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Back in the 1970's a brotherhood accidentally started a marijuana empire, which led to the mass distribution through out the U.S. Kermit Schweidel was one of those men in the brotherhood who was involved in the international marijuana ring in El Paso

Kermit Schweidel:

“we considered ourselves to be outlaws and we considered that criminals were people who left behind victims and we didn't leave behind anything but satisfied customers and happy users."

This brought in Colombian drug dealers to the El Paso area because there were so much business

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Currently, the El Paso border is struggling with naming a specific organization that is responsible for the violence and drug distribution.

The citizens of El Paso are concerned about their well being and are starting to push action on the local government.

El Paso is fighting the historic amount of hard drugs on the street

The smugglers use a variety of ways to enter the U.S. like El Paso Plaza and I-10, which is a huge drug route that allows the smugglers to travel northern into the U.S.

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2004-2006 Drug Stats according to Department of Justice

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2004-2006 Drug Stats according to Department of Justice

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This table is just a small example of the amount of drugs seized within the El Paso county only within 2 years (2004-2006). it also shows how this has been an on going problem for decades.

Texas, West. “This Assessment Is an Outgrowth of a Partnership between the NDIC and HIDTA Program for Preparation of Annual Assessments Depicting Drug Trafficking Trends and Developments in HIDTA Program Areas. The Report Has Been Vetted with the HIDTA, Is Limited in Scope to HIDTA Jurisdictional Boundaries, and Draws upon a Wide Variety of Sources within Those Boundaries. High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis,” 2007. https://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs22/22651/22651p.pdf.

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According to El Paso Border Control and the U.S. government there are more and more drugs being seized at the El Paso border entry port. The result of more drugs in circulation is showing with the overdoes deaths increasing monthly. Back at the beginning of 2022, over 700 pounds of heroin and methamphetamine were seized, all within a two week period. This succeeded past the number of drugs seized in the entirety of 2021.

René Kladzyk. “‘Alarming’ Increase in Drug Seizures at El Paso Ports of Entry in December.” El Paso Matters, December 15, 2021. https://elpasomatters.org/2021/12/15/alarming-increase-in-drug-seizures-at-el-paso-ports-of-entry-in-december/.

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El Paso makes it easily accessible for citizens who need help to get help. There are numerous rehab and emergency care centers all over the city, so that if anyone is overdosing or needs help, they are within a few miles. Their goal is to have a "safe place" for people to access anti-overdose drugs. A organization called El Paso Matters is helping by creating new strategies such as allowing people to come for with illegal drugs and turning them in with no punishment. Also, some big companies are beginning to drug test employees, at all levels, only if they have reason to believe they were or are high. The main goals of this initiative is to keep people safe and protect them specifically from harming themselves or others. Another organization called Punto de Partida, which is Spanish for "Starting Point", has strategies like harm reduction methods including peer recovery coaching, educational outreach like Narcan tutorials and needle hygiene information, and a jail reentry program.

René Kladzyk. “‘Alarming’ Increase in Drug Seizures at El Paso Ports of Entry in December.” El Paso Matters, December 15, 2021. https://elpasomatters.org/2021/12/15/alarming-increase-in-drug-seizures-at-el-paso-ports-of-entry-in-december/.

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Drug consumption in Vancouver, British Columbia, has rooted back to both cultural influences and legislative changes. The introduction of substances like opium began with Chinese laborers in the late 1800s, who brought the drug while working on major projects like the Canadian Pacific Railway. Racism plays a large part in Canadian history because Chinese smugglers would import the opium from factories in China, which led to discrimination. Then later in history when anti-Asian legislations were being created, opium was criminalized. This was called the Opium Act. Soon later between 1880-1920's other drugs like cocaine and heroin were added and the act became the Opium and Drug Act. Then after World War I, Canadian citizens grew a stronger hatred for "others" and this enforced the government to criminalize every street drug. Just like the U.S., criminalized drugs were associated with certain racial group, showing us that the U.S. and Canadian border are similar. Then in 1922, after the Chinese Exclusion Act passed, marijuana was added to the list of drugs that are illegal. A few years later, after World War II, Asian's were deported from Canada and west U.S., which introduced the use of heroin because no one could get their hands on opium. In the 1960's, due to political changes, Canada saw its hardest drug laws yet.

"Illegal drug use increased, especially cannabis use, as society coalesced around a desire for political and social change that challenged convention."- Canadian Drug Policy Coalition

In 1969, Canadian representatives sought help fro drug use, treatment, and laws from a range of Canadian communities. A year later, pharmaceutical drug use increased higher than street drugs because the government was regulating and trying to criminalize these street drugs. in 1971 Canada’s minster of health, John Munro, committed to legalizing marijuana in Canada. This was a big step for Canada because of their past with marijuana already.

