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Drug Trafficking
Drug Trafficking in the U.S.
Daniel Bliss
ENG 122
Instructor McAdams
August 6, 2012

The research topic that I have chosen for this class is Drug Trafficking in the U.S. I have chosen this topic because it both interests and affects me in my daily life as a law enforcement officer. While working my patrols at night I see many living situations, violent crimes, and diminishing qualities of life caused by drugs and drug trafficking. I wanted to conduct research on this topic in order to educate myself and others as to the growing epidemic that this country faces regarding drug trafficking and its negative impact on society.
This topic is very broad in nature however I plan to refine this topic by focusing on three main factors related to drug trafficking as a whole. The first subtopic I will focus on is the supply and demand of drugs being trafficked in the U.S. The second subtopic I will discuss is the effect that drug trafficking has on the crime rates in the U.S., and finally I will discuss how the U.S. government has decided to combat the growing issue of drug trafficking. Among the most prominent examples of this is the U.S.’s decision to deploy U.S. military forces to Colombian bases (Reiss, S. 2010).
The U.S. suffers from violence and disorder surrounding retail drug markets; property theft and violent crime committed by drug abusers; and mass incarceration, including half a million people behind bars for drug offenses and at least as many for crimes committed for money to buy drugs (Kleiman, M. 2011). One specific claim related to drug trafficking in the U.S. is that marijuana, cocaine, or heroin, are still the most sought after drugs. Based on current drug trends nation wide, I will reveal that the most abused and sought after drugs today are prescription medications. However the other major drugs still play a vital role in trafficking throughout the U.S. as well. Whether it is for the money as a supplier, the addiction for the user, or


References: Reiss, Suzanna. Beyond Supply and Demand. Feb 2010. Retrieved from: https://nacla.org/node/6429 Kleiman, Mark. Surgical Strikes in the Drug Wars. Foreign Affairs, 00157120, Vol. 90, Issue 5 Retrieved from: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=10&hid=7&sid=cf7f8b50-8517-4a8e-8d3b-ad2ea6b388bb%40sessionmgr14&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwLGNwaWQmY3VzdGlkPXM4ODU2ODk3JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=64464670
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