Drug Trafficking Statistics

Charges of drug trafficking are serious and can result in significant penalties for the defendant if they are convicted. At their core, drug trafficking charges are intended to prevent large quantities of illegal drugs to be transported and distributed, but there are a variety of times where someone may face drug trafficking charges as a result of a technicality or legal stipulation when they really should have been charged with a lesser crime. This is one reason why it is so important for anyone charged with a drug-related offense to work with an experienced attorney who is fluent with American drug laws.

If you have been charged with drug trafficking or a related crime, you need a lawyer immediately. Parikh Law is a law firm in Florida with an impressive history of defending these types of cases, and you will benefit from their support as you take on the staggering apparatus of the US legal system.

The War On Drugs

The United States has held a notoriously combative stance against drugs of (nearly) all kinds since President Richard Nixon started the "War on Drugs" in 1971, which drastically increased anti-drug measures including military funding and intervention, increased and often-brutal policing tactics in impoverished communities, and more. Even today, remnants of the War on Drugs impact communities across the country as non-violent offenders are given major sentences that some may argue are disproportionate to the crime.

By The Numbers

• Every 25 seconds there is a drug-related arrest in the United States, leading to a shocking 1.3 million arrests each year

• 20%, or 456,000 people, are incarcerated for drug charges

• 1.15 million people are on probation or parole for drug-related offenses

• Researchers attribute between 75-100% of reductions in crime to factors OTHER THAN incarceration, a strong indication that punitive action is not necessarily the solution to America's drug problem

• Black Americans are 400% more likely to be arrested for simple possession of marijuana than a white marijuana user and account for nearly 30% of all drug arrests while making up only 12% of all substance users

• Nearly 85% of people arrested for drugs are men

• Nearly 75% of people arrested for drugs in the US are citizens

Regardless of where you stand on the United States' moral and legal obligations to curb the production, distribution, and use of illicit substances, the fact remains: drug trafficking is here to stay, and many believe that treatment and rehabilitation may be the remedy necessary moving forward. Take a look at some of the shocking statistics about drug trafficking in the United States below, and ask yourself what you believe may be the appropriate path forward. 

What Does Drug Trafficking Look Like in the 21st Century?

According to the United States Sentencing Commission, only six drugs account for nearly all trafficking charges the United States: methamphetamines (33.6%), cocaine (19.8%), marijuana (17.6%), heroin (14.4%), crack cocaine (8.1%), oxycodone (2.8%). All other drugs combined accounted for the remaining 3.7% of all drug trafficking offenses.

Keep in mind that these percentages and proportions do not necessarily reflect the breakdown of drugs by volume trafficked into and across the United States, but there is likely a strong parallel. 

The five worst districts for drug trafficking are all located in the Southwest United States, including:

• Western District of Texas.

• Southern District of Texas.

• District of Arizona.

• Southern District of California.

• District of New Mexico.

Again, if you find yourself in a situation where you have been arrested and charged with drug trafficking or any other drug-related offense, you need to contact a lawyer immediately. The United States justice system has spent decades working on harsher penalties and structure sentencing guidelines for non-violent drug offenses, and you need to have the support of someone who understands the system.