Unintended consequences of war on drugs

After the 1961 UN Single Convention

To restrict drugs was established, attempts to control and stifle the supply of illegal narcotics took this form. Although the member nations of this international pact aspired to safeguard and advance public health, it adopted a protectionist stance by using military and police action to combat drug manufacturing and distribution as well as to punish drug users. Hubbard (2012) asserts, however, that making a substance illegal when there is a large market demand for it immediately opens up chances for drug producers, suppliers, consumers, and criminal entrepreneurs to benefit from the drug’s production, sale, and use (Hubbard et al. 89)

Unintended Consequences

Increase in corruption and undermining of the existing government: The prohibitionist approach taken by authorities to fight drug production and supply has led to increased corruption in various law enforcement institutions which has affected individuals at different level in various countries. Bunker (2013) states that most of the people involved in drug production and supply have huge sums of money because they are high-level players. Due to huge financial resources at their disposal, high-level players can easily bribe their way and have their businesses go uninterrupted through payment to officials in police, judiciary, and political leaders to protect them (Prieger 296). The corruption has been further enhanced by organized crime groups that are ready to use violence and intimidation to force unwilling officials in authority to take bribes. The vulnerability of targeted individuals and institutions because of poverty further enhances corruption, especially in areas where drug production and transit is highly concentrated (Bunker 132) Criminals, control huge funds which pose a big threat to governments particularly in developing countries where capital markets and security markets are small to absorb such amounts of funds. It is almost impossible for a country to democratically function properly when drug cartels have funds that can buy state protection and political support (Bunker 135) For this reason, corruption and violence by drug cartels harms development and governance of many countries in the world.

Increase in Money laundering practices

Since drugs fetch huge profits for drug cartels, such vast profits must be hidden from law enforcement and for this reason large scale money laundering practices (Kumar 13). Money is disguised through various means within the financial system such as reinvesting it or moving money in different countries which makes it difficult for authorities to trace the origin of such large amounts of money. Internet gambling, real estate markets, high cash turnover businesses such as Casinos and pizzerias and precious metal businesses are some of the methods through which organized crime groups clean their money (Kumar 20). All these processes of money laundering are because of the war against illegal drugs in different countries which causes drug cartels to find alternatives of keeping their money. Drug money laundering has profound negative effects to the country’s economy through distortion of economic statistics which in turn affects economic development of countries. Influx of illegal money stimulates booms in some sectors of the economy which sometimes causes country’s currency to be overvalued (Kumar 22). Currency overvaluation makes exports expensive while imports become cheaper. The net effect is that domestic production significantly reduces which hurts the local economy.

Criminalization of poverty

Most drug crop production is done in economically and socially marginalized areas that do not benefit from the trade. Economic research indicates that farmers in drug crop production earn only one percent of the total illicit drug income because of the volatile market prices for other crops apart from drugs, limited access to credit to farm other crops and high investment required to grow non-drug crops. For instance, research carried out by the United Nations in Myanmar and Lao PDR revealed that households earn only $200 per annum which is way small figure (Reuter 44). Drug production and trafficking is better facilitated when there is minimum government control and police enforcement. Therefore, drug cartels involved in illicit trade prefer producing and trafficking drugs in regions where government infrastructure is not fully developed. The cartels seek such environments and maintain and control them using violence thus forcing poor farmers to engage in drug production. This traps farmers in a vicious circle of poverty. Therefore, efforts by authorities to fight illicit drug business take the form of criminalizing producers, alternative development and crop eradication. These efforts yield negative results because farmers become poorer and cannot access education and health in these regions. Furthermore, the strict measures to fight drugs have compelled minority women to enter into sex trade and some sections of the population especially youths have been forced to seek employment in criminal gangs which threatens security more (Reuter 39).

Increased deforestation and pollution

Most of the time war on drugs has been costly to the environment through the negative impacts that result from aerial spraying of drugs crops to eradicate them. This effects are severe in ecological sensitive areas such as Amazon and Andes basin. Powell (2012), argues that Chemical eradication causes local deforestation and it also has the multiplier effect where drug producers shift and deforest new areas to continue with cultivation of drug crops commonly known as ’balloon effect’ (Wyatt 56). Numerous researchers have raised concerns over the use of myco-herbicides to control coca bushes and opium poppies because they negatively affect food crops (Hubbard et al. 321). This is a cost to farmers and furthermore threatens food security of the affected regions.

Works cited

Bunker, Robert J. “Introduction: the Mexican cartels—organized crime vs. criminal insurgency.” Trends in Organized Crime 16.2 (2013): 129-137.

Hubbard, Glenn, Anne Garnett, and Phil Lewis. Essentials of economics. Pearson Higher Education AU, 2012.

Kumar, Vandana Ajay. “Money laundering: Concept, significance and its impact.” European Journal of Business and Management 4.2 (2012).

Powell, James Lawrence. The inquisition of climate science. Columbia University Press, 2012.

Prieger, James E., and Jonathan Kulick. “Unintended consequences of enforcement in illicit markets.” Economics Letters 125.2 (2014): 295-297.

Reuter, Peter. “Can tobacco control endgame analysis learn anything from the US experience with illegal drugs?.” Tobacco control 22.suppl 1 (2013): i49-i51.

Wyatt, Tanya. Hazardous Waste and Pollution: Detecting and Preventing Green Crimes. , 2016.