The Global threat of drug abuse (From NIANKARA Amadou, Yadéga High School)

The international drug abuse situation is grave. Global cultivation and production of opium, coca, and cannabis continue to expand.

The supply of the products made from these crops far exceeds the demand for them, but the demand is also rising, particularly in the producing and trafficking countries. These countries once immune from the effect of illicit drugs now have growing addict and abusing populations. Like Western Europe and the United States what they are exploring to fight back, realising that illicit drugs pose a threat not only to the health of the people, but also to domestic order and national security.

Drugs production and trafficking are a big business: the product is lucrative, needs little advertising, and keeps the customer coming back for more. The criminal organisations running those businesses are skilful and ruthless. They battle against all organised efforts to curtail their activities. When a government mounts an intensive eradication campaign, traffickers often counter by planting larger crops, moving their fields to more remote areas, or mounting misinformation campaigns to convince the population that the government is harming its citizens by eradicating illicit drug crops. When processing laboratories are destroyed, the traffickers build new ones or design mobile fabrics that can be moved quickly. They counter law enforcement efforts with corruption and violence, bribing or killing those whose activities threaten their work.

International boundaries have not meaning for drug traffickers. If one Government is able to disrupt their activities significantly, they simply move to another country.

Notes :

Threat : menace;
addict : personne adonnée à ;
ruthless : impitoyable, insensible
Curtail : raccourcir, abréger

QUESTIONS :

1) According to the text, why are drug production and trafficking a big business? (4 marks)
2) What do traffickers do when a government mount an intensive eradication campaign? (5 marks)
3) What are the effects of illegal drug on consumers? (5 marks)
4) What solution do you propose in order to stop the activities of drug traffickers in your country? (6 marks)