How big is the illegal drug industry?

How big is the illegal drug industry?

Drug trafficking – the global illicit trade involving the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws is estimated to be a $32 billion industry.

How does drug trafficking affect the world?

The economic cost alone is immense, estimated at nearly $215 billion. The damage caused by drug abuse and addiction is reflected in an overburdened justice system, a strained healthcare system, lost productivity, and environmental destruction.

Who made the first drug?

The first modern, pharmaceutical medicine was invented in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, a German scientist. He extracted the main active chemical from opium in his laboratory and named it morphine, after the Greek god of sleep.

How much illegal money is there?

Office on Drugs and Crimes estimates that annual illicit proceeds total more than $2 trillion globally, and proceeds of crime generated in the United States were estimated to total approximately $300 billion in 2010, or about two percent of the overall U.S. economy at the time.

How do illegal drugs affect the environment?

Drug production leaves its mark on the environment in several ways. It results in large-scale carbon emissions, water depletion, pollution and biodiversity loss. Each of these effects has monumental short- and long-term implications for all life on Earth. It’s vital to acknowledge and understand the consequences.

What are the effects of drugs to the country?

Moreover, absenteeism, lost productivity, and increased use of medical and insurance benefits by employees who abuse drugs affect a business financially. The economic consequences of drug abuse severely burden federal, state, and local government resources and, ultimately, the taxpayer.

Who was the first drug dealer?

Pedro Avilés Pérez
Occupation Drug trafficking
Known for Drug lord; pioneered the use of aircraft to smuggle drugs to the United States
Partner(s) Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, Juan José Esparragoza Moreno, Rafael Caro Quintero
Children Atani Perez

How long have drugs existed?

Archaeological records indicate the presence of psychotropic plants and drug use in ancient civilizations as far back as early hominid species about 200 million years ago.

Which drug saved most lives?

Penicillin (1942) It is estimated that Penicillin has saved between 80 million and 200 million lives and without its discovery and implementation, 75% of people today would not be alive because their ancestors would have succumbed to infection.

How do you hide drug money?

Let’s understand how these stages help them to hide illegal money from detection by enforcement.

  1. Placement.
  2. Layering.
  3. Integration.
  4. Cash Smuggling.
  5. Structuring or ‘Smurfing’
  6. Wire transfers.
  7. Shell companies.
  8. Wachovia.

How do you wash drug money?

As we’ve seen with our drug dealing example, the process of money laundering typically has three key steps: placing the money into the system (turning it into gold or jewels above), layering it through a series of transactions (selling the gold) and finally integrating it back into the legitimate financial system …

How do drugs affect the economy?

Economic Costs This value includes: $120 billion in lost productivity, mainly due to labor participation costs, participation in drugabuse treatment, incarceration, and premature death; $11 billion in healthcare costs – for drug treatment and drug‐related medical consequences; and.

How are drugs distributed?

Each drug is uniquely distributed in the body. Some drugs distribute mostly into fat, others remain in extracellular fluid, and others are bound extensively to specific tissues. Many acidic drugs (eg, warfarin, aspirin) are highly protein-bound and thus have a small apparent volume of distribution.

How do most illegal drugs enter the country?

Overland Smuggling Into the United States. Most foreign-produced illicit drugs available in the United States are smuggled into the country overland across the borders with Mexico and, to a much lesser extent, Canada (see Table 1).