The consumption and control of legal and illegal opiates has clear global dimensions. Discuss.
PI: B6185638 The consumption and control of legal and illegal opiates has clear global dimensions. Discuss. The consumption of opiates for both its pain killing qualities and its recreational uses dates back to at least the ancient Greeks, and its cultural, trade and legal status has changed constantly during this time. This essay will look briefly the way opiates have been seen, traded and controlled around the world, discussing how the perspective of the drug differs throughout history and geographical location, at the effects caused economically, culturally and politically, at different levels of society and the effects that legislation has had both locally and globally. In the late 1700’s the British were trading world wide however they were at disadvantage with China as they were importing vast quantities of tea but had no exports to China, in order to balance this, the British started exporting opium that they were producing in India to China, resulting in the British East India Company gaining the monopoly of the opium trade by 1790. Due to the number of consumers in China, the emperor, Kia King, banned the use of opium, however the British continued to supply as they considered this prohibition unfair, resulting in the Opium Wars in which China was forced to allow ports of free trade and allow the importation of opium. This trade continued until the Chinese finally convinced the British to end the India-China opium trade in 1910, after the first
International Opium Commission had met in Shanghai, convened by the United States and attended by 13 world Powers. By this time the medical uses of opiates were well known, and the misuse of morphine and heroin was on the rise both in the Far East, Europe and the USA. As a direct consequence of the Shanghai Conference, the Hague Opium Convention was signed in 1912. The parties to the Convention agreed to: limit the manufacture, trade and use of these products to medical use; cooperate in order to restrict use and to enforce restriction efficiently; close opium dens; penalize possession; ...
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International Opium Commission had met in Shanghai, convened by the United States and attended by 13 world Powers. By this time the medical uses of opiates were well known, and the misuse of morphine and heroin was on the rise both in the Far East, Europe and the USA. As a direct consequence of the Shanghai Conference, the Hague Opium Convention was signed in 1912. The parties to the Convention agreed to: limit the manufacture, trade and use of these products to medical use; cooperate in order to restrict use and to enforce restriction efficiently; close opium dens; penalize possession; and prohibit selling to unauthorized persons. This legislation has opened up a new and highly profitable market. The illicit drugs trade (also referred to as the illegal drugs trade or drug trafficking) is one of the largest global businesses, at some $322 billion, according to the UN World Drug Report, 2007. It attracts criminal organizations because the potential profits are significantly more than from other criminal commodities: As the 2007 report notes, the high value is understandable because “unlike human beings, diamonds or firearms, the drug supply is consumed each year and in need of continuous renewal.” It is also a global issue because profits [from illicit drugs] accrue to a wide range of actors, from poor rural farmers to affluent urban dealers. But, in many instances, the single most profitable sector of the market is the process of transporting the drugs internationally. The funds raised by trafficking groups can be used to underwrite other criminal activity and even political insurgency.( World Drug Report 2007, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (p.170)) The UN estimates that some 200 million people (4.8% of the world’s population aged 15-64) use illegal drugs annually with 25 million being classed as problem users (0.6%). (See p.9 of the report.). The consumption of illegal drugs is also a diverse subject; many people in developing countries who are suffering from malnutrition and extreme poverty, use opiates to elude the pains of everyday life, following cultural traditions. Many areas in Asia, especially those in the poppy producing regions, such as Afghanistan, have for centuries used opium as a cure for hunger and cold, consuming it by drinking it in tea or smoking it in pipes, however, with the production of poppies growing and laboratories converting it to heroin locally, these habits are changing, as is the availability of heroin in the countries in the area which were previously in the Soviet Union. Many of these countries have no resources and therefore the illegal drug trade is a double edged blade, providing an income and wealth on one hand, whilst on the other, leaving thousands as addicts and therefore in worse poverty. The sheer size and illicit nature of the opium economy mean that it infiltrates and seriously affects the regions economy, state, society, and politics. The opium economy is a massive source of corruption and gravely undermines the credibility of the government and its local representatives. In the developed world, drug abuse conjures up pictures of homeless people, criminals, which may be true to a certain extent, a large part of the population use drugs recreationally, and even though this may be illegal it is culturally accepted. The pharmaceutical industry, an estimated $530 billion dollar industry, shares many similarities with the illegal trade, legal opium production is allowed under the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and other international drug treaties, subject to strict supervision by the law enforcement agencies of individual countries and the International Narcotics Control Board, who control the quotas of production. Once the pharmaceutical companies must apply for a patent and then persuade doctors, hospitals and the general public to use their drugs, this is done by lobbying, donations and influence at the top end (i.e. for patents and licences) and by hard sale, advertising and perks at the lower end, the method is the same as the illegal trade, the only difference being that in the illegal market these practices are known as corruption, bribery and force, and carry heavy prison sentences whereas if a pharmaceutical company is convicted of misconduct they will only be fined, a substantial amount but peanuts compared to the profits they are making. The industry has become so powerful it actually finances a large part of The Food Drug Administration in the states, the body that regulates the drugs that are sold and how they are marketed. This bears a clear resemblance to the way the drug cartels influence governments and law enforcement agencies in the poorer countries. In conclusion, as the world starts to globalize, it is accompanied by criticism of the current forms of globalization, which are feared to be overly corporate-led. As corporations become larger and multinational, their influence and interests go further accordingly. Being able to influence and own most media companies, it is hard to be able to publicly debate the notions and ideals that corporations pursue. Some choices that corporations take to make profits can affect people all over the world. Sometimes fatally, as is the case of the opium market. We have also seen how what is now considered a crime historically was not, and therefore could stop being a crime in the future, and how acts that are considered a crime in one part of the world are not in another. The illegal consumption of opiates results in misery in all parts of the globe and has to be dealt with on a local base, whilst the trade, legal or illegal, is of clear global dimensions. Word count 1,155. Refferences: The Open University (2009a) ‘Use, culture and addiction’ in Opium: Cultures, Wars, Markets, Milton Keynes, The Open University [DVD]. The Open University (2009b) ‘Production and distribution’ in Opium: Cultures, Wars, Markets, Milton Keynes, The Open University [DVD]. The Open University (2009b) ‘Control and Regulation’ in Opium: Cultures, Wars, Markets, Milton Keynes, The Open University [DVD]. World Drug Report 2007, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime - -
