Drug Use in the World Essay Example

Introduction

Of all the creatures in the universe, human beings have the distinction of consuming various types of drugs for different reasons. These recreational drugs are either legal or illegal to consume, sell, possess, or distribute. There is an almost infinite number of drugs people use around the world. Human beings have access to different types of drugs in their raw, or isolated state. The mode of ingesting these drugs varies. For instance, tobacco has multiple forms of ingesting. One can take it by snorting ground tobacco leaves or through smoking. Other drugs, such as marijuana can even be mixed with food and consumed as part of food, in addition to the usual smoking. Some drugs, such purified heroin, cocaine, or morphine can be injected to the individual. From this minor sample of the various psychedelic drugs currently within reach of many human beings, one can understand that there is a demand for these mind and sense-altering drugs. This research paper concentrates on cocaine, its major users, their social status, and various problems and regulatory initiatives associated with its consumption. Use of cocaine is a multi-billion dollar industry that operates covertly. In some states where there is a breakdown of law and order, the production of this drug is in full swing, with only the security agencies of the most affected nations taking an active interest in the elimination of the drug across its entire value and production chain. One can easily identify the drug agencies in Europe, the security apparatus in the United Kingdom, USA, and China as some of the organizations that focus on reducing, detecting, deterring, and facilitating the prosecution of all individuals that engage in the production and consumption of cocaine

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Drug Use Patterns

Cocaine is a terrible drug in the sense that it destroys productive people globally, a fact which requires to be addressed on a governmental or possibly even international level. Cocaine is a highly addictive Class-A drug that must be combatted on all levels. It is consumed on a global scale which makes it possible to discern that there is a consistent pattern of cocaine abuse all around the world. This is according to Telegraph reports that cocaine is consumed on a global scale conducted by Smith.

From map 1, one can see that Asia and Africa bear the least burden in the world. It is, therefore, logical to hypothesize that the cocaine problem is most severe in the developed world. The data that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime offers on this map is situational (Merz 85). It does not offer a comparison over time, so it is difficult to determine the trends in the consumption of this illegal drug throughout the world. Nevertheless, the discussion shows that there is serious cocaine problem.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime put out a detailed drug report for 2017 as presented by Merz (85). In the report, the statistical data that the agency notes is that there is a consistent rise in the number of users of drug and the disorders over time. They number in the millions, showing that there are at least fifty million users that suffer from mental disorders centered on drug use. In addition to that, there has been an increase of more than forty-seven million in the decade-long timespan that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (Merz 86), has been collecting data that it uses in projecting its estimates as shown in figure 1 below.

Cocaine use Analysis

The discussion in this analysis is crucial to achieving the objective of this paper which illustrating the cocaine problem in the country. In addition to creating a working definition of the drug and its use, the section will also juxtapose the numbers of users with the demographics that have the highest number of addicts using social status as an indicator. The section will also provide a rationale for why cocaine is a problematic drug, and it will also trace its use through history: from a time when it was used productively, to now that it is an illegal drug. In essence, this section is an analytical review of the use of cocaine in the world, relying on authoritative publications from the last decade.

Cocaine is the active ingredient in the coca plant which has various strains. Variants of the species produce coca-rich leaves which is where the cocaine is derived. Various species of cocoa exist in the wild and can also be cultivated. The drug is a strong stimulant that has been in use for a long time, with varying utilities through time. The coca plant is additionally a native to the Andes Mountains but then time and the spread of the drug by grower has seen the cultivation of the plant reach record proportion in South America. When this issue is illustrated graphically, Columbia will be used as a microcosmic example of the global cocaine output. The reason for choosing Columbia is that it is the largest cocaine producer in the world. For a long time, Columbia has held that position, with record production spikes occurring in 2014and 2015. The acreage that farmers in Columbia put up coca plantations increased 39% in 2014. The US State Department's International Narcotics Strategy Report went on further to show that the percentage of land farmed for coca increased a further 42% in 2015 (Merz 86). To put this information further in perspective, one can see that the growth of cocaine in 2015 rested on 392,897.5 acres. All that acreage translates to 495 metric tons of processed cocaine in one year. In layman terms, that is enough cocaine to fill up fifty forty-foot truck containers. For a drug that is as potent as cocaine, that is a lot.

A Historical Perspective of Cocaine

Cocaine is thought of as a problem because its abuse has severe adverse impacts on those that are unfortunate enough to be addicted. But then that was not always the case. Historically, the people of the Andes Mountains used it as a stimulant in everyday life (Roncero et al. 321). The air at high altitudes is very thin. Since one of the effects of cocaine is to increase the rate of breathing, that helped them to cope much better with heavy physical activities at high altitudes. In other recorded instances, the Peruvians also chewed coca leaves only in traditional ceremonies. The earliest recorded abuse of the coca plant came with colonization. The Spaniards invaded Peru, forcing the natives to work in the silver mines. There, they forced the Indians to consume the coca leaves so that they would be easier to control in a dazed state.

