Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature and Studies

Foreign Literature
Mallea 2014 stated that the War on Drugs was an invention of American
politicians. It has spawned a system of criminalization that has incarcerated
millions of citizen who choose to use recreation drugs other than tobacco or
alcohol. In the 1960s and 1970s, drug abuse was not high on the list concerns for
Americans. They were more preoccupied with the war in Vietnam, with the civil
rights, and with the assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.
In an effort to distract voters from these serious and difficult issues, politicians
chose an easy target- the demonization of drugs users.

It is by now indisputable that the war on drug has failed in all of its objectives. It
has not reduced the drug trade, eliminated production, or decreased the number
of user. Governments have thrown billions of dollars and thousands of police and
military resources at the issue, and they have also opened and expanded many
prisons to deal with it, but the illegal drug trade persists and grows. More drugs
than ever are available today; they are cheaper, and they are being moved
around the world by means of the internet and paid for with virtual currencies.
More violence than ever is attributed to gangster turf was over this very lucrative
industry.

Mckeganey & Mcgallagly 2013 stated that most countries drug strategies
comprise a combination of drug treatment, drug enforcement, and drug
prevention. While there has been a tendency in public policy documents over the
last few years to emphasize the importance of basing policy on evidence of need
and impact, in fact, the evidential basis across these three domains is highly
skewed with most evidence being focused on drug treatment, some evidence
focused on drug prevention, and relatively little evidence focused specifically on
the impact of drug law enforcement. In this article, we report on drug users views
of major drug enforcement operations in their local area. The three drug
enforcement operations we were looking at were carried out by the police in
three different geographical areas. In each area, we interviewed a snowball
sample of local heroin users to establish their views and experience of both the
specific operations that had occurred in the recent past and their overall
assessment of the impact of police activity in their local area. Most of those
interviewed who had been involved in a drug raid described the experience as
shocking, upsetting, and profoundly unsettling. However, according to the drug
users interviewed, police activity had little sustained impact on the price, purity,
and/or availability of illegal drugs locally. The article concludes by considering the
policy implications of this research.
The Bill 29 Clandestine Drug Operation Prevention Act, 2013 amends a
number of Acts with respect to clandestine drug operations which are defined to
be illegal operations where any substance listed in any of Schedules I to IV to
the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (Canada) can be obtained by any

method or process. At present, under section 15.9 of the Building Code Act,
1992, an inspector under that Act can enter upon land at any reasonable time
without a warrant for the purpose of inspecting a building to determine whether it
is unsafe. The Bill clarifies that a building is unsafe if an inspector determines
that it contains a clandestine drug operation. Upon finding that a building
contains a clandestine drug operation, an inspector is required to make an order
setting out the remedial steps necessary to render the building safe and to
register the order against the title to the land on which the building is located.
When the order has been carried out, an inspector is required to register a
discharge of the order against the title to the land.
The Project Synergy Operation 2014 conducted by Drug Enforcement Agency
of United States of America, more than 150 individuals have been arrested and
federal, state and local law enforcement authorities have seized hundreds of
thousands of individually packaged, ready-to-sell synthetic drugs as well as
hundreds of kilograms of raw synthetic products to make thousands more.
Additionally, more than $20 million in cash and assets were seized. These
numbers are expected to grow as investigations continue.
In addition to targeting retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers, many of these
investigations continued to uncover the massive flow of drug-related proceeds to
countries in the Middle East, including Yemen, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, and
as well as other countries. Investigations also targeted many trade implements
such as organic leaves and packaging material used in preparation for drug re-

