Drugs are Still Bad, Especially Cocaine

It is not difficult to make an argument against drug trafficking and the effects it has on human productivity and economic matters among other things, but for Pablo Escobar, it may just be a necessity.  From the show Narcos, Escobar got his start by selling illegally obtained electronics, but then made the switch to selling and smuggling cocaine when he found out how much more profitable it was.  Concerning people, drugs, especially cocaine, have an extremely detrimental effect on the brain, which Pablo probably understood when he saw how people fell into crippling addiction.  The economic costs, especially on the Mexican economy, where Escobar works from, is notable.  The effects on humans and the economy are only two of the many reasons why drug trafficking has had such a harmful effect on both the U.S. and Mexico.

Beginning with the effects that drugs, especially cocaine has on humans, long term effects and disorders are common.  For one, when the brain is exposed to prolonged use of cocaine, neurons begin to die, which ultimately can cause the brain to cease function.  "People who struggled with cocaine addition also show reduced levels of glucose metabolism in many areas of the brain, suggesting that neurons underperform or begin to die" (What Are the Effects of Cocaine on the Brain?).  Additionally, brains contain gray matter, which is generally parts of the brain that contain more neural cell bodies than white matter.  Moreover, when people grow older, the amount of gray matter naturally reduces; however, when the brain is exposed to cocaine, the amount of gray matter lost doubles.  This means that between a prolonged user of cocaine and someone who does not use cocaine, the person who uses cocaine will experience a substantial reduction in brain activity much sooner in their lifetime (What Are the Effects of Cocaine on the Brain?).  The effects that cocaine has on the brain are numerous, but nonetheless, experiencing a reduction in brain activity can eventually lead to death, which also ties into a reduction in economic activity overall. 

Cocaine has grown to be known to cause reduced levels of economic activity but also levels of economic instability.  For one, cocaine trafficking has been known to bring about violence.  Generally, increased violence can bring about labor productivity loses which can, in turn, affect economic matters.  "[...] there are a number of ways in which violence e results in direct and indirect financial costs: the loss of productivity associated with death or injury, the loss of human capital investments and the costs of medical care and legal services" (Rios).  Additionally, increased violence has a social impact which can affect the economy.  When a population perceives a rise in violence, this can cause a drop in social interaction.  This can reduce the night life of a community and reduce the use of public transport which can both have damaging economic affects (Rios). Once again, these are just a few of the innumerable crippling effects that cocaine has been seen to bring about concerning economy. 

In the show, it is explained that while Escobar was a drug trafficker, he was also a family man who did what was best to support his family; however, there is overwhelming evidence that cocaine ultimately hurts entire communities.  Cocaine has both immediate and long-term effects.  As aforementioned, human brain activity is largely inhibited using cocaine, aside from the many other biological effects it has.  Economically, reduced human producitivty and increased violence both can have severe impacts on community economics and macroeconomics.  Ultimately, while some families, such as Escobar's may have experienced an increased quality of life due to Escobar's drug dealing, the bigger picture looks much bleaker. 

Rios, Viridiana. "Evaluating the economic impact of Mexico’s drug trafficking industry". Harvard University, 2008. scholar.harvard.edu/files/vrios/files/rios2008_mexicandrugmarket.pdf. Accessed on 8 Oct. 2017

"What Are the Effects of Cocaine on the Brain?". American Addiction Center, n.d., americanaddictioncenters.org/cocaine-treatment/effects-on-the-brain/. Accessed on 8 Oct. 2017.