| Background The drug industry has been going on thousands of years. Archaeologists have unearthed vases containing coca leaves from 2100 B.C. Coco was in important part of the long ago Inca Empire in Peru. Warriors, nobles and priests were the chosen few who were allowed to use the drug. It was believed that the coca would give them courage and strength and wisdom to lead their people. Although the Incas are famous for hoarding great treasures of gold and jewels, coca was as valuable to them as these treasures. Chewing coca leaves gave people energy and strength. It allowed them to do without food or water. It made them forget about the cold or the winds in the mountains. Cocaine was developed in Europe from the coca leaves in the 1880s. Doctors in the United States where interested in it to. Cocaine was imported in large quantities to us laboratories to tests its possibilities. The drug impressed American doctors just as it had impressed Europeans. It was hailed as a magic drug that could cure any disease that any one had. Companies started to put it in all types of products medical and even in a new kind of soda called Coca Cola. One company even manufactured a cocaine filled cigar that could �chase the blues away�. Cocaine was missed in a drink and labeled Vin Mariani, which was an instant hit with, may people. So people that liked the drink was Inventor Thomas Edison, President William McKinley and The king and Queen of Norway loved it even Pope Leo XIII gave the creator of the drink his official gold medal of honor. As time went on more and more people spoke out against the dangers of drugs in the United States. When people could not argue their cases using scientific data, they invented stories about drugs to scare others. They told stories about men who turned into monsters when they used drugs. These monsters attacked women and children, and because of their superhuman strength, police officers could do nothing to sop them. Such hysterical stories convinced many people that drugs like cocaine and heroin should be banned from society. Because popular opinion was against the use of these dangerous drugs the U.S. government began to take action in the early twentieth century. In 1906, Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act. This law made it illegal to sell any food or medicine without stating its ingredients on the label. If cocaine or heroin were contained in a medicine, the amount had to be clearly stated. Two years later, Congress made new laws saying shipping cocaine, heroin, or alcohol from one state to another became illegal. This did not ban the sale of drugs and it did not say that shipping drugs in the state. Each state had its own laws about the use of drugs and many were banning drug trafficking altogether. The Harrison narcotics act was passed in 1914, and it said that anyone selling, importing, or dispensing drugs had to be registered by the government. From then on, heroin and cocaine could be obtained legally only with a doctors prescription. In 1914 it look as if the drug problem was solved at least from a legal standpoint. No one could abuse drugs if he or she could not get the drugs. The laws made it clear that drugs could only be used under medical supervision The United States learned in the coming years how ever that passing laws could not eliminate drugs use. The growers of opium and coca continued to grow and harvest the plants. Importers continued to bring them into the country. Somehow the drugs continued to find their way into the hands of the people who wanted them. As more and more people started to use drugs legislators contused to pass laws against it. By the mid 1920s cocaine and heroin were no longer legal even in medicines. Their sale use and transport were strictly against the law. By 1937 marijuana was banned in every state. The Beginning of drug trafficking as a huge money making business actually began with the banning of liquor. In 1919 the U.S. government added an amendment to the constitution. The amendment said that it was illegal to sell, manufacture, or drink alcoholic beverages of any sort. Selling and Transport alcohol was illegal but offered the possibility of making a great deal of money. The demand for alcohol was high and traffickers could sell as much as they could smuggle. It was during Prohibition that many criminals started working together to manufacture, sell and transport alcohol throughout the United States. The most powerful of these criminal groups was a certain organization of Italian families known as the mafia. When prohibition ended in 1933 the mafia had no other way of bringing any large amounts of money so they started to smuggle drugs in. Led by mafia leader Lucky Luciano the crime organization arranged the smuggling and sale of tons of drugs in the United States and other countries around the World. During the 1980s and 1990s illegal drugs have flowed into the United States at a staggering rate. The government established the Drug Enforcement agency (DEA) in 1973 to combat the trafficking but the agency has not eliminated drug trafficking. The DEA and other enforcement agencies face enormous problems. They operate on a limited budge, while the criminal organizations that traffic drugs have billions of dollars. The traffickers are heavily armed and they have an arsenal of high tech scanners radar and other equipment. (drug trafficking Stewart Gail 1949 15 � 27) |