Drug traffic

Drug traffic is a serious and complex social problem of modern societies. This illegal business generates worldwide about 320,000 million dollars a year.

The drug traffic takes advantage of poor people to work and grow, due to the largest producers and traffic occur in third world countries like Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, Mexico, Peru, China, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Nigeria, South Africa and other African countries. Drug traffickers use the poor rural areas for the production of drug crops. They also recruit children, women, youngsters and anyone who has lack of money. Thousands of poor people a year worldwide are killed, arrested and they risk their health for a few dollars.

In some regions, drug cartels have great popular acceptance because they provide social support in the absence of the state and as a way of replacing their needs which is very serious because in these regions drug has great influence and presence in society.                        

Violence increases strongly when the drug has a great presence in a place. This is seen in fighting between gangs over territory to do business and also in the confrontation with security forces causing insecurity and crime.

But, how to solve the drug problem? Is the legalization of illicit substances a solution to end the illegal business that kills millions of people around the world? These are questions that generate much controversy and I invite you to answer and analyze them.

By Héctor Vielma