Skipping ahead to 1984, Canadian government lifted he ban on heroin importation in two cities, Montreal and Vancouver. Again in 2011 Vancouver's government decided to try at the heroin treatment and they saw that people who benefitted were cut off from the drug, not provided safer versions.

From. “From Opium to Opioids: A Look at British Columbia’s Illicit Drug History.” BCCSU, 2022. https://www.bccsu.ca/blog/news/from-opium-to-opioids-a-look-at-british-columbias-illicit-drug-history/.

Canadian Drug Policy Coalition. “History of Drug Policy in Canada,” 2021. https://drugpolicy.ca/about/history/.

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"Fentanyl, a powerful painkiller, has become the leading cause of overdose deaths in America and its closely related Canadian cities. It’s 50 times more powerful than heroin and up to 100 times more powerful than morphine."- Washington Post

Looking at Vancouver in its current state, is depressing and scary. The city has become overrun with fentanyl users and drug addicts. Since 2016 when British Columbia declared an emergency, over 21,000 people overdosed on fentanyl or some other street drug that was laced with fentanyl. This is a result of the southern border being hardened and watched over, due to Trump's policies back in 2016. This led the cartel and other drug smugglers to move their pipelines up the west and east coast of the U.S. According to B.C. Coroners Service, drug overdose surpasses the number of homicides, suicides, accidents, and disease COMBINED. This is impacting the Vancouver communities in ways that we couldn't imagine. The number of youth who overdose to Fentanyl every year ranges between 140-150. Families are being severely affected by this because it increases fear and could cause people to emigrate out of British Columbia. The people of Vancouver are trying to put blame on the government for allowing the situation to reach the level it is at without finding a probable solution. During the mist of the crisis, the B.C. legislation tried to tell people to not go outside, but this just pushed residents away and only added to the crisis. B.C. officials are having trouble addressing these problems, but there are some solutions in place.

British Columbia. “‘This Is a Fentanyl Crisis’: B.C.’S Chief Coroner on Data Linking 142 Young Deaths to Toxic Drugs,” June 19, 2023. https://bc.ctvnews.ca/this-is-a-fentanyl-crisis-b-c-s-chief-coroner-on-data-linking-142-young-deaths-to-toxic-drugs-1.6447387.

Greer, Darryl. “8 Years since B.C. Declared Public Health Emergency, Toxic Drug Crisis Rages On.” CBC, April 14, 2024. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/eight-years-bc-toxic-drug-crisis-1.7173592.

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Number of overdose's from 2012-March of 2024

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This graph shows the number of averaged overdoses in Vancouver from 2012- March of 2024. The graph for 2024 is predicted to be right up there with around 2300 deaths.

British Columbia. “‘This Is a Fentanyl Crisis’: B.C.’S Chief Coroner on Data Linking 142 Young Deaths to Toxic Drugs,” June 19, 2023. https://bc.ctvnews.ca/this-is-a-fentanyl-crisis-b-c-s-chief-coroner-on-data-linking-142-young-deaths-to-toxic-drugs-1.6447387.

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The government and communities within Vancouver are working hard to help these people who may be suffering from drug abuse by implementing many strategies like:

Seeking to decriminalize simple possession of illicit drugs in Vancouver

Approving the Four Pillars Drug Strategy

Hosting North America’s first legal safe injection site and needle exchange

Mayor’s Task Force on Mental Health and Addiction

Mayor’s Overdose Emergency Task Force

These are just some of the ways that the government is helping out addicts within the area. These strategies aim to create a safe heaven for people who may feel oppressed by the law and can't control themselves, due to the addiction. Two strategies stood out to me specifically: The safe injection center and the Four Pillars Drug strategy. The injection site is being developed so that people who might not feel the ability to quit, are able to acquire a safe amount of fentanyl or whatever drug the want to take. The goal of this is to allow people to be safer in their abuse and to also be monitored so that if one was to overdose, they would receive immediate care on site. Then the Four Pillars Drug Strategy was implemented. This aimed to prevent harm and create peace within the communities. The four pillars of this strategy are

Harm reduction

Prevention

Treatment

Enforcement

These strategies are proven to work because European countries have used them and they have seen huge success within the drug crisis. This plan will reduce the harm that occurs in houses, neighborhoods, communities, and cities.

Meyers, Dan. Unsplash. April 21, 2021. Photograph. Helping a Friend Overcome Addiction.

City of Vancouver. “Four Pillars Drug Strategy.” Vancouver.ca, January 20, 2017. https://vancouver.ca/people-programs/four-pillars-drug-strategy.aspx.

———. “Vancouver’s Approach to the Overdose Crisis.” Vancouver.ca, April 15, 2019. https://vancouver.ca/people-programs/drugs.aspx.

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El Paso/Vancouver Explanation/Summary

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NAB Final Project Bibliography +Script