Alexandra Alfageme
Professor Tayra Inchino
English III
20 January 2013
Drug Abuse
Drugs are commonly used in the United States. As the number of drug addicts increase, the demand for drugs is greater. Individuals who want to consume drugs range from teenagers to middle aged adults. Even though drug selling and trafficking generates a lot of revenue, the government is mainly concerned with the consequences of drug abuse. As drug usage increases, the government is trying to decrease this action by having full on search sessions, cutting supply of dealers, and protecting American borders from anyone who comes in and out of the country.
More than 22 million Americans abuse drugs. Officials and the government have compared the percentage of increase in drug abuse from 1990 to 2010. In that 20 year span the increase of drug usage rate was from 23 percent to 46 percent. As drug policy official A. Thomas McLellan stated “ All the government has been doing is aim..aim..aim…” (Sapatkin) means that the government hasn’t really been recognizing the problem of drug usage until now. The usage of drugs is spiraling out of control and the government is taking all measures to stop that.
As dealers find new ways to smuggle in drugs, so does the government to stop them from selling it. For example many dealers found that sneaking substances through airplanes was becoming harder to do so they found newer ways like operating puppies and placing marijuana bags in them. Search engines happen frequently in airports, cruises, houses, and in cars. Many police officers bring their dogs with them to sniff out any narcotics. Once found for the suspicion of having narcotics the police takes the dealer to court and can get a 5-20 year sentence. These searches often happen closer to the borders of Mexico, near California, and close to Florida.
When cutting the supply of smugglers the government found that many of them were going to all extremes from creating miniature submarines to breaking into peoples’ car to secretly sneak in the narcotics. One way that the government shortens dealers’ supplies is by placing mini chips into the dealers supplies. The FBI also tracks the most notorious smugglers for years and when having solid proof they surround the dealer and arrest him. Many undercover detectives also play a role as smugglers to gain the dealers trust. Once having gained their trust the undercover detective pin points every drop off and pick up. Since dealers carry large amounts of narcotics it is very easy to cut the supply of dealers. The government also raised the security status and is sending more police to patrol the area for drugs.
