CHECK Berlin / Brandenburg #5

SOCIETY
WHY CERTAIN DRUGS ARE BOUGHT
ON THE BLACK MARKET
Very much simplified (historians and criminologists
are very much welcome to criticise and
reprimand the editors here) a British corporation
once wanted to control the opium trade in
China. The Chinese didn‘t want this. As there
was a lot of money involved, two opium wars
ensued. When neither party was victorious, it
was decided in 1909 by the international opium
commission that no one was allowed to control
the opium trade. The counter-proposal of a
world-wide opium prohibition was accepted.
In Germany, the law was in effect from January 1,
1930. It banned the following substances,
among others: raw opium, opium for medical
purposes, morphine, diacetylmorphine (heroin),
coca leaves, raw cocaine, cocaine, Indian
hemp (basically grass and hashish) as well as
all salts consisting of morphine, diacetylmorphine
(heroin) and cocaine. From then on, the
substances were only available on prescription
and only legally available for medical purposes.
Amphetamines (Speed, Ecstasy, MDMA) were
only included in 1941.
In fact, there was no explicit agreement on
what the criminal consequences would be if
drugs prohibited by the state were sold on the
black market. Yet illegal drug trafficking was
always going to be the logical consequence of
the ban, as the state fundamentally prohibits
the legal trafficking in drugs. A fact that has not
yet been dealt with in a result-oriented manner.
So let‘s take a closer look at the black market:
BIG BUSINESS
There can be no reliable figures because the
drug trade takes place entirely in the underworld.
The World Drug Report 2005, compiled
by the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime, estimated the global market value for
illicit drugs was 321.6 billion US dollars in 2003
alone. Less specific estimates on the Internet
currently assume a total of 500 billion US dollars.
By comparison, the global gaming industry
currently appears to be worth 300 billion US
dollars.
THE PARTIES
Manufacturers:
The cigar-smoking drug lord does not remove
bugs from coca bushes or opium poppy fields.
For they have numerous ”employees“. This
illegal work is not carried out in accordance
with union terms. Not only legal gray areas
arise here, but large black holes, which those
affected often disappear into.
Dealers:
These are basically people who make money by
selling intoxicants as products. As long as there
is still a demand for illegal drugs, there will
also be a black market for these products. Due
to criminal prosecution, a high risk premium is
added to the actual procurement price of the
goods in cartel-like trading structures. In plain
language: the gram of cocaine that is delivered
to your door by courier actually costs a lot less.
With a rather arbitrary extra return on the risk
premium, more and more new dealers are lured
into the market.
Smugglers:
Similar to dealers, but they usually cover longer
and more dangerous routes. Body packers,
for example, smuggle up to 200 capsules of
cocaine inside their stomach per trip. If the
capsules burst, it can be life threatening.
Consumers:
Drug users can be roughly divided into four
categories: testers and occasional users, who
can adapt their consumption to their lifestyle.
And addicts and long-term consumers who,
conversely, adapt their lifestyle to consumption.
They all have one thing in common: in order to
satisfy their need for an illegal intoxicant, they
have to delve into criminal territory. Here they
may encounter shady types who are up to no
good. In 2018 there were officially 269 million
illicit drug users worldwide.
Police officers:
Control offenses conduct targeted controls to
find violations of the Narcotics Act. The offense
is then registered. The more intensive the regulatory
reviews, the more cases are uncovered.
The German Federal Criminal Police Office
CHECK BERLIN/BRANDENBURG #5
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