Peru and why they are number one Trafficking in illegal drugs is nothing new, yet most governments have not found an effective way to stop the production and the distribution of these drugs. These drugs include cannabis, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine, which are widely known and used every day. Drug trafficking is the third largest in the world, estimated at around 300-400 billion dollars by the United Nations. Cannabis remains the most produced, trafficked and abused illicit substance in the world, with 147 million people using it, equal to approximately 2.5% of the world population; it is produced in practically every country. But second after cannabis and equally important is cocaine. Coca leaves have traditionally been chewed by people residing in the Andean countries of South America for thousands of years, to produce a delicate and stimulating sensation. It is said to help with the effects of high altitude and with digestion. Cocaine production began around 1860, when the major alkaloid, cocaine, was isolated from the coca leaf. Since then cocaine has become a very important substance. Cocaine production and distribution are the most important in the Andean region of the world, consisting of Colombia, Peru and Bolivia. They are the largest producers of cocaine in the world and "are the source of 95% of the cocaine smuggled into the United States." The cocaine business involves more than 1 million people, from farmers, to chemists, to processors and manufacturers. In 2012, the White House declared that Peru is now the world's leading producer of cocaine, leaving Colombia, the previous number one, in second place and Bolivia in third place. 60,000 hectares of coca crops with... half the paper ...purity has increased “10 million people are in prison worldwide for drug-related crimes, civil liberties have been widely violated and thousands are dying around the world. war on drugs every year. The drug-free world, so confidently predicted by supporters of the Single Convention of 1961, is further than ever from being realized.” Although many believe that drugs are a harmful substance, drug trafficking actually has its advantages: it can generate a significant amount of jobs and create jobs for a large number of farmers, creating drug profits distributed across small quantities to large numbers of people Along with farmers, the presence of cocaine has created a large amount of jobs for those who are anti-drug agents such as the DEA. “Our drug officials are very irresponsible in global strategies,” Paul Gootenberg “They have a narrow vision. They don't consider the global implications."