To fully investigate the impact of global relations the example of both illegal and legal opiates will be discussed. Throughout history, opium has been used for medicinal purposes making it a very tradeable commodity with a high net worth. This has led to the trade in both legal and illegal global markets. This essay will show how power, violence and harm together with global and local markets have been affected. It is important to understand the fundamental difference between legal and illegal drug use, legal being prescription drugs and over the counter remedies. Illegal drug use being harder to categorise as its status is always evolving and changing by those in power.
Thomas de Quincey was quoted as saying "Nobody will laugh long who …show more content…
History appears to repeat itself with links between global relations and the illegal opium markets. As in 1970’America President Richard Nixon made a decision to declare a nationwide “war on drugs” in an attempt to target dissident groups who were canvassing support against the Vietnam War. Nixon was in the middle of what we would now call a culture war (dvd 3). This action brought about both intended and unintended consequences. With the creation of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and its crackdown in putting drug dealers behind bars, this indirectly encouraged more violence with emerging gangs seeking to take control of this new territory in order to traffic illegal drugs. Drug crimes are generally associated with anti-social groups, the underclass or those with low income. Since 1980 there have been more black arrests than white arrests from drugs (DVD3) with black people 10 times more likely to end up in prison. (DVD3) The war on drugs has caused great social harm as evidenced by the large increase in the number of women being incarcerated for drug offences (DVD3). This has devastating consequences for the wider community affecting their families and those that rely upon
Thomas de Quincey was quoted as saying "Nobody will laugh long who …show more content…
History appears to repeat itself with links between global relations and the illegal opium markets. As in 1970’America President Richard Nixon made a decision to declare a nationwide “war on drugs” in an attempt to target dissident groups who were canvassing support against the Vietnam War. Nixon was in the middle of what we would now call a culture war (dvd 3). This action brought about both intended and unintended consequences. With the creation of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and its crackdown in putting drug dealers behind bars, this indirectly encouraged more violence with emerging gangs seeking to take control of this new territory in order to traffic illegal drugs. Drug crimes are generally associated with anti-social groups, the underclass or those with low income. Since 1980 there have been more black arrests than white arrests from drugs (DVD3) with black people 10 times more likely to end up in prison. (DVD3) The war on drugs has caused great social harm as evidenced by the large increase in the number of women being incarcerated for drug offences (DVD3). This has devastating consequences for the wider community affecting their families and those that rely upon