ols against violence tend to be ineffective. The proliferation of lethal weapons in recent years has also made drug violence more deadly. Drug-Related Homicides Have Declined. There was a steady decline in drug-related homicide between 1989 and 1995. The Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) indicated that of 21,597 homicides committed in 1995 in which the circumstances of the crime were known, 1,010 (or 4.7 percent) involved drugs. This figure was significantly lower than 7.4 percent in 1989.53 Money Laundering Harms Financial Institutions. Money laundering involves disguising financial assets so they can be used without the illegal activity that produced them being detected. Money laundering provides financial fuel not only for drug dealers but for terrorists, arms dealers, and other criminals who operate and expand criminal enterprises. Drug trafficking generates tens of billions of dollars a year; the total amount of money involved cannot be calculated precisely. In September 1996, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) estimated that 60 percent of the money laundering cases it investigated during that fiscal year were drug-related.54 Illegal Drugs Remain Available Illegal drugs continue to be readily available almost anywhere in the United States. If measured solely in terms of price and purity, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana prove to be more available than they were a decade ago when the number of cocaine and marijuana users was much higher. Cocaine Availability. Colombian drug cartels continue to manage most aspects of the cocaine trade from acquisition of cocaine base, to cocaine production in South America and transportation, to wholesale distribution in the United States. Polydrug trafficking gangs in Mexico, which used to serve primarily as transporters for the Colombian groups, are increasingly assuming a more prominent role in the transportation and distribution of cocaine. Wholesale cocaine distribution and money laundering networks are...
