[#벌거벗은세계사] (2시간) 포브스 선정 세상에서 가장 부유한 사람은 '마약왕'이었다? 미국이 마약과의 전쟁을 선포한 이유😨 세계를 뒤흔들어 놓은 마약의 역사💥 | #티전드

Why did Mexico come to bear the dishonorable label of a drug empire?

Let's take a closer look at that connection. Going back to the late 19th century, Chinese immigrants crossed the Pacific and settled in Sinaloa, a region in western Mexico.

How did the Chinese come to Mexico at that time? Maybe they went there for work?

To find jobs? It was part of a global movement of people between regions.

In the late 19th century—in the early age of globalization—the Chinese crossed the Pacific, from California in the United States

to Mexico's western coast and even Chincha Islands in Peru, settling in various places.

They were put to work building railroads and working in agriculture.

But when the Chinese came to this

region, they brought various things. Among them,

one was related to today's topic, right? Poppies? Yes, opium poppy seeds—the opium they'd learned about in the Opium Wars.

The history of drugs in Mexico today can be said to have begun with the opium poppy seeds brought by the Chinese.

From the late 19th century, opium and marijuana were cultivated in Mexico.

Since restrictions on cross-border movement between the two countries were quite lax, these drugs also made their way into the United States.

Mexico's northwest—or perhaps north-central region—became a very important area

from the early 1970s for growing

and selling marijuana. It became a key region, and Mexico began to engage in international drug trafficking in earnest.

At first, the system is said to have been very simple.

The areas where drugs were sold and transported were called plazas. In English, you could say “plaza.”

At the time, a plaza was about the size of a small town or city.

Then the border city of Tijuana became a route for drugs to enter the country,

and the amount of marijuana flowing from Mexico into the United States

had reached an alarming level by the early 1970s.

Back then, how much marijuana were Americans growing?

Between 50 and 60 percent of all marijuana consumed came from Mexico, and the number of marijuana users exceeded 1.5 million. 1.5 million?

Yes, you learned a lot. Marijuana becoming a social problem in the United States at this time was greatly influenced by a culture that was hugely popular among young people.

What was it? Shall we take a look at the photo?

Oh, is it hippie culture? Hippies—hippie culture. Yes. It looks like the photo immediately brought the word “hippie” to mind.

What comes to mind when you think of hippie culture is free-spirited clothing and flowers symbolizing peace,

a challenge to the established order, or opposition to war,

and marijuana. That's right, that's right.

Young people back then were using marijuana in large numbers.

But at the time, drug abuse other than marijuana was also becoming increasingly serious.

And that problem was connected to a historic war the United States was still fighting at the time: the Vietnam War.

During the Vietnam War, if soldiers were badly injured on the battlefield, they would eventually be given painkillers to help them endure the pain.

Veterans who had become accustomed to those narcotic painkillers couldn't stop using drugs even after returning to the United States. That became a growing social problem.

According to a congressional report, more than 15% of American servicemen in Indochina were addicted to drugs.

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