Skyrocketing Amounts of Drugs Seized at Border

Posted by azdrugrehabctr on November 15, 2015 under AZ Drug Rehab News | Comments are off for this article

One of the main functions of border patrol is to prevent the entry of illegal drugs into Arizona and other border states. This has never been as important as it is now that it has become exceedingly difficult to manufacture drugs like methamphetamine in the United States. Due to changes in laws around the sale of methamphetamine precursors, drug cartels in Mexico have stepped up their production to supply American addicts with the drugs they demand. An illustration of this is the amount of drugs that have been seized at the border. Officials report that heroin and methamphetamine seizures in Arizona have increased by 300%.

In order to come up with this statistic, the Drug Enforcement Administration tabulated information from reported seizures, arrests, investigations and drug enforcement surveys. This is an important number for two reasons. The first reason is that it shows how sophisticated border patrol has become over the years. In order to thwart the drug cartels from getting drugs into the United States, border patrol has to be ready for anything. By implementing drug dogs, technology and intense education, border control has been able to penetrate the drug cartel’s relentless invasion of illegal drugs across the border.

Another reason why this release of information from the DEA is important is because it shows just how many substances are coming into the country. An increase of 300% in seized drugs highlights the demand that United States citizens place on drug dealers and drug providers. While many people are becoming better informed about the dangers and risks associated with various drugs that are commonly abused, there still appears to be a growing demand. To underscore this point, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reports that in 2013 there were 2.8 million Americans who tried drugs for the first time. Most of these Americans were teenagers.

As long as border control continues to seize drugs out of the cartel’s hands they can help keep some drugs out of the hands of waiting Americans. However, this is certainly not the answer to the overall problem. While it can play a part as a form of intervention on our nation’s drug problem, the most effective ways to address the issue is with successful treatment and prevention.

Drugs Continue to Pour in Through Border

Posted by azdrugrehabctr on June 23, 2015 under AZ Drug Rehab News | Comments are off for this article

An interview with Sen. Ron Johnson, the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee exposed just how many illegal drugs were coming into the country. While border control agents work tirelessly to prevent cartels from smuggling thousands of pounds of drugs like; heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana into the United States, it appears that the cartels are getting the better of the agents. As the drug problem continues to get worse in this country, government agencies are looking inward to determine what sort of changes need to be made in order to put a dent in the increasing amounts of drugs available to addicts.

“If you really want a metric that lays out how completely unsecure our border is, and starts pointing to the root cause of the insecurity at our border, it’s our interdiction of drugs. We had Gen. McCaffrey testify that today we are only interdicting about 5 to 10 percent of illegal drugs coming into this country,” explained Sen. Johnson.

Johnson goes on to discuss the different things that make it difficult for the American government and law enforcement to minimize the amount of drugs coming into the country. He points out that the market is so strong for illegal drugs that it acts as a magnet for the drug cartels. Because of the seemingly unending demand Americans have for drugs, the cartels will find a way to get the drugs to them. He describes the whole thing as a business venture that spawns off into other markets. Because of the money coming in from the sale of illegal drugs, cartels also engage in sex trafficking, and exploiting their own countrymen’s desperate attempts to get into the United States. Using people who are trying to get into the country, cartels often force them to smuggle in large quantities of drugs. In order for people to make it across the border they have to pass through territory occupied by the cartels. Once discovered by the cartels, people are made to strap drugs on them and continue on their journey. Sometimes they get caught, but as Johnson points out, they often do not get apprehended and the drugs make their way to waiting consumers on the other side.