Opium Goes Global

1. After reading the attached article please discuss the Threat Assessment (2011) promulgated by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the role that Organized Crime Groups and Narco-Traffickers are in perpetuating narcotics abuse and addiction.

A threat assessment is the evaluation and assessment of people who potentially constitute a threat to an organization’s aims, how they might cause harm, and their capacity and motivation to complete the mission.

According to United Nations, the volume of exchanges among people grow simultaneously as the world population does. Most of these exchanges are beneficial and legitimate while some are not. There is much transnational criminal market across the earth conveying drugs, toxic wastes, trafficked women, and stole natural resources. A lot of dirty money flows across the planet yearly. As a result, the economy is distorted, institutions get corrupt increasing conflict (Transnational Organized Crime Threat Assessments, 2021).

The economic consequences of drugs and the criminal market are that consumption for drug abusers tend to have a health and financial burden on society. In the illegal market, there are no profits for providers or traffickers. The short-term economic gain comes at a great social and political cost for producers and trafficking countries. The majority of the money made from drug sales stays in the consumer countries. Youth’s use of both illicit and legal drugs has an impact on their employment. Given the high percentage of unemployment, admission requirements are always a big consideration. Illicit drug usage reduces one’s chances of entering and continuing in the workforce, and frustrations generated by a lack of suitable employment contribute to drug use and criminal activity. 

Roles that Organized Crime groups and Narco-Traffickers are perpetuating narcotic abuse and addiction.

Regardless of geography, organized crime groups are self-sustaining networks of people who operate completely or largely through illegal means. They are constantly looking for new ways to increase their power, influence, and wealth. The smuggling and distribution of drugs across borders on the other hand are known as narco-trafficking.

The transit of narcotics has recently become a very fascinating topic. Drug traffickers are becoming more adept in their methods of smuggling drugs across the border, and they are becoming far more hazardous. Narcotics are transported to the United States in a variety of ways, including via ships ranging from ordinary commercial or fishing vessels to submarines (ABUSE, O. D. 1998).

Digging and creating Underground tunnels are another prevalent role played by Narco-Traffickers. At times they work in association with organized crime groups who create these tunnels to escape the government and in the long run create a way and method of getting drugs into the United States. Underground tunnels can also be exceedingly dangerous because they are prone to collapsing and do not provide enough air or resources for individuals going through to survive for lengthy periods underground (ABUSE, O. D. 1998).

When compared to states in the North, crime rates in the South are substantially greater. Drugs cause a society’s crime rate to be substantially greater than in societies where drugs are less prevalent. Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona have some of the highest overall crime rates in the country, and a major part of this is attributable to the influx of drugs from Mexico into these states. These crimes are a result of these organized crime groups who are trying by every chance to bring drugs to states in the South through Narco-Traffickers (Transnational Organized Crime Threat Assessments, 2021).

      2.  (a) Part within the US experiencing drug problems

Substance addiction is one of our nations most ubiquitous problems, costing more than $275 billion in healthcare costs, lost productivity, linked crime, and other social costs each year, and contributing to more than 130,000 fatalities. Lima, a city in Ohio, United States, has many smaller communities that have serious crime problems. A good number of the population are involved in a drug overdose. Opioids are highly abused causing a large number of deaths. Considering the overall number of fatalities in the US in 2017, there was a 4.1 percent increase in the number of deaths by 2018. The age adjustable rate was also reduced by a fraction per the one hundred standard population. Almost three-quarters of the total deaths resulted from a drug overdose in 2018. The deaths were caused by excessive consumption of synthetic opioids other than methadone.

Apart from deaths, the other effects caused by excessive consumption of Opioids in Lima Ohio are; Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) or Opioids Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS). This is a condition that occurs when a woman uses opioids during pregnancy; Several Diagnoses and prevalence are attributed to drug use. For instance of the one hundred percent of diagnoses, nearly ten percent is as a result of Injection drug Use: Cases of Hepatitis C (HCV) Incidences and prevalence are attributed to IDU, there is a report of indicated IDU before the onset of acute symptomatic HCV. 

            (b)Steps they are taking to combat the problem

            In Ohio, One such strategy is to hold symposiums to help educate and inform the local people about the hazards of drug use and what parents can do to better understand and avoid drug usage among their children.

To address substance usage and related concerns, law enforcement, treatment providers, and prevention specialists must collaborate. These partnerships are crucial to program success because they eliminate redundancies, speed up service delivery, and give participants access to knowledge and financial resources. All kinds of prevention, treatment, and enforcement appear to perform better and have a higher impact when interagency collaboration is well-developed and organized. Collaborations like this are critical for providing a continuum of care that can intervene effectively at all stages of a person’s life, from birth to adulthood, and in a variety of community settings.

As more is discovered about what works with various populations, substance misuse treatment has become increasingly involved. The National Institute on Drug Abuse recently released treatment principles based on recent research. Treating the family, reforming convicted criminals, assessing and treating youth, and interacting with the community are four of the strategies.

References

ABUSE, O. D. (1998). Economic and Social Consequences of Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

Transnational organized crime threat assessments. (2021, July 18). United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. https://www.unodc.org/unodc/data-and-analysis/TOC-threat assessments.html