The US federal government is an opponent of the

illegal drug trade The illegal drug trade, drug trafficking, or narcotrafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of drug prohibition, prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibitionism, prohibit trade, exce ...

; however, state laws vary greatly and in some cases contradict federal laws. The

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS or OEA; ; ; ) is an international organization founded on 30 April 1948 to promote cooperation among its member states within the Americas. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, the OAS is ...

estimated that the revenue for

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

sales in the US was $34 billion in 2013. The Office of National Drug Control Policy estimates that $100 billion worth of illegal drugs were sold in the US in 2013. In the fiscal year of 2023, a total of 19,066 cases related to drugs were reported, with drug trafficking accounting for 18,939 of these cases. The majority of drug trafficking crimes, amounting to 98.1%, involved seven specific types of drugs. Quick Facts offers a general understanding of these crimes, although the details may differ depending on the specific drug involved in the offense. In 2024, it was reported that LAX airport is the central hub for narcotics in the US, perhaps even the world. In the United States, "

narcotics The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "I make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

" and "

drugs A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestio ...

" are legally considered different classes and/or types of substances.

War on drugs

The "war on drugs" is a term commonly applied to a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid and military intervention undertaken by the US government, with the assistance of participating countries, and the stated aim to define and reduce the illegal drug trade. This initiative includes a set of drug policies of the US that are intended to discourage the production, distribution, and consumption of illegal psychoactive drugs. The term was first used by

US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed For ...

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

, and was later popularized by the media.

Minors

The US government's most recent 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) reported that nationwide over 800,000 adolescents ages 12–17 sold illegal drugs during the twelve months preceding the survey. The 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey by the US

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the National public health institutes, national public health agency of the United States. It is a Federal agencies of the United States, United States federal agency under the United S ...

(CDC) reported that nationwide 25.4% of students had been offered, sold, or given an illegal drug by someone on school property. The prevalence of having been offered, sold, or given an illegal drug on school property ranged from 15.5% to 38.8% across state CDC surveys (median: 26.1%) and from 20.3% to 40.0% across local surveys (median: 29.4%). Despite over US$7 billion spent annually towards arresting and prosecuting nearly 800,000 people across the country for marijuana offenses in 2005 (FBI Uniform Crime Reports), the federally funded Monitoring the Future Survey reports about 85% of high school seniors find marijuana “easy to obtain.” That figure has remained virtually unchanged since 1975, never dropping below 82.7% in three decades of national surveys. In 2009, the Justice Department identified more than 200 US cities in which Mexican drug cartels "maintain drug distribution networks or supply drugs to distributors"- up from 100 three years earlier. Most of the US imports of drugs come from Mexican drug cartels. In the US, around 195 cities have been infiltrated by drug trafficking that originated in Mexico. An estimated $10bn of the Mexican drug cartel's profits come from the US, not only supplying the Mexican drug cartels with the profit necessary for survival, but also furthering America's economic dependence on drugs.

Women

Women are often involved in the illegal drug trade in the US, typically in marginal, low-level roles.

Controversies

Smuggling

Drug smuggling across US borders may be done by several means. may be carried by people, or by , and , hidden in . and penetrate sea borders. pass above and pass below the usual routes of smuggling.

Cocaine

Cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

is the second most popular illegal recreational drug in the US behind

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

, and the US is the world's largest consumer of cocaine. According to the DEA, about 93% of the cocaine in the US originated in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

and was smuggled across the Mexico–US border. In 2020, the state of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

became the first US state to decriminalize cocaine. This new law prevents people with small amounts of cocaine from facing jail time. In 2020, the US state of Oregon would also become the first state to decriminalize the use of heroin. This measure will allow people with small amounts to avoid arrest. Psilocybe semilanceata 6514

Opioid epidemic

In 2021, around 80,411 people died from opioid overdoses in the US. Many of the deaths are from an extremely potent opioid,

fentanyl Fentanyl is a highly potent synthetic piperidine opioid primarily used as an analgesic (pain medication). It is 30 to 50 times more Potency (pharmacology), potent than heroin and 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Its primary Medici ...

