The war on drugs is a major challenge in the world. The issue has been a concern for a great deal of time. In the history of different countries, the war on drugs takes a critical section of the historical articles. Almost all countries have a unique problem that relates to the level of drug consumption in the country. For example, China struggles with the Opium while the United States has a huge problem with Cocaine. The effectiveness of the spread of the drugs in the respective countries may be because of a set of reasons. China and the United States being some of the most successful nations in the globe have continued to struggle with the drugs following the effects of the dominance of science, and exclusive interconnectedness as well as shrinking of space trends in the respective countries.
China is a nation that highly depends on science for its growth and development. There are different forces in the country that rely on science, and they have made the country enjoy exclusive growth. One of the most sensitive sections of the science department in China is the medical sector. It is the duty of the government to ensure the citizens enjoy proper health through availability of the necessary medicine (Tter and Lars 04).
Opium reached China in the eighth century as a medicine. The drug was initially significant as a painkiller that was extracted from plants. Therefore, at that time there could not have been any negative element that connects to the drug. It continues its significance as a drug for a sensible time in the nation. In the most painful surgeries, the opium played a critical role for pain relief.
Although, the government mainly distributed the drug, some people could access it for personal use. The drug is highly expensive, and only the rich could afford it. It became the habit of the rich to consume the drug and use it for their personal relief. It is at this juncture that the drug became useful for leisure (Tter and Lars 14). Therefore, the drug changed its role from the scientific purpose to leisure drug.
In addition, the issue of interconnectedness and shrinking of space plays a critical role in the opium abuse in China. The country is a trade partner to many countries around the world. Sometimes, it is hard to govern all the activities that occur in the country. China mainly imported the drug from the Arabs and Indians. In addition, the country imported some of the Opium from Persia and turkey (Tter and Lars 13).
Once a country allows many countries to sell their products in the land, it must prepare for various challenges on the way. The first challenge was to control the overflows of the drug into the republic of China. However, following the sensitivity that the drug had obtained in the country and among the rich in China, the overflows were unavoidabl (Tter and Lars 21). Therefore, China had to experience the effect of being a global destination.
During the Sino-British war, the use of Opium as a drug continued to rise. The public could smoke or sniff the drug in the public. The British soldiers believed in opium as a recreational drug. At no point did the soldiers refer to the drug as harmful. Following the close link between China and Britain at the time, the consumption of opium in China became a routine (Tter and Lars 29). There was no chance for China to challenge the consumption of opium in the country.
The United States struggles with the extensive consumption of cocaine. Numerous cases of the drug consumption in the country require close attention. There must be proper consideration of the various factors that could have led to the high rate of coca consumption in the country. The first appearance of Cocaine in the United States is in 1880s (Gootenberg 01). From that time, the drug continues to be a major challenge in the war against drugs in the country. The main purpose of the drug was medicinal. Mainly, the drug was sold in the pharmacies and aimed at ensuring that acute pains were relieved by the drug (Gootenberg 01). However, the demand for cocaine continued to rise as many people had become aware of the effectiveness of the drug with time.
The extensive medical research that was carried on the drug in the United States shows the extensive purposes of the drug to human beings. As a result, the scientific research defined the various purposes that cocaine could serve at that time. The effectiveness of the stimulant became common among doctors as they used it to treat various conditions. For example, the drug was highly effective in treating addictions and carrying out surgeries (Gootenberg 24).
As the fame of the drug continued to grow, the pharmaceutical industry in the United States opened doors to the public where people could easily access the drug without a prescription from a doctor. With time, the drug had become extremely common among the Americans making it one of the major drugs abused in the United States (Bertram et al 13).
The United States relates to the rest of the globe in a unique way. It is a global benchmark. The economy of the country remains unique around the world. Therefore, the country enjoys trade partnership with the rest of the world. The interconnectedness of the country could be the main cause of the increased cocaine abuse in the United States (Bertram et al 07).
The country enjoys trade partnership with major producers of cocaine in the world, Peru and Columbia. There were numerous cases where the citizens of Peru and Columbia were arrested in possession of the drug in the United States. Following the increased case of drug trafficking in the United States following the illegal trade by foreign countries, the 1914 Harrison act was employed (Gootenberg 37). The act required arrest for all individuals who were caught in illegal possession of the drug.
The foreigners who could be caught with the drug in the United States illegally could be prosecuted. Also, such people were banned from the country for the rest of their lives. The measure was following the effect of the interconnectedness of the United States to the rest of the world (Gootenberg 27).
The citizens who possessed the drug without doctor’s prescription could face the music of arrest and prosecution. They could have been jailed or fined. The measure could control the use of cocaine among the Americans and ensure there were no chances for recurring use of the drug in the country.
Citizens from a country like China who had been used to opium easily turned to cocaine when they landed in the United States. They had to seek a hard drug that would quench their addiction. Therefore, they had to turn to cocaine, which was not hard to get in the country. Therefore, the interconnectedness of the United States to the rest of the world attracts the extensive use of drugs (Gootenberg 32).
The control of drugs around the world requires exclusive consideration of the trends that are making the use to advance every day. The significance of drugs in science and interconnectedness are key elements attributing to the abuse of drugs. China and the United States face the challenge of interconnectedness and the art of science in the drugs. It is challenging to control the use of drugs as time passes, but necessary measures would control the spread of the drug abuse in the countries.
Works Cited
Bertram, Eva, Morris Blachman, Kenneth Sharpe, and Peter Andreas. Drug WarPolitics the Price of Denial. Berkeley: U ofCalifornia, 1996. Print.
Gootenberg, Paul, ed. Cocaine. London: Routledge, 1999. Print.
Tter, Frank, and Lars Peter Laamann.Narcotic Culture: A History of Drugs in China. Chicago: U of Chicago, 2004. Print.
