Heroin Research Paper (Research Paper Sample)

Heroin
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Heroin
Background
The drug abuse problem is a global phenomenon. Many people wrongly presume that the drug abuse is only prevalent in the third world countries and in small parts of the developed world riddled with poverty. It could not have been any further from the truth. Researches on drug abuse have established that the probability of drug addiction is not influenced by the level of disposable income (Shanty 2010). Both the wealthy and lower-income earners are equally exposed to the dangers of drug abuse. According to Shanty (2010), one of the major drug problems in the US since the turn of the millennium has been the heroin usage. Prior to the turn of the millennium, cocaine and marijuana were the major illegal drugs being abused in the US. However, the statistics now indicate that heroin has overtaken the two (Stephanie 2014). A research conducted in 2011 by the National Institute of Drug Abuse established that more than 4 million US citizens had used heroin at any one point in their lives (Stephanie 2014). Nearly half of the number ended up being addicted to its use with a meager 23% managing to unhook themselves from the menace (Stephanie 2014). This study investigates the heroin problem in Long Island in the New York State. The paper discusses the existing heroin market in Long Island, the origin of the heroin used and the entities involved in heroin trade. The study also seeks to determine the influence of the war on terror in Afghanistan on the global heroin market pointing out the implications of the trade on financial institutions.
Heroin Market in Long Island
Long Island is one of the locales in the US with the largest number of heroin addicts (Bolger, 2014). While the problem of heroin usage is significant in most parts of the US, in Long Island the problem has escalated to an epidemic level. According to Shanty (2010), most of the heroin that finds its way into New York State eventually ends up in Long Island. One of the main reasons why the heroin market has grown rapidly in Long Island is because of the inherent characteristics of the residents and the place. For instance, the Long Island hosts some of the richest and wealthiest people in the US (Bolger 2014). The larger percentage of its residents is also middle income earning, leading a decent life. This population has significant amounts of disposable income that can be appropriated in the purchase of illegal drugs such as heroin. Furthermore, Stephanie (2014) asserts, there are very few recreational facilities in Long Island. Therefore, many people end up turning to drugs as a recreational alternative.
The illegal heroin use problem in Long Island peaked in 2012. Since 2007 the number of arrests and deaths related to heroin has been on the increase indicating the heroin market size in Long Island was also increasing. For instance, since 2011, over 500 people have lost their lives due to heroin related complications such as overdoses (Bolger 2014). Bolger (2014) further observes that the number of heroin-related deaths dwarfs that of the people murdered during the same period which was 204. It shows that the market is extensive since the deaths per heroin users are estimated at less than 2% (Scott 2004). What is more, the number of non-fatal hospital admissions due to adverse effects of heroin has also increased by more than 217% between 2009 and 2014 (Bolger 2014). The number of heroin addicts who have enrolled in rehabilitation institutions in Long Island has quadrupled. Also, during the same period, the number of arrests increased by more 427% signifying the increase in the size of the heroin market (Stephanie 2014). In 2009 there were 11 heroin busts in Long Island (Bolger 2014). The number increased to 58 in 2014, although almost all were minor busts netting heroin of street value worth of US$ 15,000 to US$ 100,000 (Bolger 2014). The number of heroin overdose and heroin related arrests have been on the increase despite the awareness efforts by the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (LICADD). LICADD reports estimate that nearly 65% of heroin users in Long Island are hardcore addicts (Bolger 2014). The problem is, at times, it is difficult to tell who is using cocaine and who does not. In many instances a person died because of heroin overdose yet even the closest of friends or relatives did not know that the deceased was a heroin addict.
The Long Island heroin market is valued at US$ 15 million (Stephanie 2014). The price of heroin per bundle has more than halved from 2006 to now range between US$ 80 and US$ 100 (Bolger 2014). Despite the decrease in street value, the heroin market is still bustling and robust with voluminous cash flows. The heroin trade cash flows are greater than small firearm trade which has been massive on the streets. Currently, one bag of heroin fetches an amount of between US$ 6 and 10 in the streets. This has been attributed to its proximity to New York City which is the regional distribution center. Long Island is strategically placed offering supportive market conditions for heroin. There is an extensive transport system that facilitates illegal sale of heroin and other opioids.
