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Zack Jones
Harrell
English Honors II
15 May 2015

Research question: Should the United States jump into the war on drugs with both feet and
fight against it?
Thesis statement: The distribution of illegal drugs is an increasing problem that must be put
end to.
Refined thesis statement: The range of controlled substances is growing rapidly, along with the
amount of drugs, as well as firearms being trafficked worldwide, which needs to come to an
immediate stop at all costs.
Annotated Bibliography
Morris, Evelyn Krache. "Think Again: Mexican Drug Cartels." Foreign Policy 203 (2013):
30. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 6 May 2015.
Violence connected with DTOs (Drug Trafficking Organizations) is spreading throughout
Mexico, and now the United States as well. The number of deaths and missing people continues
to rise as days pass, as the DTOs continue to launder money and continue profiting off
distribution of illegal substances. The drug cartel is no longer dependent on money either, which
makes them even more difficult to stop. Countless people have been reported missing, while
even more bodies have been found just below the border. However, the violence connected with
DTOs has not only been detained to Mexico, but has now spread throughout the United States.
Many American citizens believe that if they were to legalize certain drugs, it would put an end to
the cartels. This is a common misconception because they are self sufficient and no longer

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depend on income from drug money, and are now focused on a much larger perception. The
cartels being focused on drugs is a generally misconceived statement. Not only are they
interested in trafficking drugs, but they are trying to reach the top of the empire business.
They do not just want money, they want power, and by sitting back and allowing them to expand
their territories and distribution is just making them more powerful, stronger, and brutal. I chose
this article to support my thesis because it shows how the cartels are becoming an increasing
global problem that many seem to just try to ignore, which is making it worse.

"DOC: Drug Trafficking." Current Issues: Macmillan Social Science Library (2003):
Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 6 May 2015.
The United States is well known for being home of the largest market for illegal drugs, as
well as the number of drug users. The history of drugs being trafficked here ranges from back
when the Italian Mafia were sending over drugs abroad to the Mexican Cartels smuggling large
substance quantities over the U.S.-Mexico border. Because of such things, the DEA (Drug
Enforcement Administration) was put into effect. This is an anti-drug program that has come to
have some success in confiscating drugs, money, and property in relation to drugs being
trafficked into the United States. With billions of dollars being spent by millions of users
nationwide, the U.S. is the worlds largest market for illegal drugs, such as marijuana, cocaine,
heroin, and etc. From the early 1900s up until the 1970s, the Italian-American Mafia used the
method known as the French Connection to traffic drugs, such as heroin, into the United States to
be resold. After being broken up by authorities in 1972, the Medellin cartel was formed by a
powerful group of Colombian traffickers to send and distribute drugs into the United States,
specifically cocaine. Finally being broken up in the 1990s, powerful Mexican drug operations
began to rise to take charge of smuggling drugs across the border. Although it is still an

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increasing issue, the DEA has still had some significant success in seizures and arrests. I chose
this article to support my thesis because it shows that drug trafficking is such a severe problem
that not even a law enforcement agency is powerful enough to put end to it.

"U.S. Efforts To Prevent Mexico Drug Trafficking." International Debates 8.2 (2010): 4.
MasterFILE Premier. Web. 7 May 2015.
In Mexico, President Felipe Caldern has mobilized the Mexican Military, as well as law
enforcement to help to control the illicit drug and firearm trading going on below the border.
Although they have had some success in capturing major leaders of DTOs, it only backfires with
more violence directed specifically toward law enforcement. It has been reported by U.S. law
enforcement officials that Mexican DTOs and criminal groups are the most influential drug
traffickers and the greatest organizational threat to our country. There are many U.S. agencies
that are working to stop, or at least limit the flow of illicit drugs and weapons being brought into
our country on a daily basis. I chose this article to support my thesis because it helps to show
that the U.S. and Mexico officials are working together to help to put end to these DTOs that
continue to traffick illicit drugs and weapons into our country.