Drug Prohibition versus Human Trafficking

Drug Prohibition versus Human Trafficking – Where our Priorities lie

Not all crimes are equal, and some crimes are not even crimes at all. The largest black market on the planet currently is the illegal drug trade. In the US alone, the illegal drug trade is estimated to be valued anywhere between $200b - $750b annually. Now that is a lot of cheddar!

With that amount of money involved, it is not very difficult to see why prohibition prevails despite the fact that common sense and reason dictate that “it’s not the best way to go about dealing with the drug issue”.

Nonetheless, it is the number one black market activity in the world and over the past 45 years of the drug war has been the excuse to take away your civil liberties in order to “increase security” and “stop the drug problem” with the final goal of creating a “drug free society” (which is a fallacy, but I digress).

The second largest illicit market in the world, while many would guess “guns”, they would be mistaken. Human Trafficking is the second largest black market activity on the planet. Coming to about a $150 billion dollar a year industry, human trafficking is a serious problem and generates more money annually than illegal firearms.

weed farm workers

The first time I discovered this fact I was shocked. Why the hell are we going after drug users, when there are people all over the world literally stealing people or their organs, and selling it to other people.

Shouldn’t the act of “stealing a person” be considered a heftier crime than smoking a joint or even a crack pipe? Isn’t the harvesting of organs a greater evil than growing opium?

After all, in virtually all drug related cases, people choose to consume their vices. Sure, the act might be illegal, but there is still choice in the matter.

When it comes to human trafficking, there is no choice. An aggressor is actively depriving you of your liberty or even stealing your vital organs for profit. This to me and anyone who isn’t a sociopath, would seem to be considered a higher priority in law enforcement than drug use.

However, as we continue to focus on drugs throwing unimaginable sums of money into the void known as the drug war, we neglect our resources in relation to human trafficking. For instance, each year the US government spends about $30 billion dollars on the War on Drugs, but only a mere $150 million yearly on human trafficking.

checklist to stop human slaves

Why isn’t Human Trafficking a Priority?

Human trafficking is one of the fastest growing illegal markets in the world, generating roughly $150 billion each year and enslaving 20.9 million people annually. Yet despite this, we aren’t seeing the actions back up the passionate speeches given out by politicians.

I have a working theory on why this is so.

Buying a human being isn’t something that everyone can do. Not everyone has the access to the amount of money required to buy an illegal organ or a sex slave meaning that the people who actually spend money on these “products” are wealthy.

People in power usually are the ones most likely to engage in these illegal activities. I’m talking about politicians, judges, business tycoons and so forth. You know…the “untouchables”.

I believe that if the focus is shifted from the war on drugs to human trafficking, for instance, spending $30 billion a year in combating human trafficking, we’d begin to see many untouchables fall off their thrones of power.

This for those who participate is not something they would like to see happen and thus they continue to focus on an issue that is truly a “non-issue”. Why is the War on Drugs in the spotlight?

Because unlike human trafficking, your average Joe and Jane can afford to buy an ounce of weed or a few grams of coke. There is a larger demographic that partakes in this market and it makes it easier to rally up “criminals” within this marketplace. It’s also a great way to create prisoners for a growing industry; The Private Prison Complex.

You see, for those people who are partaking in human trafficking, to have law enforcement scramble after users, producers and growers allows them to continue their deviant acts without too much interference.

And as a society, we allow it. We play ball and let politicians decide about what we can consume and what we cannot. And this is where we are at fault.

It’s time we place some serious pressure on politicians and lawmakers to shift our priorities. No longer must we consider drug use a “public security issue” but a public health issue and we should definitely consider human trafficking a public security issue.

Human traffickers are everywhere and the US is one of the largest importers of stolen people in the world, along with the UK.

So re-ask the question, which is worse…Drug Trafficking or Human Trafficking? If you are human, the answer shouldn’t be a difficult one to guess.