It is estimated that a single street retailer sells to an average of 20 heroin users a day (Werb et al. 2008). What is more, researches have established that most of the buyers are likely to consume between 6 and 8 bags of heroin per day (Peters 2009). The global decline of heroin prices creates a glut. Due to the excess supply, heroin is sold at unbelievably cheap prices; cheaper than even the ordinary cigarettes packets. The pricing does not rely on the interaction between the forces of demand and supply. Heroin is readily available in Long Island that it makes purchasing beer seem like a tasking venture (Bolger 2014). Heroin addicts have a slightly higher intake of heroin and are estimated to consume between 10 and 15 bags per day. This is an amount that would not have been envisaged before the turn of the decade but is the reality on the ground at the moment.
The Origin and Entities involved in Heroin Trade
Heroin trade, just like any other trade, requires the presence of the producer, distributors and the consumers (Maguet and Majeed 2010). Heroin producers comprise of the growers of poppy, the plant from where heroin is derived from. These farmers are usually impoverished and barely get value for their money on the poppy they grow (Werb et al. 2008). The poppy is purchased at low prices by drug lords who use force to intimidate farmers. The drug lords are, arguably, the most important entities in illegal drugs trade. The drug lords use their financial muscle to process the poppy to obtain heroin. The processing labs require significant capital outlay, only gangs with huge amounts of money can afford setting up one (Peters 2009). After processing, the heroin is packed into large bundles which are then sold in the local markets or smuggled abroad via extremely ingenious ways. If the heroin is exported the local drug cartels, which act as the middlemen, purchase from their international suppliers, repackage the heroin into smaller bags and sell them to street gangs (Scott 2004). The street gangs purchase in large quantities, ordinarily ones that last a week or more, and then sell, ultimately, to individuals. Heroin trade is, therefore, multilayered (Scott 2004).
The heroin in the US comes from a myriad of sources, most of which is outside the country. The major origins of heroin are Mexico and Colombia with a small percentage sifting through from Afghanistan via Europe (Scott 2004). Colombia has been the major supply of illegal drugs in the US for a long time since the times of the mystic Pablo Escobar in the 1970s. Of course it is not Colombia, as a country, that supplies the illegal drugs but the drug lords and their gangs operating from Colombia. The production of heroin in Colombia decreased after 2010 when the CIA and DEA took a more proactive approach towards reducing drug smuggling into the US (Stephanie 2014). In 2009 the US government changed its policy in drug fighting opting to target drug lords and drug processing labs instead of cutting out the supply channels (Shanty 2010). The US, in collaboration with the Colombian authorities, managed to reduce heroin production significantly through raiding such facilities in the Colombian jungles. However, Colombia still remains a significant producer and supplier of heroin.
Mexico is the current major supplier of the heroin that eventually finds a market in Long Island. Currently, the major gangs controlling the supply in Long Island all have Mexican origins. The major drug cartel in the US is the Sinaloa cartel from Mexico (Stephanie 2014). It is alleged that Sinaloa dispatches several shipments daily to deliver Heroin in New York (Shanty 2010). Through waging war on other Mexican cartels such as Juarez, Gulf and Los Zetas, it has managed to curve out New York, and Long Island, as its niche.
Effects of the War in Afghanistan on the Heroin Markets
The war in Afghanistan had significant influence on the heroin markets. The Afghanistan war extensively increased the amount of heroin in the global market. Afghanistan is the world’s largest producer of heroin (Peters 2009). It has extensive fields of opium in its expansive mountainous areas near its border with Pakistan (Maguet and Majeed 2010). Prior to the war, the Taliban who were in control of the country and the region had devised a plan to reduce poppy growing in Afghanistan. The ban was UN-backed and was instituted in 2000. During the 1990s Afghanistan produced an average of 4000 tons of poppy annually (Chossudovsky 2005). This amounted to nearly 70% of the global heroin supply (Peters 2009). The UN became concerned with this gigantic amount of supply. The UN, consequently, banned poppy growin...