, which is trafficked from Mexico. The drug is usually manufactured in China, then shipped to Mexico, where it is processed and packaged, which is then smuggled into the US by Mexican drug cartels.

Doping in sports

Doping is the taking of performance-enhancing drugs, generally for sporting activities. Doping has been detected in many sporting codes, especially baseball and football.

Monitoring

Environmental monitoring Environmental monitoring is the processes and activities that are done to characterize and describe the state of the environment. It is used in the preparation of environmental impact assessments, and in many circumstances in which human activit ...

can be used to map trafficking. Trafficking of a substance tends to incidentally, disproportionately increase its nearby usage, and thus

excretion Excretion is elimination of metabolic waste, which is an essential process in all organisms. In vertebrates, this is primarily carried out by the lungs, Kidney (vertebrates), kidneys, and skin. This is in contrast with secretion, where the substa ...

. This has been used to quantify trafficking into this country, and has also highlighted routes of smuggling through nearby countries which feed this country's large market for example,

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

. {{ Unbulleted list citebundle , {{* {{ Cite journal , language = English , year = 2014 , publisher = Elsevier B.V. , volume = 490 , journal = Science of the Total Environment , first5 = Levi , first3 = Pascaline , last5 = Yves , last4 = Sara , last3 = Helene , last2 = Thomas , first1 = Devault , first4 = Karolak , first2 = Nefau , last1 = Damien , issn = 0048-9697 , pages = 970–978 , title = First evaluation of illicit and licit drug consumption based on wastewater analysis in Fort de France urban area (Martinique, Caribbean), a transit area for drug smuggling , s2cid = 5477664 , pmid = 24914526 , doi = 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.05.090 , bibcode = 2014ScTEn.490..970D , This is cited by the following review: , {{* {{ Cite journal , language = English , year = 2018 , publisher = Wiley Periodicals, Inc. , department = Review Article , last = Hernandez , first = Felix , volume = 37 , journal = Mass Spectrometry Reviews , eissn = 1098-2787 , pages = 258–280 , title = Mass spectrometric strategies for the investigation of biomarkers of illicit drug use in wastewater , issue = 3 , doi = 10.1002/mas.21525 , s2cid = 206232532 , pmid = 27750373 , pmc = 6191649 , bibcode = 2018MSRv...37..258H Drug abuse poses a significant challenge in the US, with individuals looking to abuse drugs having easy access to such substances. The abuse of prescription and nonprescription opioids remains a critical public health issue. A consequence of the widespread abuse of prescription opioids is the rise in new heroin users. This increase is partly due to a growing number of individuals transitioning from prescription opioids to heroin in search of a cheaper and more accessible alternative. Synthetic

opioid Opioids are a class of Drug, drugs that derive from, or mimic, natural substances found in the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy plant. Opioids work on opioid receptors in the brain and other organs to produce a variety of morphine-like effects, ...

s, like

, are contributing significantly to the alarming increase in overdose deaths. A considerable amount of illicitly produced fentanyl originates from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Moreover, dangerous analogs of fentanyl, such as acetylfentanyl, are frequently manufactured in China and smuggled into the US Fentanyl is up to 40 times more potent than heroin and approximately 100 times more potent than morphine. Acetyl fentanyl, a close relative of fentanyl, has been associated with numerous overdose fatalities in the US Opioid-dependent individuals often use fentanyl and acetyl fentanyl as substitutes for heroin, or these substances are mixed with heroin to increase volume or enhance effects.Trafficking Statistics
Retrieved 28 May 2024 In the 1950s and 1960s, most heroin was produced in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and transshipped in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

via the '' French Connection'' crime ring, with much of it arriving in the US.{{cite web, url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/02/06/archives/the-french-connection-in-real-life-super-sleuths.html, last1=Collins , first1=Larry , last2=Lapierre, first2=Dominique, title=The French Connection—In Real Life, work=The New York Times , date=6 February 1972, access-date=18 October 2020

References

{{Reflist

External links

Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA) {{Americas topic, Illegal drug trade in

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...