack of self-care”. That is true and this is why prescribed medical drugs are given to those people with mental health issues and not to everyone. Legalizing drugs would also cause more physical health issues in people. “Continued substance abuse can cause organ damage, cancer, fertility issues, hormone imbalances, gastrointestinal diseases, and bloodborne illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, in addition to several other health issues” Nova research center explains the type of health issues seen in continued drug addicts. Drug abuse also puts people in financial debt. Addicted people would use all their time and money to get their hands on the drug they want which can lead to lost jobs and foreclosures or evictions of homes. As you can see there are more negatives than positives when it comes to legalizing drugs and it’s more of a danger to the public then it is safe.
Drug trafficking is a major issue that is affecting America constantly and rapidly, from the economy to the citizens and communities throughout this great country. It wastes our money, tears families apart, and is one of the main killers in this country. It’s safe to say millions of lives would benefit in all types of ways if drug trafficking didn’t plague this country. The pros don’t outweigh the cons and no one would benefit from more drugs being brought into the country. Instead, more money should be put towards law enforcement at the borders so more drugs get seized and less drugs find their way into our communities and Less money needs to be put into ineffective drug programs that don’t help anyone. That’s how America can fight the war drug trafficking has waged on our economy as well as help the people stuck in the clutches of addiction and abuse.
Annotated bibliography
Working thesis: How has drug trafficking affected American communities and the economy?
“How Illicit Drug Use Affects Business and the Economy.” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/ondcp/ondcp-fact-sheets/how-illicit-drug-use-affects-business-and-the-economy.
Drug trafficking has impacted corporate America and the economy in a negative way by wasting a great deal of the country’s money. Either through lost labor productivity costs and/or health care costs. My source is a primary source that explains how much money is lost in America because of drug trafficking and the toll it has on the economy. This source can impact my essay in a big way because it directly ties to my thesis and demonstrates how and why America is losing money which in turn impacts the economy in a negative way. The publication is the U.S. government specifically from when President Obama was in office and it talks about how drug trafficking hurt the federal government and business communities over time. It brings viable evidence and statistics that show the type of people that are more likely to get involved in drug trafficking and how the drugs affected students as well as statistics show kids who don’t smoke are twice more likely to get an A then someone that does.
Villa, Lauren. “Drug Trafficking Statistics in the United States.” DrugAbuse.com, Scot Thomas, 5 Jan. 2022, https://drugabuse.com/statistics-data/drug-trafficking/.
This source is another primary source with statistics on overdose, adulterated drugs, as well as general statistics on drug trafficking. For example, “ Roughly 70% of all offenders were U.S. citizens, and almost half (49.4%) had little or no prior criminal history.” or “ In 2016, the majority (84.9%) of traffickers were male with an average age of 36.” These are a few of many recent statistics taken and studied. I can use this source for evidence in my body paragraphs to connect to my thesis. This source illustrates how many recent deaths happened due to drug abuse and overdose. How Adulterated drugs play a part in overdose because people don’t know what they’re using and it can be very easy to overdose because these stronger drugs are very addicting. This in turn destroys entire communities and causes loss of jobs and a need for money.
“Drug Trafficking Offenses – United States Sentencing …” Quick facts Drug Trafficking Offenses , United States Sentencing Commission , 2018, https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/research-and-publications/quick-facts/Drug_Trafficking_FY20.pdf.
This is another primary source from the United States government. Demonstrating the 7 different drug types that accounted for 96.5% of drug trafficking offenses. Also, it shows the different types of racial groups involved as well as the areas these drug traffickers were caught. This source shows the change of number of offenders for different drugs from 2014 to 2018. This is a very useful and reliable source and can be used in my essay in a number of ways. For example, I could use it as background info and evidence to show the profound effects that incarceration plays in the American economy and how much more money is put into labor and healthcare because of it. I could also use it as hard evidence and statistics to help support my thesis.
“Legalizing Drugs Would Benefit the United States (from Legalizing Drugs, P 32-48, 1996, Karin L. Swisher, Ed. — See NCJ-160030).” Legalizing Drugs Would Benefit the United States (From Legalizing Drugs, P 32-48, 1996, Karin L. Swisher, Ed. — See NCJ-160030) | Office of Justice Programs, https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/legalizing-drugs-would-benefit-united-states-legalizing-drugs-p-32.
This is a primary source I can use for my counter argument. It helps give the pros on drugs and drug legalization. How it can help the economy by America spending less money as well as how crime will decrease. “About $50 billion a year could be saved if drugs were legalized, and this figure could go as high as $150 billion a year if one considers the resources spent on ineffective drug suppression activities.” S B Duke is demonstrating how much financially America will save just by legalizing drugs. He also says “ if drugs were legalized, dangers to public health from using heroin, cocaine, and marijuana would be greatly reduced since legalizing drugs would probably reduce the use of harmful drugs.” He is saying that communities would benefit from this since it’s decriminalizing the drugs and making the more harmful drugs less accessible. People would have to do less dangerous things to get their drugs making it safer overall.
“Positive and Negative Consequences of Continued Drug Use.” Nova Recovery Center Near Austin Texas, 27 Sept. 2021, https://novarecoverycenter.com/treatment-programs/behavioral-therapies/consequences-drug-use/.
This is a secondary source I could also use in my counterargument. This gives the positive effects on a person when taking drugs or the positive reasons as to why people take drugs. The first being It helps people socialize. Some people are quiet and to themselves but when taking drugs, they’re more social and outgoing which is great for public events. Another reason is that it’s a stress reliever. After a long day of work or school people use it to blow off steam and just relax. The last reason is that some people just need it to function. They don’t feel like themselves without it. These reasons can all tie into my counter argument and help me redirect to the negatives and why overall it does more damage than good. This would be the ideal way to close my body paragraphs and move towards my conclusion.
“President Biden Releases National Drug Control Strategy to Save Lives, Expand Treatment, and Disrupt Trafficking.” The White House, The United States Government, 21 Apr. 2022, https://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/briefing-room/2022/04/21/president-biden-releases-national-drug-control-strategy-to-save-lives-expand-treatment-and-disrupt-trafficking/.
I can use this as a primary source in my essay. This will show how aggressively the government is pushing towards new drug trafficking rules to help prevent it. President Biden himself said drug trafficking is one of the biggest problems in this country. His administration is doing everything in their power to help stop it. This all stems from the overdose epidemic. Last year was a record high number of overdose deaths and the government noticed. This source can help bring factual evidence into my essay as well as tie into my thesis and shows the ways America is preventing drug trafficking.
