Mexico plays a major role in the transportation and smuggling of illicit drugs. These drugs include marijuana, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine. The increased crackdown on the illegal drug transportation via aircrafts in Mexico has led to the increased use of maritime vessels. The increased level of corruption in the Mexico government during the early part of the 20th century was attributed to the One Party Rule. During this time, the Institutional Party Rule had a centralized form of government that tolerated and provided some form of protection to drug production and trafficking in certain parts of Mexico (Beittel, 2011). The one party rule was present in Mexico for over 60 years.
One of the common illegal drugs is marijuana. According to Stacy (2002), the Mexicans have planted marijuana since the 19th century. During this period, the foreigners who came to the country introduced most of the marijuana. Increase in the use of marijuana can be noted in its increased used in the medical practice, in the 19th century (Campos, 2012). Evidence of the use of marijuana smoking became evident in a report in 1846, which indicated that because of its increased used via smoking; military officers had become lazy in doing their duties (Campos, 2012).
The prime location of the growing of marijuana was on an island called Mariguana. The word marijuana itself was used as it meant intoxicant(Campos, 2012). Interests in researching about marijuana in Mexico increased during the 19th century. This was because of the need of Mexico wanting to stand out among the European nations. According to Campos (2012), the Mexican researchers wanted to portray that the Mexican nations had a higher level of modern civilization. Marijuana became a uniqueness symbol that separated Mexican medicine from European medicine. However, towards the end of the 19th century most violence and madness in Mexico was linked to Marijuana (Campos, 2011). Most of the locals became fearful of marijuana because of the negative changes it brought to the lives of the Mexican people. By this time, dealing with marijuana was legal in Mexico. Nevertheless, trading in large amounts of marijuana would lead to significant changes. According to Campos (2012), in 1908, a Mexican marijuana dealer, Jose del Moral, was given a jail term for dealing with large amounts of marijuana. Export trading in marijuana became illegal, in 1927 (Stacy, 2002).
Opium growth in Mexico increased during the 19th century. Its use other than medicinal purposes increased in the early 20th century. In Mexico, in 1927, trade in opium, which is the primary source of heroin, was made illegal (Stacy, 2002). This caused an increase in the drug smuggling, which was mainly supplied to the United States. In the United States, opium was made illegal around 1909. However, laws in Mexico concerning drug smuggling of opium were not applied effectively. The growth of opium was attributed to the increasing workforce, which depended on the lucrative pay when working on the opium farms.
In the 1970s, most of the illicit drugs such as heroin, marijuana, and cocaine came from the city of Culiacan, Sinaloa (Gootenberg, 2011). According to Coerver, Pasztor and Buffington (2004), most of the individuals involved in the drug trade came from this city. Further, the west coast of Sinaloa provided a long coastline, which is difficult to access making drug cultivation favorable (Beittel, 2011). The growth and the financial benefits that came from the illicit drug trade increased the level of corruption of the government agencies that were involved in the prevention of the drug trade. Some of the farmers during this time lost their land to drug lords. Cocaine, mostly from the Colombia, was smuggled across Mexico into the United States. In 1989, statistics indicate that more than a third of the cocaine that found entry into the United Sates was passed through Mexico (Gootenberg, 2011). Trade in the illicit drugs generates a lot of income. Towards the end of the 20th century, income generated from the illegal drug trade had reached approximately $10 billion a year, in Mexico (Gootenberg, 2011). This was a clear indicator that the illicit drug trade was a serious problem since the income exceeded that which was obtained from trading in oil, which was the largest export commodity for Mexico. This has created increased violence and increased drug overdose related deaths. Despite massive efforts, in 1995, that resulted to the destruction of opium poppy crops, the effect on the drug trade has been minimal (DIANE, 1996). This can be linked to the increasing levels of corruption from government officials and major institutions involved in the reduction of the illicit drug trade. Changes in the administrations have also contributed to the increasing violence. For instance, in 2006, the removal of 284 federal police commissioners on grounds of corruptions resulted to the arrest of major drug lords in Mexico. However, this resulted to the different drug cartels instigate violence in which 5300 deaths were reported (Suddath, 2009).
References
Beittel, J. (2011). Mexico’s Drug Trafficking Organizations: Source and Scope of the Rising
Violence. Congressional Research Service.
Campos, I. (2011). In Search of Real Reform: Lessons From Mexico's Long History of Drug
Prohibition. NACLA Report On the Americas, 44(3), 14-18
Gootenberg, P. (2011). Cocaine's Blowback North: A Pre-History of Mexican Drug Violence.
LASS Forum, 42(2), 1-10.
Campos, I. (2012). Home Grown: Marijuana and the Origins of Mexico's War on Drugs. North
Carolina: University of North Carolina Press.
Coerver, D. M., Pasztor, S. B., & Buffington, R. (2004). Mexico: an encyclopedia of
Contemporary culture and history. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO.
DIANE Publishing, D. P. (1996). Drug Control: Counternarcotics Efforts in Mexico.
Washington, D.C.: DIANE Publishing.
Stacy, L. (2003). Mexico and the United States. New York: Marshall Cavendish.
Suddath, C. (2009, March 25). A Brief History of the War on Drugs - TIME. Breaking News,
Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com. Retrieved May 29, 2013, from http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1887488,00.html
