NCJ Number
161619
Date Published
1995
Length
235 pages
Annotation
This in-depth investigation of the lucrative nature of the international illicit drug trade analyzes economic, political, and military aspects of drug cultivation, manufacture, trafficking, and consumption.
Abstract
The materials were compiled from a network of 250 academic and legal professionals, the media, and nongovernmental organizations in 90 countries. The volume focuses on geopolitical and financial aspects of drug trafficking on a global basis and examines the extent to which the drug trade has penetrated legitimate economic and political systems. The volume is organized first by geographic region and then by individual countries and topics. Introductory essays highlighting significant developments precede the text for each geographic region, and numerous maps illustrate drug transit routes. Regions examined in the volume include the Balkans, Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, Central Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Southwest Asia, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Rim, South America, and North America. Key issues surrounding the public debate about the international drug trade are addressed, including the effectiveness of the U.S. war on drugs, money laundering, the power of drug traffickers to influence regional politics, the relationship between world economic crises and drug activities, effects of regional and ethnic conflicts on drug trafficking, and the connection between the drug trade and arms trafficking. 11 maps