NCJ Number
88886
Date Published
1982
Length
154 pages
Annotation
This book describes the growing sources as well as the production, smuggling, and distribution processes for heroin, cocaine, and marijuana, and drug law enforcement problems are briefly considered.
Abstract
Heroin is a finished product made, after several operations, from the sap of an opium poppy. It is grown by poor farmers, usually in tiny fields in hilly areas with poor soil, primarily in Pakistan and the countries of Southeast Asia. Almost the entire supply of cocaine originates from coca bushes grown on the steep slopes of the Andes mountain range in Bolivia and Peru. Marijuana, which can be grown in many areas, has been cultivated for illegal use primarily in Colombia, California, and Mexico. In heroin smuggling, the Golden Crescent heroin passes from Pathans to Kurds to Turkish guest workers to Sicilian or Corsican mobsters to American crime families. Most cocaine, however, begins and ends with Colombian families. Often a single group buys the coca, transports it, refines it into cocaine, hires couriers to bring it into the United States, sells it to wholesalers, and arranges the American bank accounts that make it possible to conceal the profits. More than cocaine or heroin, marijuana smuggling is done by the independent operator who enjoys using the drug, likes the adventure and profit of smuggling it, and eventually plans to spend the profits of a few large hauls in a law abiding lifestyle. Drug law enforcement for each of these drugs is unique and complicated, as efforts are made to counter trafficking at various points in the process. Particularly difficult are efforts to stem the growth of the drug-producing plants, since it occurs in areas outside of the jurisdiction of American law enforcement. The task of law enforcement is to find the weak link in the trafficking process and attack it, while attempting to reduce the demand for drugs. Eight bibliographic entries and a subject index are provided.