Perhaps the most ubiquitous form of transnational crime in thenews today is drug trafficking. Drug trafficking has emerged as aninternational debate because of the violence associated with the industry. Thedrug trade consists of five key stages: cultivation, production, trafficking,distribution, and consumption. Within each nation, most of these stages areillegal. While each of these stages is integral to the drug trade as a whole,this chapter focuses primarily on the only stage that is trulytransnational—drug trafficking. Within this discussion, the chapter depicts thedrug trade through the lens of the four major drug groups: marijuana, cocaine,opiates, and amphetamine-type substances (ATS). Because statistics on marijuanaand ATS production and trafficking are often speculative due to lack of data,this chapter uses cocaine and heroin as case studies to help illustrate recenttrends and problems. The chapter concludes with an evaluation of past effortsto curtail trafficking and posits ways to improve them.

WhatIs Drug Trafficking?

Drug trafficking is about a journey—a journey from the fields of afarmer to the hands of a drug user. It does not have a precise definition. TheUN Office on Drugs and Crime(UNODC) defines drug trafficking as “a globalillicit trade involving the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale ofsubstances which are subject to drug prohibition laws.” Nevertheless, trafficking is morenarrowly defined as “the international movement of goods and services that isdeemed illicit for any of three reasons”: the goods are illicit, the trade ofthe good is illicit, or the goods are being traded for illicit purposes (e.g.,terrorism).For the purposes of this chapter, drug trafficking willtake on a more narrow and simple definition—the transport of drugs from oneplace to another. As such, drugs are often “trafficked” from the country ofproduction/manufacture to the country of consumption.

Without drug traffickers, the drug industry would become localizedwith remoter suppliers having no means to transport their product acrossinternational borders to the consumer. Although this chapter focuses on theactual trafficking of drugs—the only truly transnational component—and nottheir cultivation, manufacture, local distribution, and consumption, theframework of these other aspects of the drug trade is essential for acomprehensive understanding of the issue.

The journey of drugs—trafficking—is similar to an airplane flight.There are three key components to drug trafficking: the departure location, thedestination, and the route. However, each of the major drug groups—marijuana,cocaine, opiates, and ATS—has its own itinerary, so the first half of thischapter focuses on the different trafficking components of each of these fourdrug groups. First, however, it is important to understand how the drug industrybecame the global giant that is it today.

Historyof the Drug Trade

The Emergence of Drugs and International Drug Control

Drugs have played a large role in different cultures for thousandsof years, yet it was not until the early 20th century that the market for drugstruly began its evolution into what it is today. In 1909, the United Statessponsored the International Opium Conference in Shanghai in an attempt toconvince the 12 participating countries to lower and regulate their productionof drugs. The conference proved unsuccessful, but a second attempt was madewhen the United States sponsored another international conference at The Haguein 1911. This time, the first drug control treaty, the International OpiumConvention was signed. The convention was viewed as only marginally successfulbecause implementation was contingent on its worldwide acceptance. The UnitedStates, however, complied with its international obligations under the treatyby signing the Harrison Act into law in 1914, which required specific drugs tobe registered and taxed.

Over the next few decades, international efforts to limit drugproduction and consumption were spearheaded by the League of Nations, thefunctions of which were assumed by the United Nations upon its formation afterWorld War II. Drug-trafficking networks that had crumbled during the war beganto reestablish themselves. The future of the drug trade, however, remaineduncertain as efforts to curtail production increased in China and SoutheastAsia. Ironically, with the aid of France and the United States and the drugindustry’s flourish, the foundation for what would become known as the GoldenTriangle was created.

Then, in the 1960s, the drug trade took flight. Illicit drug userapidly became mainstream in the United States, and the demand quickly spreadto Western Europe. The soaring levels of consumption could not be sustainedwithout an increased supply, and global production of illicit drugsskyrocketed. By the end of the decade, individual nations were dealing withtheir own domestic drug problems. In 1971, Richard Nixon, then President of theUnited States, officially declared waron drugs. Forty years later, however, drugs are winning the war.

Globalization and Transnational Drug Trafficking

After the boom of the 1960s, the drug trade took off on the wingsof globalization. Advances in communication, transportation, and informationtechnology, coupled with reduced trade barriers, made it possible for the drugindustry to grow into one of the largest in the world. Places like the EuropeanUnion, where borders between nations began to blur and economies deregulated,became a breeding ground for transnational trafficking. Like a legitimatebusiness, the drug trade seized the opportunity that globalization presented toit, and the rest is history. The reality of the globalized drug trade is bestillustrated with an example. Today, experts estimate that Colombia, Bolivia,and Peru produce close to 100% of the global supply of coca leaf, the rawmaterial for the manufacture of cocaine. Yetonly 19% of all cocaine consumed worldwide in 2009 was consumed in SouthAmerica. The other 81%, anestimated 355 metric tons, traveled across borders, across oceans, and throughthe streams of international commerce. For some perspective, 355 metric tons isequivalent to 355,000 kilos of cocaine, which generates about $70 billion ofprofits for the industry each year.