The first time that cocaine existed in a purified state was in 1859, when the German chemist, Albert Niemann first isolated cocaine from the plant. From then on, the plant gained popularity slowly as many individuals began touting its potential benefits for mental illnesses (Roncero et al. 322). The most notable early proponent of the drug, cocaine, was Sigmund Freud. It is said that he was an avid user of cocaine, often prescribing it to his girlfriend and close friend. Sigmund Freud was reportedly so enamored by cocaine that he called it a 'magical' substance. Three centuries later, John Pemberton used coca leaves to make a soft drink that is famous today-Coca cola. The euphoric and energizing effects of the drink made it immensely popular. Subsequently, more people began to lace their drinks with cocaine (Roncero et al. 324). Among these, Thomas Edison and Sarah Bernhardt are the most pronounced users in the Nineteenth Century. However, the cracks in cocaine abuse began to reappear.

Public pressure forced Coca-Cola to withdraw the coca leaves from the ingredients list in the soft drink. Soon afterward, snorting cocaine began taking root. The problem with cocaine began manifesting. By 1912, the US government was logging five thousand deaths that were directly attributable to cocaine. Even in the seventies, cocaine was still immensely popular as a party drug (Roncero et al. 329). Cocaine began taking on the form of a problem due to the disorientation, and ultimate negative health implications of using cocaine.

The relationship between Cocaine-Use and Social Status

Colombian drug producers and traffickers managed to create elaborate networks for smuggling cocaine into the United States of America. Furthermore, with the advent of crack cocaine, it was suddenly accessible to everyone. Therefore, it no longer indicated a social status of wealth. The adverse scientific and social implications meant that there was a direct link between using the narcotic and poverty, social decadence, and lack of productiveness in the users.

Perceived Problems and Effects of Cocaine

Consuming cocaine in any way is a social and health problem. Various scientific studies have been conducted to show that the drug has dangerous effects on both counts. Cocaine has both short and long-term effects on the individual. This becomes intense with time victims develop both dependency and tolerance for the drug. The short-term effects of having cocaine are blood pressure, unstable body temperature, and increased heart rate among others. The individual's pupils will dilate, and the blood vessels of that person will also contract. Individuals that are on a cocaine high can also be intensely paranoid. In other instances, these individuals feel nauseated and suffer erratic sleep patterns. There is a phenomenon is called hyperstimulation. It occurs when an individual feels everything on a heightened level. That may make them erratic, and could even lead them to hallucinations. If a user overdoses, they could slip into convulsions and even sudden death. An individual is coming 'down' from high experiences an intense craving for another dose of cocaine (West 12). It has been seen that the craving is bad since it can lead an individual into depression. It also makes individuals be hostile to others and well as posing as a danger to their lives.

In the long-term, there are both direct and indirect health risks that one takes on as an active cocaine user. The constantly high blood pressure from the drug damages blood vessels, making it easier for one to suffer from strokes and heart attacks. If the user snorts the drug, there is a real chance of destroying the tissues in the nose. Severe tooth decay is also another problem that comes from the long-term use of cocaine (West 23). On the other hand, the mental effects of long-term use are apathy, depression and even suicidal tendencies. Being a cocaine addict attracts stigma, making it impossible for the individual to find solace in normal human interaction. Therefore, these people also tend to be suicidal.

Federal Initiatives to Combat Cocaine

The United States of America is waging a spirited campaign against cocaine on all fronts. The effort is multi-sectoral, with the federal policy and legal frameworks playing a vital role in combatting initiatives. The federal government has waged war against narcotics in general for more than a century. The first federal initiative to combat cocaine abuse targeted the pharmacists and physicians involved in the distribution of the drug. For instance, the Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914 was the first effort of the federal government to curtail the use of cocaine (Blum et al. 16). The essence of the act was to punish the individuals consuming and prescribing the cocaine. As a result of the aggressive enforcement of the Act, many doctors, sellers, and buyers were harshly punished. Trebah points out that at least five thousand physicians were fined and jailed in the twenty-three years the Act was in force. In addition to targeting the distribution, the government also went after the users. For example, the Supreme Court ruled that it was illegal to maintain addicts as a way of rehabilitating them in the case of Webb et al. v United States in 1919. Congress became even tougher on the traffickers of cocaine. F...