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Media Representation of Illegal Drug Trade
The media's portrayal of illegal drug trade has had effects in shaping the public opinion of illegal drug trade. It is often characterized by the glorification of individuals involved in drug production and commerce. Portrayals vary across media works, but convey a similar stereotypical image of drug trade. It has been debated as a contributing factor to the criminal stereotyping of groups in the United States. Similar media representations around the world have received backlash with the growing popularity of Narcoculture in Mexico and similar subculture movements that glorify criminal drug trade.

In the United States, early representations of drug trade centered around organized crime groups as the center of attention. However, more recent media works such as Narcos and Breaking Bad often choose an individual character at the center of drug trade and glorify its participation in drug trade. Modern portrayals seek to focus on the violent and commerical side of the illegal drug trade and ignore the health-related consequences of drug consumption.

Ethnic and Racial Stereotyping
Media representations of illegal drug trade tend to glorify the drug trade exists in the United States as well as some other nations heavily involved drug trade such as Mexico and Colombia. The portrayal of the ethnographic composition in media works is often characterized by the use of Latino actors to play the roles of characters that involve drug trade. The United States' multicultural audience, however, sees only Latinos and African Americans as involved in illegal drug trade. This portrayal creates and reinforces preconceived notions about individuals' involvement in drug trade with relation to their racial identity or national origin. In the countries in which the characterization does not lead to a criminal stereotyping of ethnic or racial groups, the glorification of the illegal drug trade has sparked subcultures that glorify the 'narco' lifestyle and manifest this attitude through multiple forms of media and art.

Colombians
Media has heavily portrayed the illegal drug trade in Colombia. Works such as Narcos glorify drug trade leaders such as Pablo Escobar. Such works are characterized by misconceptions about the Colombian population as a whole. These stem from a general misrepresentation of Colombia. These mistakes include the representation of major cities like Bogota and Medellin as coastal or tropical forest regions. The Colombians themselves tend to be portrayed by Mexican or Puerto Rican actors devoid of Colombian cultural characteristics in their behavior and attire. A false portrayal of the country and its people has been associated with Colombians being mistakenly identified as members of the drug trade.

Lesser forms of stereotyping that do not necessarily involve the identification of a Colombian citizen as a member of the illicit drug trade but instead are manifested in general suspicion of individuals known to be Colombian. There exist reports of customs staff in European airports acting with suspicion of travelers holding a Colombian passport. These measures include extensive cavity searches and illegal retention in airports without basic facilities. More intense consequences of the stereotyping of Colombian citizens abroad include xenophobic attacks in Spain, France, and Ecuador.

Outside of Colombia, there are Colombians that tend to avoid other Colombians due to mistrust of their possible involvement with drug trade. This mistrust is commonly associated to the lack of clustering of Colombians outside of their country in some cities, and of declustering of existing Colombian communities. Aside from the lack of clustering, Colombians also lack political organization outside of their county as each candidate must face the drug-related stigma.

Mexicans and Mexican-Americans
While the stereotypes of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans have a wide variety of characteristics, there has been an increase in the association between them and their involvement in the Mexican drug war. Both Mexican and American follow the pattern of glorifying the drug trade and its participants. In both portrayals of drug trade, the characters participating are usually Mexican. The stereotype surrounding individuals involved in smuggling narcotics into the United States revolves around Mexican nationality or ancestry and has played a role in popular associations of immigrants and drug-related crime. The transnational nature of drug trade and its prevalence in the international border between Mexico and the United States entangles the streotype of drug-related crimminal with Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans that hold U.S. citizenship.

Documentary Films

 * American Drug War: The Last White Hope (2007)

Non-Documentary Films

 * Reefer Madness (1936)
 * Easy Rider (1969)
 * The French Connection (1971)
 * Live and Let Die (1973)
 * Midnight Express (1978)
 * Scarface (1983)
 * The Untouchables (1987)
 * Bangkok Hilton (1989)
 * Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
 * Licence to Kill (1989)
 * Air America (1990)
 * Goodfellas (1990)
 * King of New York (1990)
 * New Jack City (1991)
 * Rush (1991)
 * Deep Cover (1992)
 * True Romance (1993)
 * Clear and Present Danger (1994)
 * Pulp Fiction (1994)
 * Clockers (1995)
 * Bad Boys (1995)
 * Trainspotting (1996)
 * Bullet (1996)
 * Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
 * Brokedown Palace (1999)
 * Traffic (2000)
 * Requiem for a Dream (2000)
 * Saving Grace (2000)
 * Blow (2001)
 * The 51st State (2001)
 * Pure (2002)
 * Collateral Damage (2002)
 * Empire (2002)
 * Spun (2002)
 * City of God (2002)
 * 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
 * Bad Boys II (2003)
 * A Man Apart (2003)
 * Maria Full of Grace (2004)
 * Layer Cake (2004)
 * Starsky and Hutch (2004)
 * Get Rich Or Die Tryin' (2005)
 * Miami Vice (2006)
 * Cocaine Cowboys (2006)
 * The Departed (2006)
 * How High (2001)
 * Protégé (2007)
 * Alpha Dog (2007)
 * American Gangster (2007)
 * Tropa de Elite (2007)
 * We Own the Night (2007)
 * No Country for Old Men (2007)
 * Pineapple Express (2008)
 * Tropic Thunder (2008)
 * Notorious (2009)

TV Series

 * The Wire (2002-2008)
 * ''Oz
 * Burn Notice
 * Breaking Bad
 * Traffic
 * Banged Up Abroad
 * El Cartel
 * ''Miami Vice
 * Kingpin
 * ''Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities (miniseries)
 * Sons of Anarchy
 * ''The Shield
 * ''Twin Peaks
 * ''The Untouchables
 * ''Underbelly (miniseries)
 * ''CSI: Miami
 * Dark Blue
 * Weeds
 * NCIS

Novels
El Cartel de los Sapos
 * Go Ask Alice (1971)
 * Trainspotting (1993)
 * Crank (2004)
 * Glass (2007)
 * The Power of the Dog (2005)
 * Devil May Care (2008)
 * The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia (1972)
 * Without Remorse
 * Tweak
 * Junk
 * Junky (1953)
 * Mr Nice (1996; basis of 2010 film Mr. Nice)