Illegal Drug Use - Prostitution and Money Laundering

Illegal Drug Use, Prostitution and Money Laundering

Briana Garrison

American Military University

Criminology 303

Professor Beshears

Abstract

The word Illegal can apply to many things in the world, many things that didn’t use to be illegal are now illegal for good reason. Human beings are almost the original guinea pigs because humans try new things and love it until it is discovered to cause sever damage or have massive negative implications. However, despite the fact that human beings know when something is hurting them they continue to use those things such as drugs. The United States has been combating drugs for years and there is really nothing to show for it, and with the use of drugs moving into other illegal rings such as prostitution, it makes the mission for government officials that much harder. Money laundering is also another problem that the government claims to have control over, but many money laundering crimes are never discovered because the criminals who are conducting the crime have become that good at making the business legit. So the problem of illegal drug use, illegal prostitution and money laundering are much deeper than anyone realizes and the solutions discussed in this paper have failed and new ones are sure to fail as well unless something changes.

Illegal Drug Use, Prostitution and Money Laundering

It is often asked, “How is that illegal?”, well it is easy to explain why when one knows all the answers and if one doesn’t know the answers it is wise to look towards the constitution for those answers. Not saying all of the answers can and will be answered by the constitution because so much of it is broad and left open for immense amounts of interpretation but many answers can be found there. Leaving it that way was probably not the best idea but a great one at the same time. Too many people use the broadness of the constitution to make excuses for their actions. Many would claim that it doesn’t say anything in the constitution about drug use or prostitution or money laundering; however that is not true because those provisions have been added into the constitution bill of rights. Illegal drug use is a dangerous area to be involved in, people get killed for trying to fool the buyer or short them, or for basically anything if they are high on drugs and go crazy. Illegal drug use usually has an underlying issue of moderate to severe abuse. Many who are on drugs also partake in prostitution, and many corporate or high-ranking businessmen partake in money laundering because they think it will get them rich and most of them have the delusion that they will get away with it.

Illegal drug use leads to drug abuse, which in transit plays a big part in crime that takes place i.e. drive by shootings, gang membership, illegal drug trafficking, prostitution, and so much more. Illegal drug use is the gateway to so much more that can destroy ones life. The drug trafficking ring is so intense that many members, who are caught, still manage to run their end of the business even from prison. There are people involved in illegal drug use and abuse that one would never suspect, it could be top notch college students but yet they could be smoking pot in their dormitory room every night, or they could be rich corporate professionals sitting outside a beach house in Miami, Florida snorting cocaine while playing dominos (Adler, Mueller, and Laufer, 2013). The illegal use of drugs is derived from the simple fact that the substances are illegal so they have to be obtained for consumption, it is just like when prohibition was enacted; not too many people drank liquor but once it was illegal to have everyone wanted it and drank more than they ever did before just for the simple fact that it was illegal. Human nature is the downfall to every human being on this earth because it forces each individual to have the genetic makeup of being compelled to do the things outside of the social norms.

The United States has increased its interests in regulating drugs from the public, especially mind altering drugs such as bath salts, and PCP, the sanctions installed into the political framework of the country are there for moreover moral, legal, and serious medical grounds (Rogers & Cavanaugh, 1985). Although marijuana is used quite often for medical necessities, many other drugs are used as an attempt to get the same affect but it does not usually work out. The only issue with the legality of marijuana as a medical drug is that even though the drug is legal in say California, it still is illegal federally; so if that person gets pulled over and they test positive for being under the influence of a controlled substance and they are arrested, they can still receive federal charges for possession of an “illegal” drug regardless of whether or not it is legal under state regulations. The United States government has attempted in many ways to curb the use of illegal drugs, however these attempts have failed in numerous ways. The more the government attempts to control illegal drug use the more people will do illegal drugs or create more mixtures that have the potential to kill someone from dangerous combinations. Other illegal drugs that have been recently placed on the most commonly abused drug chart are as follows: alcohol, cocaine, bath salts, DMT, GHB (otherwise known as the date rape drug), hallucinogens, inhalants, ketamine, LSD, marijuana, methamphetamines, salvia, and many over the counter drugs such as Advil cold and sinus and prescription narcotics such as Percocet (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2015).

According to public health experts the use of illegal drugs is rapidly increasing due to beliefs that many of these drugs can assist in many superficial desires such as tanning, heightened sexual pleasure, and apparent increase in concentration abilities (Anonymous, 2012). Extreme use of illegal drugs not only affects the individual person, their families and friends, but it also has a profound impact on economic expectations and workplace expectations (DeSimone, 2002). Marijuana and cocaine was deemed the highest used illegal drug on the market in the early and mid 2000’s, in the early 2010’s marijuana and cocaine are stilled two of the highest used drugs on the market but numerous hallucinogens have been added to the list. These drugs have major negative impacts on the economic market because these drugs have moderate to severe effects to a persons physical and psychological capabilities (DeSimone, 2002). One of the only “professions” that claims any benefit at all from illegal drugs is prostitution, drug trafficking rings, and sex trafficking rings. There are claims that many factors play a part in the number of individuals that do consume illegal drugs while having a job, some changing factors could be things like divorce or a demotion and potential lay-off. Social norms, restrictions, and demands can weather a person till they can barely function through the day, many people would say just drink coffee but to some coffee may not be enough to stimulate their nervous system. These reasons are why so many individuals resort to illegal drug use, but this in turn can turn into moderate or severe abuse, which causes intense social and economic strains (DeSimone, 2002). As stated before, there is a correlation between illegal drug use and prostitution, the use of drugs while working the streets puts so many of those girls, and even boys, in severe danger and vulnerability to unwanted sexual attacks to even death by the hands of a psychopath.

Illegal prostitution is probably one of the oldest professions in the world, many associate prostitution with women dressed in skimpy outfits standing on a street corner; but with today’s technology prostitution can be run in almost every facet never thought of before. One would ask the question of why someone would willingly enter into prostitution, one factor that has been linked to be one of the largest underlying causes is childhood abuse (Farley, Franzblau, & Kennedy, 2013). Some women are forced into prostitution, some are held in houses and are sold or auctioned off over the Internet so the “boss” does not get caught or have the girls standing on a street corner vulnerable to random attacks. What people in today’s day and age fail to realize is that the Internet is used for much more sinister and sickening acts than just the average teenage girl upset about an ex-boyfriend on Facebook. The problem with the Internet route to prostitution is that it makes it much harder for police to solve or even understand the crime. The aspect of allowing men to have the opportunity to remain unseen, hidden behind a computer screen and be able to partake in illegal solicitation of a young girl or boy by means of prostitution is disgusting; this basically makes the Internet a sex buying hub that provides a friendly and anonymous environment for the man or woman behind the computer screen (Farley et.al., 2013).

People often believe that an economic crisis or a really bad recession is the reason behind extreme numbers of people involving themselves in prostitution but that has been disproved. The economic status of the country is not the reason for people