Human Trafficking

The prevalence of illegal drug use in the Philippine s is lower than the global average, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC ). President Rodrigo Duterte has claimed that the country could become a " narco -state ". Two of the most used and valuable illegal drugs in the country are methamphetamine hydrochloride (known locally as shabu ) and marijuana . In 2012, the United Nations said the Philippines had the highest rate of methamphetamine use in East Asia, and according to a U.S. State Department report, 2.1 percent of Filipinos aged 16 to 64 use the drug based on 2008 figures by the Philippines Dangerous Drugs Board. As of 2016, the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime report that 1.1 percent of Filipinos aged 10 to 69 use the drug. In Metro Manila, most barangays are affected by illegal drugs..

Drug trafficking is a global illicit trade involving the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. UNODC is continuously monitoring and researching global illicit drug markets in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of their dynamics. Drug trafficking is a key part of this research. Further information can be found in the yearly World Drug Report . At current levels, world heroin consumption (340 tons) and seizures represent an annual flow of 430-450 tons of heroin into the global heroin market. Of that total, opium from Myanmar and the Lao People's Democratic Republic yields some 50 tons, while the rest, some 380 tons of heroin and morphine, is produced exclusively from Afghan opium. While approximately 5 tons are consumed and seized in Afghanistan, the remaining bulk of 375 tons is trafficked worldwide via routes flowing into and through the countries neighbouring Afghanistan . The Balkan and northern routes are the main heroin trafficking corridors linking Afghanistan to the huge markets of the Russian Federation and Western Europe. The Balkan route traverses the Islamic Republic of Iran (often via Pakistan), Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria across South-East Europe to the Western European market, with an annual market value of some $20 billion. The northern route runs mainly through Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan (or Uzbekistan or Turkmenistan) to Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation. The size of that market is estimated to total $13 billion per year..

Marijuana also called weed, herb, pot, grass, bud, ganja, Mary Jane, and a vast number of other slang terms is a greenish-gray mixture of the dried flowers of Cannabis sativa..

Marijuana. Cannabis , also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the Cannabis plant. Native to Central and South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various traditional medicines for centuries. Tetrahydro cannabinol (THC) is the main psychoactive component of cannabis, which is one of the 483 known compounds in the plant, including at least 65 other cannabinoids , including cannabidiol (CBD). Cannabis can be used by smoking, vaporizing, within food, or as an extract. Cannabis has various mental and physical effects, which include euphoria, altered states of mind and sense of time, difficulty concentrating, impaired short-term memory, impaired body movement (balance and fine psychomotor control), relaxation, and an increase in appetite. Onset of effects is felt within minutes when smoked, but may take up to 90 minutes when eaten. The effects last for two to six hours, depending on the amount used. At high doses, mental effects can include anxiety, delusions (including ideas of reference), hallucinations, panic, paranoia, and psychosis..

Methamphetamine ( Shabu ). Both racemic methamphetamine and dextromethamphetamine are illicitly trafficked and sold owing to their potential for recreational use. The highest prevalence of illegal methamphetamine use occurs in parts of Asia and Oceania, and in the United States, where racemic methamphetamine and dextromethamphetamine are classified as schedule II controlled substances. Levomethamphetamine is available as an over-the-counter (OTC) drug for use as an inhaled nasal decongestant in the United States.[note 3] Internationally, the production, distribution, sale, and possession of methamphetamine is restricted or banned in many countries, due to its placement in schedule II of the United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances treaty. While dextromethamphetamine is a more potent drug, racemic methamphetamine is illicitly produced more often due to the relative ease of synthesis and regulatory limits of chemical precursor availability..

Penalties of Illegal Drug Trade. “Section 11. Possession of Dangerous Drugs. – The penalty of xxx xxx xxx (3) Imprisonment of twelve (12) years and one (1) day to twenty (20) years and a fine ranging from Three hundred thousand pesos (P300,000.00) to Four hundred thousand pesos (P400,000.00), if the quantities of dangerous drugs are less than five (5) grams of opium, morphine, heroin, cocaine or cocaine hydrochloride, marijuana resin or marijuana resin oil, methamphetamine hydrochloride or ‘ shabu ’, or other dangerous drugs such as, but not limited to, MDMA or ‘ecstasy’, PMA, TMA, LSD, GHB, and those similarly designed or newly introduced drugs and their derivatives, without having any therapeutic value or if the quantity possessed is far beyond therapeutic requirements; or less than three hundred (300) grams of marijuana.”.

“The elements of Section 11 are as follows: (1) the accused is in possession of an item or object, which is identified to be prohibited or regulated drug; (2) such possession is not authorized by law; and (3) the accused freely and consciously possessed the drug. xxx xxx xxx Illegal possession of regulated drugs is mala prohibita , and, as such, criminal intent is not an essential element. However, the prosecution must prove that the accused had the intent to possess (animus posidendi ) the drugs. Possession, under the law, includes not only actual possession, but also constructive possession. Actual possession exists when the drug is in the immediate possession or control of the accused. On the other hand, constructive possession exists when the drug is under the dominion and control of the accused or when he has the right to exercise dominion and control over the place where it is found. xxx” (Emphases supplied) To sustain your conviction, the prosecution must adduce evidence that the marijuana fruiting tops were recovered from your actual or constructive possession and that such possession is not authorized by law. To answer your question on penalty, the imposable penalty for violation of Section 11 is imprisonment of 12 years and one day to 20 years and a fine ranging from P300,000 to P400,000..

Mexican Cartels Enter E xploding Philippine Drug Trade.

Philippines Anti Illegal Drugs Strategy. More than a year after President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s issuance of Executive Order Number 66, Series of 2018 institutionalizing the Philippine Anti-Illegal Drugs Strategy (PADS) which solidifies the foundation of the current Administration’s drug abuse prevention and control agenda, the Dangerous Drugs Board commits to sustain the implementation of the identified demand and supply reduction priorities to address the country’s drug problem. DDB makes public the accomplishments of the PADS through the different initiatives which were undertaken using a “whole-of-nation approach” on drug abuse prevention and control..

COMP2-ACITVITY #6: MIDTERM PERIOD- MS POWERPOINT.