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In the past few decades years, the various countries of East Africa have become major ports of entry in the transnational drug trade. East Africa is a region in which illicit drugs from Asia are transported in to then be smuggled into Europe and the United States. There is little attention drawn to these illicit activities in part by the fact that the UN's office on Drugs and Crimes lists such a small amount of seizures of illicit drugs from the region. However, Africanist scholars, the UN, and East African governments agree that the low amount of recorded seizures are more of a symptom of the lack of law enforcement capabilities not being able to adequately evaluate and understand this growing illegal trade throughout the region. Despite the lack of records of the illegal drug trade in East Africa, there are still signs that East Africa is continuing to grow as a port of entry and a channel for illegal drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines into the United States and Europe. For instance, "the UN office on drugs and crime reported a four-fold increase in cocaine seizures in East Africa in 2009-10 from 2005.” It is occurrences like these that show that the East African illicit drug trade has been growing in recent years and there has not been enough data available to adequately research the characteristics of the drug trade and the effects it is starting to have on the region. This article aims to solve that problem by aggregating the information that is available on the East African illegal drug trade to explore the background of the East African Drug Trade, characteristics of the East African drug trade, and the effects the drug trade has on the various countries and domestic populations of the region.  = Background = The history and geography of East Africa have allowed it to act as a good port of entry for the transportation of drugs from Asia. Geographical accessibility through the Indian Ocean has created long-standing historical trades routes with the Asian continent has enabled the flow of illegal substances through said trade routes. This accessibility coupled with the lack of effective law enforcement throughout East Africa has created an environment where the flow of illicit substances is quick and relatively uninhibited.

History of the East African Drug Trade
For thousands of years, there have been long and established trade routes throughout sub-Saharan Africa. There are longstanding trade routes that have facilitated the flow of legitimate and licit goods for generations. However, there was a change beginning in the 1970s. What scholars attribute to the negative effects of the African Debt Crisis and the structural adjustment programs that soon followed, these historically legitimate routes of commerce in the sub-Saharan began to become routes to traffick a proliferating market of illicit substances, predominantly drugs.

The Origin and Development of Illicit Drugs in East Africa
Illegal drug trafficking in East Africa can be traced back to the mid-1980s when "drug traffickers started using East African countries as their transit sites." Since then, the East African drug trade has become one of the major illegal drug networks originally organized and managed by professional Nigerian criminal organizations but in more recent years, has seen criminal organizations from both Kenya and Tanzania begin to play major roles.

Originally, the illegal drug trade through East Africa overwhelmingly consisted of marijuana and brown sugar heroin, which is a type of heroin that is heated into vapor and inhaled, or combined with marijuana into a joint to be smoked. Since brown sugar heroin was administered without a needle, this presented less of a public health risk. This type of heroin was smuggled into western countries while also existing in the many tourist hubs throughout East Africa.

Starting in the late 90s, brown sugar heroin was replaced in the global drug trade with white crest heroin. White crest heroin, also known as white powdered heroin was significantly more potent than previous forms of heroin and was injectable. Unlike brown sugar heroin, it did not require a complex heating process and therefore gave it was easy to use and incredibly strong which allowed it to effectively proliferate throughout global markets. Starting in the early 2000s, white powdered heroin became very common within countries like Kenya and Tanzania for domestic use along with international trafficking.

White powdered heroin and marijuana domestic usage and smuggling continued into the 2000s. However, in 2008s the first seizure of methamphetamines was made in Africa and there have been a growing amount of seizures ever since. Due to a lack of data, there is little scholarly research done on the trafficking and usage of methamphetamines in East Africa.

= Characteristics of the East African Drug Trade = The East African drug trade as a major transport point to smuggle illicit drugs from Asia to Europe and the United States. Many countries in East Africa have a sociopolitical environment that allows for successful transport of illegal drugs. Historically the demand that has fueled the East African drug trade was predominantly from western countries however, in recent years many Eastern African countries have established themselves as consumers of illicit drugs. There are several points of entry throughout Eastern Africa that allow for further transportation and smuggling of these illicit substances. The most predominant drugs in East Africa are marijuana and heroin, while both cocaine and methamphetamines have become more prevalent in recent years.

