The illegal drug trade is a global black market activity consisting of production, distribution, packaging and sale of illegal psychoactive substances.
Origins
In jurisdictions where legislation restricts or prohibits the sale of certain popular drugs without a certain, practically impossible to get license, it is common for an (illegal) drugs trade to develop. For example, the United StatesCongress has identified a number of controlled substances which each have corresponding drug trades.
Rich nations consider the drug traffic a very serious problem. In 1989 the United States went so far as to invade a foreign country to diminish the increasing transfer of narcotics from Latin America to its domestic markets. The country invaded was Panama, ruled by dictator General Manuel Noriega who would later be tried and sent to prison in Miami, Florida.
Drug Policy Around the World: Terrorism - Resources for studying international trends in drug trafficking and its connections to terrorism from the Lindesmith Center.