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Canada’s Role
Canada’s Role on the International Market of Synthetic Drugs
Antoine Smith
SSG500
Dr. David J. Kritz
American Military University
31 July 2022
Introduction
The research topic chosen, regarding Canada’s role leading supplier of synthetic drugs to the international market. Illicit substances, especially high-potency marijuana or synthetics are a part of the same coin in Canada. This country's National Anti-Drug Strategy was announced by the Canadian government in November 2007. The strategy's execution is being coordinated by the Canadian Department of Justice, in partnership with Public Safety Canada and Health Canada. Preventing drug usage, rehabilitating drug addicts, and combatting illicit drug supply and distribution are all goals of these initiatives. To stop the flow of narcotics into North America and combat transnational organized crime, Canadian law enforcement works closely with their American counterparts on a global scale. The research question/s at hand would be; what is Canada’s role on the international market regarding synthetic drugs and how does this effect its economy? Furthermore is the United States being affected by its proximity to Canada if so, what are the affects?
The intentions of this research is to examine the methods on how Canada’s became the world’s leading manufacturer and supplier or synthetic drugs on the international market. Synthetic pharmaceuticals have become a major industry in Canada, adding to its long-standing reputation for manufacturing potent marijuana like B.B.C. and Quebec Gold. According to Glenny, who refers to Canada as a new global drug lord, a change in the drug consumption market has resulted in Canada's being a significant supply source for synthetic drugs like methamphetamine and ecstasy, which are now more popular than the old organic masters (i.e., cocaine and heroin). According to Glenny, customs officials in the United States are seizing increasingly large amounts of ecstasy and methamphetamine in Canadian-bound trucks and automobiles. The National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC), part of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), thinks that Asian drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are responsible for the current spike in MDMA prevalence, particularly after 2005. According to the study, these organizations are said to produce the medication in Canada and then smuggle it over the border into the United States. Another finding is that MDMA tablets are increasingly contaminated with methamphetamine and other highly addictive drugs. Since 2004 (312,389 dosage units) through 2009 (570,415 dosage units) have been confiscated at the ports of entry along the U.S.–Canada border, this apparent increased trend has been substantiated (2,167,238 dosage units). The United States federal task force named "B Operation Candy Store" after a two-year investigation, for example, charged 18 defendants (both Canadian and American) with involvement in a binational drug-trafficking organization that imported ecstasy and marijuana from Canada while also sending cocaine to the United States. An Indian reserve straddling the land and maritime border between New York's northern district and New Brunswick's province was used by drug smugglers in this organization. A report published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime stated that "the resurgence of MDMA availability in the United States was fueled by the manufacture of MDMA in Canada and subsequent smuggling into the United States across the northern border," and such claims were also supported by the findings of the World Drug Report 2011. (p. 157). Since 2006, outlaw motorcycle gangs and organized crime organizations in Asia have owned large-capacity meth and ecstasy labs, according to this study. A process known as smurfing, which involves transforming legitimate pharmaceutical ingredients into synthetic pharmaceuticals, has dramatically expanded the criminal organizations’ export to the United States and other nations, including Japan, Korea, and portions of Southeast Asia. Canadians were responsible for 83 percent of all seizures in Australia and 62 percent of all seizures in Japan, according to the same study. Annual revenues produced by Canadian drug smugglers selling drugs in the United States are estimated to vary between $337 billion and $56.2 billion. As a result of several government seizures and media reports, there has been much speculation about Canada's expanding position as a global maker of synthetic medicines. There is a notable lack of transparency when it comes to government and international policy documents' calculations and broad assertions. Furthermore, when such conclusions are published, there is a lack of thorough investigation and validation to support these statements, which is critical. Drug production estimates and a country's place in a specific illegal economy are both fraught with methodological difficulties that must be overcome. Despite their importance in policy debates and countermeasure development, these responsibilities are difficult for any national government. The principal objectives of this study were to identify the sites of entry across the United States-Canadian border that reflect patterns of drug trafficking and to assess the scale of the export potential and the structure of the Canadian synthetic drug market. In addition, we wanted to see whether there was a link between the sites of entrance and the patterns of drug trafficking in the region (Khaliullin, 2020). Organized crime in Canada is mostly driven by the illicit drug trade. Around 80 percent of criminal organizations found in Canada by the Canadian Intelligence Security Service (CISS) deal in illicit substances, mostly as street-level traffickers. It's not uncommon for high-level criminal organizations to have influence over the manufacturing, importation, and distribution of illicit drugs like marijuana and synthetic drugs. Asian organized crime (AOC) and other organized money organizations are included in this category (OMGs). Because drug trafficking makes a lot of money, organized crime has more power and, for example, Canadians have to pay more for health care because of it.
A dependent variable that is an interest, analyzing the flow of narcotics into North America and how Canada and the United States work as a team to combat transnational organized crime. Another dependent variable is, making the connection between the rise of MDMA in Canada resulting and becoming the world’s leading supplier to synthetic drugs on the global market. This research does not present any independent variables at the moment, each dependent variable correlates to the hypothesis; If Canada’s has a the leading role on the global market regarding synthetic drugs, does this have direct effect on its economy and how is it affecting the United States due to proximity? The dependent variables are important because they will provide the essential road map to the explanation on how Canada became the world supplier of synthetic drugs and how its effects the economy and its immediate neighbor the United States.
References
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