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History
1921 photograph of Chinese Maritime Officers with 300 lb (140 kg) of smuggledmorphine shipped in cylinders of sodium sulfatefrom Japan.
See also:Opium Wars
The trade of drugs has existed for as long as the drugs themselves have existed. However,the trade of drugs was fully legal until the introduction of drug prohibition. The history of the illegal drug trade is thus closely tied to the history of drug prohibition.In theFirst Opium War , the United KingdomforcedChinato allow British merchants to trade in opiumwith the general population of China. Although illegal by imperial decree, smoking opium had become common in the 1800s due to increasing importation via Britishmerchants. Trading in opium was (as it is today in theherointrade) extremely lucrative. Asa result of the trade an estimated two million Chinese people became addicted to the drug.The British Crown (via the treaties of  NankingandTianjin) took vast sums of money from the Chinese government in what they referred to as 'reparations' for the wars.In theUnited States, a 1791 tax led to theWhiskey Rebellionin 1794.
Foreign intervention
Some governments that criminalize drug trade have a policy of interfering heavily withforeign states. In 1989, the United States intervened inPanama with the goal of disrupting the drug trade coming from Panama. TheIndian governmenthas several covert operations  in theMiddle EastandIndian subcontinentto keep a track of various drug dealers.Opium  production in Afghanistanis a current problem in the development of a licit economy for that country.
Violent resolutions
In the late 1990s in the United States, the FBI estimates that 5% of murders were drug-related.
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In addition, drug smuggling can lead to harsh penalties, including the death penalty, in certain countries (for example,Singapore
 
).Many have argued that the arbitrariness of drug prohibition laws from the medical point of view, especially the theory of harm reduction, worsens the problems around thesesubstances.
Minors and the illegal drug trade
The U.S. government's most recent 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health(NSDUH) reported that nationwide over 800,000 adolescents ages 12–17 sold illegal drugsduring the twelve months preceding the survey; such adolescents also admitted to know or  be linked to other drug dealers across the nation. The 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey bythe U.S.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) reported that nationwide 25.4%of students had been offered, sold, or given an illegal drug by someone on school property.The prevalence of having been offered, sold, or given an illegal drug on school propertyranged from 15.5% to 38.7% across state CDC surveys (median: 26.1%) and from 20.3% to40.0% across local surveys (median: 29.4%).
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