East Africa's Role in the Transnational Drug Trade
East Africa as a region, has become a major piece in the transnational trafficking of drugs. This is the case for a couple of reasons. First is that many countries of East Africa already have well established, historical trade routes to places in South Asia. Through the connecting Indian Ocean, East Africa as a region has had strong commercial ties to places like Pakistan and South East Asia which has made it easier to transport illicit drugs within these historically legitimate trade routes. The vast majority of drugs found in East Africa come from Afghanistan or South East Asia. Marijuana and heroin produced in Afghanistan trafficked through Pakistan and transported to East Asia through the Indian Ocean is a major means of transportation in what is a historically active trade route. Also, marijuana and heroin produced in South East Asia's infamous Golden Triangle, which covers land in Thailand, Burma, and Laos, is a major exporter of illicit substances that are then transported to various countries in East Africa. The fact that East Africa has strong historically legitimate commercial ties to both Afghanistan and South East Asia, makes East Africa an ideal port of entry for these drugs.

Secondly, the domestic environment of much of East Africa allows for the ease of illicit drug trafficking. There are relatively weak law enforcement operations throughout the region which allow for the high likelihood of successful smuggling. Corruption has allowed for illegal operations with high cash flow, such as the illicit drug market, to ultimately thrive in an environment where officials can be bribed to ignore the illegal drug trade. Poverty is rampant which contributes to the weakness of the state and furthers the environment in which the illegal drug trade thrives.

Supply
East Africa produces very little to none of the drugs found in the region with the exception of marijuana. The two main suppliers happen to be the two largest suppliers of illicit drugs in the world which are Afghanistan and South East Asia. Afghanistan accounts for two-thirds of the production of global heroin. Heroin produced in Afghanistan is then transported through Pakistan to the Indian Ocean where it has a great deal of access all throughout the region of East Africa.

International Demand
East Africa has become a central point of entry from Eastern drug producers into the West. ADDED BY THE OTHER STUDENT

Domestic Demand
The origin of heroin and marijuana in East Africa can be traced back to centers of tourism starting before the 1980s. Coastal resorts saw an influx of European, South African, and some American tourists which sparked the original demand for marijuana and heroin in the region. Starting in the 1980s and beyond, there is a change in the global drug market the US's war on drugs extremely increase the number of drugs in East Africa. For one, heroin in East Africa became more addictive and an injection drug which drove up to the rate of addicted domestic populations in East Africa. And the US's war on drugs made Africa in general and East Africa was most definitely included in this, as the next viable trafficking port to smuggle drugs in the US and Europe after much of the Central and South American smuggle routes were being closed or challenged.

Drugs
There are two major drugs being trafficked through East Africa; heroin and marijuana. ADDED BY THE OTHER STUDENT

Heroine
Heroin is historically very expensive which prevents poor locals from consuming the drugs.ADDED BY THE OTHER STUDENT

Marijuana
ADDED BY THE OTHER STUDENT

Methamphetamines
Methamphetamines are very cheap and have taken over the global drug market for the last couple of decades. This drug has devastating effects on the communities it is being trafficked through because it is cheap enough for anyone to afford. ADDED BY THE OTHER STUDENT

= Effects of the East African Drug Trade = The effects that the drug trade has on the countries and populations throughout East Africa is widespread but also understudied. As it was mentioned before, “African police agencies have few resources and little capacity to record crime statistics, and when they do, they often do not differentiate between conventional and transnational criminal activity.” The result is that much of the scholarship that talks about the effects of the East African drug trade are a collection of small amount of qualitative data along with case studies that lack the quantitative data to substantiate claims. Therefore, the effects listed are a collection of what Africanists have been observing throughout the years, what the states of East Africa are reporting, and future projections based on comparative lenses with other developing regions of the world.