sale and distribution. These facilitators are key players in this ever-changing
designer drug industry.
Local Studies
In the report of Inquirer, 2012 the Philippines has the highest abuse rate for
methamphetamine hydrochloride, or shabu, in East Asia, according to the United
Nations World Drug Report. The UN report was cited by the US Department of
State in its 2012 International Drug Control Strategy Report, which is posted on
the website of the US Embassy in Manila. The state department also disclosed
that 2.1 percent of Filipinos aged 16 to 64 were using shabu, and domestic
consumption of methamphetamine and marijuana continued to be the main drug
threats in the Philippines. Citing Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency records, it
reported that last year PDEA conducted 9,850 anti-illegal drug operations
resulting in the arrest of 8,491 suspects and 9,995 cases being filed.
Ranada 2016 stated that Around one-fifth of barangays (or villages) in the
Philippines have drug-related cases, according to February 2015 data from the
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).Metro Manila is the region most
affected by drugs with 92% of its barangays having drug-related cases.
Methamphetamine hydrochloride, or shabu, is the most used illegal drug in the
country, followed by cannabis or marijuana. In 2014, 89% of drug seizures
involved shabu while 8.9% involved marijuana, according to PDEA. Cocaine,
ephedrine, and ecstasy constituted the rest of the confiscations.

Dangerous Drug Board 2014 found out that Based on the reports submitted by
twenty-nine (29) residential and two (2) non-residential treatment and
rehabilitation facilities, there were a total of 4,392 admissions reported in the year
2014. Of this number, 3,388 were admitted for the first time, 772 were relapsed
or re-admitted cases either in the same or different facility and 232 were reported
to have sought treatment to an out-patient facility. Ninety-two percent (92.44%) of
the admitted cases were males and almost eight percent (7.56%) were females.
The ratio of male to female is 12:1.Those who belong to the 30-34 age group
comprised most of the admitted cases with twenty percent (20.24%), followed by
those who were in the 40 and above bracket with nineteen percent (18.78%) and
25-29 age group with eighteen percent (17.78%). The average age is 30 years
old.

The youngest was 9 years old and the oldest was 78 years old.Almost half of the
admitted cases were single (49.07%), while thirty-three percent (33.31%) were
married. Fourteen percent (14.46%) reported to have live-in partners and the
remaining three percent (3.17%) were either separated, widow/er or divorced.
Based on the educational attainment, thirty percent (29.83%) of the center clients
comprised those who have reached college level, followed by those who reached
high school with twenty-five percent (24.68%) and those who finished high school
at sixteen percent (15.73%).Most of the admitted cases belong to the 5,999.00
and below income group with twenty-three percent (22.52%).

The average monthly family income among center clients is PhP 15,423.00.Of
the total admission, forty-eight percent (47.59%) were unemployed, twenty-seven
percent (26.73%) were workers/employees, eleven percent (11.43%) were
businessman/self-employed, 8 percent (7.65%) were OSY and four percent
(4.12%) were students. Forty-six percent (45.56%) of the reported cases were
residing in the National Capital Region (NCR) prior to their rehabilitation, while
sixteen percent came from both Region 4-A (16.46%) and Region 3 (16.39%).As
to the age when the client first tried to use drugs, forty-eight percent (47.79%) of
the reported cases belong to the 15-19 age group.

Half of the reported cases (50.30%) have taken drugs 2 to 5 times a week while
twenty-one percent (21.20%) have it on a daily basis. Methamphetamine
Hydrochloride (Shabu) remains to be the primary drug of abuse among center
clients with ninety-one percent (91.23%) of the total admission, followed by
Cannabis (Marijuana) with thirty-six percent (35.77%). Both Inhalants (contact
cement adhesive) and Benzodiazepines (Diazepam) users/abusers were
reported at two percent (1.68% and 1.64% respectively).

In the study of Atienza and Ilagan (2008), based on their findings and
conclusion they recommend that the extension service program of a seminar
should be carried out to help police officers and future police officers in the
conduct of operation in drug-related cases. They also recommend that the
Criminology students and future police officers should be helped to acquire
sufficient knowledge and skills in preparing police reports as these documents

are very vital sources of information about the cases filed, the accused and/or
suspects.

DDB 2013 stated that Supply reduction strategies are directed toward enforcing
the prohibition of illegal drugs and regulating and enforcing access to legal drugs
and substances, particularly those that are of a high probability for abuse,
including pharmaceuticals and other precursors and essential chemicals.
Reducing the supply of drugs requires the collaborative participation of all levels
of government including law enforcement and the health sector, industry and
regulatory. For this, the Board maintains coordination with law enforcement
agencies for the implementation of the R.A. 9165, regulatory compliance and setup policies in aid of judicial and legislative measures.