Major Developments Major Developments by Calendar Year

Most of the foreign-based drugs are available in U.S market through land smuggling. This is one of the major routes for drugs smuggling. From Mexico and Canada border, this type of smuggling is going on. Many routes and methods for Cocaine, Heroin, Methamphetamine, and Marijuana into the United States appear to have shifted because of the heavy law enforcement pressure.

Cocaine is one of the major illicit drugs, which are smuggled through land routes. There are significant shifts in cocaine smuggling routes. This is mainly due to the following factors:

• Decreased cocaine production in Colombia
• Enhanced counter drug efforts in Mexico
• High levels of cartel violence
• Sustained interdiction pressure
• Cocaine flow to non U.S markets

A decline in the amount of cocaine seized is noticed whereas there is a huge increment of heroin availability in U.S drugs market. This shift in smuggling trend appears to be directly related to production trends and the changing roles of DTOs. For the past several years, heroin is smuggled more than cocaine in U.S market.

All these factors visualize that there is a huge change in overland smuggling method. Year by year many major changes were noticed. Many factors are responsible for this type of change.

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A report created by the Florida Medical Examiners Commission has revealed that prescription drugs have exceeded illegal drugs as a cause of death.

A scrutiny of 168,900 autopsies (examination of dead body) conducted in Florida in 2007 identified  that three times as many people were killed by legal drugs like cocaine, heroin and all methamphetamines all together. According to state law enforcement executives, this is an indication of a increasing prescription drug abuse problem.

In 2007, prescription was responsible for 843 deaths, heroin for 121, methamphetamines for 25 and marijuana for zero, out of 989 deaths. In contradiction, 2,328 people were killed by opioid painkillers, like Vicodin and Oxycontin, and 743 were killed by drugs belonging to benzodiazepine, and depressants Valium and Xanax.

While the number of dead bodies containing heroin increased to 14 percent, to a total of 110 deaths, but the number of deaths occurred due to the painkiller oxycodone raised by 36 percent, to a total of 1,253 deaths.

Prescription drugs have become more accessible alternative, as they can be easily acquired than illegal drugs. Even though illegal drug use among teenagers have reduced, prescription drug abuse has increased. For instance, while 4 percent of U.S. 12th graders were taking Oxycontin in 2002, by 2005 that number was increased to 5.5 percent.

Adults can obtain prescriptions by bluffing injuries, or by visiting many doctors and pharmacies for the treatment of same health problem. Some people acquire more drugs than it is required, and will sell the extras.

Any person using a prescription medicine will have a risk of negative consequences and the drugs are very dangerous when abused. For instance, many painkillers are intended to have a prolonged effect  which disappears after some time. This will make recreational users to take more amount of drugs before the old ones are exhausted from their system, which makes them vulnerable to an overdose. Similarly, the general process of grinding pills up leads to large dose of drugs to enter the body all at a time, with possibly dangerous consequences.