Corruption and Violence

The illegal drug industry is a major concern from its corruption and violence problems.

"The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market consisting of the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of illegal controlled drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug control laws. Some drugs, notably alcohol and tobacco, are outside the scope of these laws, but may be subject to control under other laws.

The illicit drug trade operates similarly to other underground markets. Various drug cartels specialize in the separate processes along the supply chain, often localized to maximize production efficiency and minimize damages caused by law enforcement. Depending on the profitability of each layer, cartels usually vary in size, consistency, and organization. The chain ranges from low-level street dealers who may be individual drug users themselves, through street gangs and contractor-like middle men, up to multinational empires that rival governments in size.

In the late 1990s in the United States, the FBI estimates that 5% of murders were drug-related.In addition, drug smuggling can lead to harsh penalties, including the death penalty, in certain countries (for example, Singapore).

Many have argued that the arbitrariness of drug prohibition laws from the medical point of view, especially the theory of harm reduction, worsens the problems around these substances."

This is a major problem throughout the entire world.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_drug_trade - (edit / improve)