Drug Trafficking: Key Concepts and Models

These flashcards cover essential vocabulary and concepts related to drug trafficking, its economic implications, the structural dynamics of the drug trade, and the relationship between drugs and crime.

Illegal Drug Trade

A large enterprise that rivals many legal industries, generating global annual revenues exceeding half a trillion dollars.

Cocaine Pricing

Cocaine is valued at 30 times the price of gold.

Heroin Pricing

Heroin is valued at 10 times the price of gold.

UNODC

United Nations Office of Drug and Crime, estimates that there are 300 million illicit drug users worldwide.

Decentralization in Drug Trade

Drug dealing in the U.S. is highly decentralized, with different traffickers operating independent enterprises.

Golden Triangle

A region in Southeast Asia known for opium poppy cultivation.

Golden Crescent

A region in Western Asia known for opium poppy cultivation, includes countries like Afghanistan and Iran.

Pure Agricultural Model

A drug distribution model that applies to substances harvested from plants with little or no transformation.

Economic Compulsive Model

Explains that addicts may engage in high-risk crimes, including robbery and theft, to finance their drug habit.

Enslavement Model

Proposes that drug addiction leads to a life focused on committing crimes to sustain the addiction.

Predisposition Model

Suggests that individuals likely to engage in drug usage are also predisposed to criminal behavior.

Systemic Violence

Violence embedded within the social and economic interactions among drug users and sellers.

Criminogenic

Having the capacity to induce or influence criminal behavior.

Drug Courts

Programs aimed at diverting drug offenders from traditional penal sentences to treatment programs.

Controlled Substances Act

Defines schedules of drugs with varying controls and penalties in the U.S., classifying drugs based on their potential for abuse.

Prohibition

The legal ban on selling substances like alcohol, which was enacted in the U.S. from 1920 to 1933.

Drug Use and Violence Link

Substantial connection where drug users tend to commit more nondrug-related crime than non-users.

Polydrug Use

The use of more than one drug, either simultaneously or over a certain period.

Disinhibition Model

The theory that alcohol consumption reduces self-control and increases likelihood of violent behavior.

Cognitive Guidelines Approach

The belief that behavior under the influence of alcohol is guided by cultural norms.

Demand and Drug Trade

Demand for drugs is the central reason supporting the illicit drug trade.