Drug War

DRUG WAR

Introduction

The illegal drug trade in the Philippines remains a serious national concern. Two of the most used and valuable illegal drugs in the country are methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu) and marijuana. Ephedrine and methylenedioxy methamphetamine are also among the list of illegal drugs that are of great concern to the authorities.

According to Reuters, the President-elect of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte has predicted the country could become a 'narco-state' if the country's tide of drug addiction is not pushed back. Drug syndicates have been producing methamphetamine in small-scale and kitchen-type laboratories to avoid detection by the Philippine authorities since 2010. Usually, drug syndicates rent warehouses for use as drug laboratories. These syndicates have moved towards renting houses in private subdivisions, condominiums and apartments to be used as bases for their illegal drug production. Private properties are becoming more favorable to drug syndicates as sites of illegal drug production.

Drug addiction, also called substance use disorder, is a dependence on a legal or illegal drug or medication. Keep in mind that alcohol and nicotine are legal substances, but are also considered drugs.

Addiction is a medical condition characterized by compulsive engagement in rewarding stimuli, despite adverse consequences. Despite the involvement of a number of psychosocial factors, a biological process – one which is induced by repeated exposure to an addictive stimulus – is the core pathology that drives the development and maintenance of an addiction. The two properties that characterize all addictive stimuli are that they are reinforcing (i.e., they increase the likelihood that a person will seek repeated exposure to them) and intrinsically rewarding (i.e., perceived as being positive or desirable).

When you're addicted, you're not able to control your drug use and you may continue using the drug despite the harm it causes. Drug...