The War On Drugs [Document Subtitle] Adonis Cleridor
Understanding the Complex World of Black Market Drugs
The Northern Colorado Drug Task recovered more than 1,000 black market Xanax pills while taking several people into custody last week. Among the findings in the report are approximately 13,648 listings for drugs are now available on Silk Road compared to the 13,000 that were listed shortly before the FBI arrested alleged mastermind Ross Ulbricht and shut down the original site. And Silk Road and other “darknet” marketplaces continue to do steady business. While true psychedelics, taken at precisely the correct dose in a supportive environment, appear to have these effects in people who are mentally prepared, it is impossible to know whether illicitly obtained drug truly are what they claim to be.
The term black market drugs refers to illegal substances traded in an underground economy, outside of the regulatory framework established by governments. This illicit trade poses significant risks not only to users but also to society as a whole.
He warns against use of these substances by people with a family history of mental illness. No federal agency contacted by NBC News said trading insulin is illegal, as it’s not a violation of the Controlled Substances Act. The FDA did raise safety concerns, saying that prescription drugs “are not safe for use except under the supervision of a licensed practitioner.” “Patients can put themselves in grave danger by using insulin ‘traded’ online,” said Dr. Joshua Miller, medical director of diabetes care at Stony Brook Medicine, running the risk of infection, or fluctuating blood sugar levels if the insulin was expired or stored incorrectly.
Categories of Black Market Drugs
The textbook model is about an ideal market with many rational and well-informed consumers and producers who buy and sell units of a homogenous commodity. The markets for an agricultural product like wheat might approach this ideal. Yet in many respects, conditions in the markets for illegal drugs seem to dramatically depart from the textbook model. Costs created by the policy intervention, suppliers require a higher price to bring any given quantity of drugs to the market. How much the supply curve shifts depends on the effectiveness of the enforcement efforts and suppliers’ ability to respond to those efforts. Suppose, for example, that police increase arrests of street-level dealers.
Black market drugs can be classified into several categories based on their origin, type, and effects:
- Narcotics: Opioids like heroin and opium.
- Stimulants: Cocaine and methamphetamine.
- Hallucinogens: LSD and psilocybin mushrooms.
- Designer drugs: Synthetic substances typically designed to mimic existing drugs.
In August, the Ningjiang District People’s Court in Songyuan, northeastern Jilin province, convicted three people of trafficking thousands of pills of OxyContin and MSContin – both slow-release opioids sold by Mundipharma, Purdue’s China affiliate. “No sales to drug dealers,” she wrote in an August post offering 20 boxes of 40mg OxyContin on the microblogging site Weibo, which has since been deleted. Baidu said it constantly monitored its platforms to keep them free of illegal activity, encouraged user reports of bad behaviour and reported infractions to the police. A thread about quitting drugs on Tieba, a forum run by technology giant Baidu, also led to opioid dealers. One person on Tieba selling OxyContin was identified in December as were two others selling painkillers and sleeping pills earlier in the year.
COVID-19 information, both general and specific to substance users, was provided by clinical staff and through wall posters at the centre. Another important complexity arises because the transactions between drug users and drug sellers differ sharply from the textbook model. In that model, consumers pay an agreed-upon price for a certain quantity of a good of known quality, such as a gallon of gasoline of a specified octane. In contrast, retail drug markets are characterized by conventional pricing, where consumers pay $5 or $10 for “nickel” and “dime” bags (Caulkins, 2007) and avoid any haggling about price or making change. This conventional pricing has obvious advantages for illegal transactions, but it can result in poorly informed consumers since the weight and purity of the contents of the nickel and dime bags are not standardized. We mention just three ways in which their data are inconsistent with other data on drug markets.
First, Medicaid and other government insurance programs were defrauded out of at least approximately $15 million of payments that they made to the Pharmacies to purchase prescription HIV medications for patients through legitimate channels. CORVALAN, FERNANDEZ, BAEZ, and MEDINA, however, instead purchased HIV medications from black-market sources, including AMINOV. Over the duration of the scheme, CORVALAN, FERNANDEZ, BAEZ, and MEDINA used the Pharmacies to pay more than $6 million to purchase black-market HIV medications from AMINOV, which were then distributed to patients. Savage says the vast majority of customers are ordering erectile dysfunction drugs. But up to 15 percent of orders come from people seeking medications to treat chronic health conditions, likely because they can’t afford to purchase them through legal avenues. Almost twice as much MDMA is being sold online as marijuana, the second-most popular illicit drug.
Why Do People Turn to the Black Market?
Rates of overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone, which includes fentanyl and fentanyl analogs, increased over 22% from 2020 to 2021. The rate of overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids in 2021 was nearly 22 times the rate in 2013. Nearly 71,000 drug overdose deaths involved synthetic opioids other than methadone in 2021. The latest provisional drug overdose death counts suggest overdose deaths accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. To effectively protect public health and allow criminal investigations, we cannot face global issues with local approaches. Several laboratories must work together and comprehensive testing methods are needed, that aren’t only trying to find possible toxic chemical substances, but also find and share information about where the seized materials came from, and how they were made.
Various factors drive individuals to engage with the black market drugs:
- Legal restrictions: Difficulties in obtaining prescriptions for pain management.
- Access: Legal drugs may be unavailable in some regions.
- Price: Often lower on the black market compared to legal options.
- Stigma: People may feel judged when seeking help through legal channels.
According to the latest public figures, 11,132 cases of medical drug abuse were reported in China in 2016. Reporting is voluntary and figures were drawn from a small sample of institutions including law enforcement agencies, drug rehabilitation centres and some hospitals. Losses in the narcotics business through seizures or theft are rarelycatastrophic.
Consequences of Black Market Drug Trade
The consequences of the black market drug trade extend beyond individual health and safety. These include:
- Health risks: Users face heightened dangers from unregulated drugs that may contain harmful additives.
- Crime: The trade contributes to violence and organized crime, leading to unsafe communities.
- Economic impact: Governments lose revenue that could be generated through taxation.
- Sociocultural issues: Addiction can erode family structures and social networks.
FAQs About Black Market Drugs
What makes a drug part of the black market?
Drugs become part of the black market when they are traded illegally, bypassing regulatory frameworks and safety standards.
How do authorities combat black market drugs?
Authorities employ various strategies, including:
- Law enforcement: Arresting dealers and shutting down operations.
- Public health campaigns: Educating the public about the dangers.
- International cooperation: Collaborating with other countries to track and stop trafficking.
Is there a link between black market drugs and mental health?
- Later that same night, Amy and Christophe drove to Torrance to meet a couple they met through FIP Warriors who had a few vials to spare of a black-market drug for FIP-infected cats.
- “We were surprised by the frequency in which the underground exchange activity was occurring and that individuals were purposely stockpiling medications and supplies for the purpose of donation,” Litchman noted.
- There can also be adverse reactions when taken with alcohol or mixed with other medications.
- The veterinarian estimates she’s treated 18 cats with the drug so far, and all but two survived.
Yes, there is a significant connection. Many individuals turn to black market drugs as a means of coping with untreated mental health conditions, which can exacerbate both addiction and disorder.
Conclusion
The prevalence of black market drugs is a multifaceted issue that requires a comprehensive approach to address. Understanding the underlying causes and consequences can help in developing effective strategies for prevention and recovery.
