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International Drug Trade Essay Example

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International Drug Trade Essay Example
Drugs are a major in issue in the lives of people all over the world, whether it be young teenagers in America , or adults in Latin America . The international drug trade affects more people then they realize, and only some people are fighting it. In some countries in the world, drugs are only thing keeping the economy running. In those same places, it is the drug lords who run the country, which is how the drug trade stays alive. In these countries, the crime rate stays relatively high compared to the United States '. Peoples' lives are risked every day in these countries, and some even flee their homes in search of a safer, more comforting home.
In the United States , “the high national priority given to terrorism has resulted in enhanced focus on links between drug and terror groups” (Perl). The United States are one of the few countries taking a step to eliminate the drug trade. Today in the US, over 1 billion dollars is spent toward fighting the "War on Drugs,“ while “the total economic cost of illicit drug use to the nation in 2002 have been estimated by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy to be $180.9 billion (Perl). That is a lot of money that is spent on a war that seems to be going nowhere. The United States proposal to preventing the spread of this issue, “The primary stated goal of U.S. international drug policy is to reduce the supply of illicit narcotics flowing into the United States . A second and supporting goal is to reduce the amount of illicit drugs cultivated, processed, and consumed worldwide” (Perl). So with that approach, hopefully more and more countries will join the United States effort in fighting the international drug trade. In Colombia , they have put into effect “… ‘Plan Colombia ,’ a $1.3 billion military assistance-focused initiative to provide emergency supplemental narcotics assistance to Colombia ” (Perl). So the United States is definitely not alone in the fight against the drug trade. In

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