Drug Trafficking

Drug trafficking includes trade of illegal drugs. These drugs are produced in one region of the globe and then through a well articulated network get traded to different corners of the world. According to a report published by United Nations Research Institute for Social Development in 1994, most of these illegally drugs are being produced in the lesser developed countries and then are being traded to the more affluent and developed nations. The same report also claimed that every region does not produce all the kinds of major illicit drugs, rather each region produces one or two major illicit drugs and then moves them to other parts through a strong distribution channel. Another report by United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC), confirms the research work and findings by United Nations Research Institute for Social Development. According to UNODC, the major illicit drugs that are being produced and traded are cocaine, opium, cannabis and heroine. UNDOC’s report suggests that the countries that are involved in the production and trafficking of the illicit drugs are Bolivia, Columbia, Morocco, Iran, Turkey, Pakistan and Afghanistan. UNODC’s reports in 2010 and 2013 suggest that Columbia and Bolivia and Columbia are the hubs for cocaine production, opium and cannabis are mostly produced in Morocco and Afghanistan, while Iran and Turkey contribute to the heroine production. Pakistan acts as the trafficking hub due to its strategic global position.

Drug trafficking has a tremendous social impact. It breaks the spine of the society. Drug trafficking provides a mean to earn easy money for the section of population belonging to the lowest stratum of the socio economic strata. As the unemployed work force of the world is rising steeply, more and more and young adults are getting involved into drug trafficking and thus are getting lost into the dungeons of drug peddling.

Every year millions of dollars are being spent to curb drug trafficking and for the rehabilitation of the drug addicts, however the results are not encouraging. Though, according to the recent report by UNODC, cocaine and heroine production has been curbed down but the fact is that these drugs are still available in huge quantities. One of the reasons of the failure of the control measures is the poor economic condition in the underdeveloped countries along with the profitability of trafficking of illegal drugs. Thus, if drug trafficking has to be eliminated from the roots then all the nations have to come together with a plan to eliminate the drug peddlers and their distribution channels, and along with, a policy framework must be drawn to develop the underdeveloped countries so as to improve the conditions of the farmers and to bring down the percentage of unemployed work force. Only then, drug trafficking could be eliminated or otherwise, the whole world will be entangled in the cob web of drug trafficking.