Corruption
The illegal drug trade is an extremely lucrative venture when done successfully. According to the UN's office of drugs and crime, in 2009 the global heroin market produced $61 billion USD in revenue. Corruption thrives in impoverished environments with weak states and weak law enforcement, followed by a lucrative illicit trade. This is the case in places like Latin America, South East Asia, and East Africa is no different. Africanist have found "extensive evidence of 'drug-corruption' among government officials and employees from numerous countries" throughout Africa, including many countries within East Africa.

Effects of Corruption on Development
Drug corruption as a result of the East African drug trade has many effects on the region as a whole. For one, it allows for the increased flow of drugs throughout East Africa and handicaps counternarcotic efforts and ultimately strengthens the organizational structures of drug trafficking in the region. But there is also research to suggest that corruption brought on by the drug trade has damaging effects on the state process of development. It is argued by scholars that "the drug trade impedes economic growth because this illegal income is rarely transformed into productive capital investments which are necessary for long-term and sustained economic expansion.” Corruption undermines the state capacity to develop robust institutions that are essential for establishing the rule of law and strong economies. An example scholars point to of the case study of Kenya to demonstrate this. "Kenya is well on its way to being "captured" by organized crime groups" and this has harmed the state's capacity to lead the development process in the country. As East Africa is increasing in gaining a larger role in the transnational drug trade, more corruption is likely to follow which may further handicap the development process of these

Drugs and Terrorism
To what degree revenues from the illegal drug trade in East Africa are being used to finance terrorist organizations and other rebel, insurgent groups is largely unknown. However, what is clearly established are the dangers of illicit drug trade revenues can potentially be used as funding for malicious actors. This is not an uncommon occurrence. For instance, the DEA claims that a large portion of the organizations that are labeled as foreign terrorist organizations have direct ties to the illicit drug trade. And although there is not enough information publicly available to assess to what degree this is occurring in East Africa, the risk is still there. This runs the risk of furthering an environment that destabilizes the state and jeopardizes development efforts.

Drugs and Youth
Africa is the most youthful continent in the world. While most of the world is experiencing an aging population, sixty percent of Africans are under the age of 25. This has created an immense problem for places that experiences a proliferation of access to illegal drugs like East Africa because “according to World Bank data, illicit drug users in developing countries “typically fall within the age group of 15–44, although most are in their mid-twenties.” There are case studies that have produced evidence to reaffirm this concern relating the proliferation of illegal drugs and a large youthful population. When researchers went to record drug use in the coastal and interior regions of Tanzania, they found that "excluding cannabis, heroin was the most commonly used drug, and was concentrated among young men of working age." The effect the drug trade has on East Africa of contributing to the addiction of a very youthful population presents a problem that may jeopardize the development processes of these countries by curving productivity and present public health crises that many of the current East African states are not equipped to address.

The East African Drug Trade and HIV
Since the turn of the century, the transnational illicit drug market has evolved from heroin that is meant to be vaporized and inhaled, or smoked, to heroin that is meant to be injected. Also known as white powder heroin, this change in the way illicit drugs are administered has lead to an environment that is prone to the spread of HIV. For instance “drug use has been a major factor in the spread of HIV in developing countries, often as a result of syringe sharing and re-use." Few people are aware of the risks involved with the use and re-use of syringes. Not to mention that, in the case of a country like Kenya, all of this risk "takes place in a setting where about 20% of the general population are estimated to be HIV positive.”  The combination of prevalence of HIV, injection drugs, and the lack of healthcare and awareness that exists around these dangerous practices have resulted in a very dangerous environment that could contribute to a public health crisis. There is empirical evidence to support this apparent danger. Researchers found that in Tanzania and Kenya that the HIV rate among a sample of heroin users was more than 50% which is well over the 13% national average. The increase drug use derived from the growing drug trade in East Africa is contributing to the HIV public health epidemic.

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