CHECK Nord #2
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SOCIETY<br />
WHY CERTAIN DRUGS ARE BOUGHT<br />
ON THE BLACK MARKET<br />
Very much simplified (historians and criminologists<br />
are very much welcome to criticise and<br />
reprimand the editors here) a British corporation<br />
once wanted to control the opium trade in<br />
China. The Chinese didn‘t want this. As there<br />
was a lot of money involved, two opium wars<br />
ensued. When neither party was victorious, it<br />
was decided in 1909 by the international opium<br />
commission that no one was allowed to control<br />
the opium trade. The counter-proposal of a<br />
world-wide opium prohibition was accepted.<br />
In Germany, the law was in effect from January 1,<br />
1930. It banned the following substances,<br />
among others: raw opium, opium for medical<br />
purposes, morphine, diacetylmorphine (heroin),<br />
coca leaves, raw cocaine, cocaine, Indian<br />
hemp (basically grass and hashish) as well as<br />
all salts consisting of morphine, diacetylmorphine<br />
(heroin) and cocaine. From then on, the<br />
substances were only available on prescription<br />
and only legally available for medical purposes.<br />
Amphetamines (Speed, Ecstasy, MDMA) were<br />
only included in 1941.<br />
In fact, there was no explicit agreement on<br />
what the criminal consequences would be if<br />
drugs prohibited by the state were sold on the<br />
black market. Yet illegal drug trafficking was<br />
always going to be the logical consequence of<br />
the ban, as the state fundamentally prohibits<br />
the legal trafficking in drugs. A fact that has not<br />
yet been dealt with in a result-oriented manner.<br />
So let‘s take a closer look at the black market:<br />
BIG BUSINESS<br />
There can be no reliable figures because the<br />
drug trade takes place entirely in the underworld.<br />
The World Drug Report 2005, compiled<br />
by the United Nations Office on Drugs and<br />
Crime, estimated the global market value for<br />
illicit drugs was 321.6 billion US dollars in 2003<br />
alone. Less specific estimates on the Internet<br />
currently assume a total of 500 billion US dollars.<br />
By comparison, the global gaming industry<br />
currently appears to be worth 300 billion US<br />
dollars.<br />
THE PARTIES<br />
Manufacturers:<br />
The cigar-smoking drug lord does not remove<br />
bugs from coca bushes or opium poppy fields.<br />
For they have numerous ”employees“. This<br />
illegal work is not carried out in accordance<br />
with union terms. Not only legal gray areas<br />
arise here, but large black holes, which those<br />
affected often disappear into.<br />
Dealers:<br />
These are basically people who make money by<br />
selling intoxicants as products. As long as there is<br />
still a demand for illegal drugs, there will also be a<br />
black market for these products. Due to criminal<br />
prosecution, a high risk premium is added to<br />
the actual procurement price of the goods in<br />
cartel-like trading structures. In plain language:<br />
the gram of cocaine that is delivered to your door<br />
by courier actually costs a lot less. With a rather<br />
arbitrary extra return on the risk premium, more<br />
and more new dealers are lured into the market.<br />
Smugglers:<br />
Similar to dealers, but they usually cover longer<br />
and more dangerous routes. Body packers,<br />
for example, smuggle up to 200 capsules of<br />
cocaine inside their stomach per trip. If the<br />
capsules burst, it can be life threatening.<br />
Consumers:<br />
Drug users can be roughly divided into four<br />
categories: testers and occasional users, who<br />
can adapt their consumption to their lifestyle.<br />
And addicts and long-term consumers who,<br />
conversely, adapt their lifestyle to consumption.<br />
They all have one thing in common: in order to<br />
satisfy their need for an illegal intoxicant, they<br />
have to delve into criminal territory. Here they<br />
may encounter shady types who are up to no<br />
good. In 2018 there were officially 269 million<br />
illicit drug users worldwide.<br />
Police officers:<br />
Control offenses conduct targeted controls to<br />
find violations of the Narcotics Act. The offense<br />
is then registered. The more intensive the regulatory<br />
reviews, the more cases are uncovered.<br />
The German Federal Criminal Police Office<br />
recorded exactly 359,747 drug offenses and<br />
284,390 suspects in Germany in 2019.<br />
<strong>CHECK</strong> NORD <strong>#2</strong><br />
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