Global health. The current scenario and future perspectives

210 consequences. Reality proves otherwise and, therefore, if there was truly genuine concern about the health impacts associated with drug use, the adulteration of these substances must be a relevant variable in the equation which cannot continue to be ignored and left aside during discussions about illegal drugs. Drugs and security What has been presented so far is just one aspect of the drug phenomenon. Another relevant dimension is what has been called “drugs and security”; i.e., all the negative consequences associated with production and commercialization of drugs in an environment of illegality. In this context, it seems important to highlight what the report titled “The Drug Problem in the Americas” by the Organization of American States in 2013 states: “History is replete with examples illustrating that whenever there exist goods and services for which there is a demand in a given society, there will be incentives to develop economic activities satisfying that demand”. It further adds: “When associated with a prohibition, that economic activity automatically qualifies as illegal and, equally automatically, its practice is a crime and, at almost all stages, is classified as organized crime”. Since the demand for illegal drugs has been increasing along with the growing diversity of available illegal drugs resulting in inevitable growth of illicit markets in most countries, these two statements from the OAS report are today more relevant than ever and force us to deeply reflect on what is happening on the illicit drug market and how countries have responded to these new realities. Regarding this market, the same OAS report explains: “those markets are not governed by regulations or socially imposed standards, nor are they open to regular competitive processes. Consequently, the rules and regulations governing production and trade are those imposed by the criminals themselves and the only “competition” to ensure that the business prospers and expands is violence”. Hence, negative effects associated with illicit drug markets can vary greatly. For example, they give life to transnational organized crime groups while generating increased neighborhood violence at a significant cost in human lives. This includes those lost in the contexts of the ‘war on drugs’ as well as those that occur between rival gangs fighting over territories, along with innocent victims affected by these phenomena. Additionally, corruption must be added into consideration. According to the OAS report: “The evidence shows that the illicit drug problem had led, chiefly at the production and transit stages, to the corruption of government officials at