College students are among the staunchest participants in the movement for ethical purchasing.
Many even seek ethical versions of fairly essential products, from shoes to chocolate.
This commendable movement empowers consumers to shift the very lifeblood of companies’ market: product demand.
However, there is one specific area of American consumerism discussed only in the framework of personal ethics, despite the devastating social effects of its supply chain. That’s the illegal drug market.
Though the U.S. constitutes about 5 percent of the world’s population, it creates over 30 percent of the global demand for all illegal drugs. Around eight in 10 consumers are recreational users, not addicts.
But Americans, especially those who live far from the border with Mexico, seem unaware of the reckless violence that this market causes.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, drug cartels in Mexico control virtually all of the drugs sold in the U.S. For a slice of this $150 billion industry, each cartel fights desperately to control trafficking routes.
This violence takes countless lives from Monterrey to El Paso. When all we talk about is the ethics of breaking American laws to use a drug, we miss the insidious effects of its consumption.
A major part of the argument for legalization is that it would lead to more ethical, homegrown production. But in the meantime, what if we simply didn’t use them?
