According to common sense perception, drug traffickers in Mexico have become so powerful that they have "penetrated" the protective shield of official institutions whose purpose is to fight them. Historical research in the Mexican case does not support the assumption of two separate fields: drug trafficking and its agents, on one side, and the State on the other. Moreover, since the beginning of prohibition, the illegal trade appeared related to powerful political agents in the production and trafficking regions. Cultivators and wholesale smugglers were not autonomous players; their success depended on political protection. They did not buy politicians; rather, politicians obliged them to pay a sort of "tax". If they did'nt pay, their business was over. The power was on the political side. Politicians decided who, when, where and how. Drug trafficking was supported from within the power structure. How could drug traffickers have penetrated a political structure that created and protected them, a political structure they were subordinated to? They were its creatures.

Marijuana is the most used illegal drug in the United States. Nearly 69 million Americans over the age of 12 have tried marijuana at least once.

Alcohol-related crashes claim an average of one life every half-hour. Almost 17,000 people died in 2004 in alcoholrelated crashes and half a million people were injured. Tragically, America's law enforcement officers are too often included in this group of victims. According to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund (NLEMF), crashes killed 62 officers in 2005, two more than the number of officers killed in shooting incidents in the same year. Forty-one officers died in crashes, 15 were struck by vehicles, and six died in motorcycle crashes. The NLEMF cannot break out the number of officers killed in crashes caused by impaired driving, but noted that while fatalities from shooting incidents decreased 36% from 1975 to 2004, line-of-duty deaths due to crashes increased 40% over the same time period. Impaired driving is the suspected cause of two crashes that claimed the lives of two California Highway Patrol officers. The CHP has lost six officers in the line of duty during the six months from September 2005 to February 2006.

Strict penalties are provided for drug convictions, including mandatory prison terms for many offenses. Federal law states that any conviction for possession, use, or distribution of illicit substances can result in loss of federal benefits, confiscation of property, fines, and jail sentences. Persons convicted on federal charges of possessing any controlled substance face penalties of up to one year in prison and a mandatory fine of no less than $1,000 up to a maximum of $100,000. Second convictions are punishable by not less than 15 days but not more than two years in prison and a minimum fine of $2,500. Subsequent convictions are punishable by not less than 90 days but not more than three years in prison and a minimum fine of $5,000. If death or serious bodily injury results from the use of an illegally distributed controlled substance, the person convicted of distributing that substance faces a mandatory life sentence and fines of up to $8 million. Persons convicted on federal charges of drug trafficking within 1,000 feet of a university face penalties of prison terms and fines that are twice as high as the regular penalties for the offense, with a mandatory prison sentence of at least one year.

Marijuana growers in Kentucky consider the rural areas of National Forest land as too spacious for law enforcement officials to detect their activities.

Mexican DTOs supply cocaine to inner-city retail/street level distributors in Kentucky.

Mexican trafficking organizations in Kentucky use business fronts, such as restaurants and auto repair/detailing shops, to distribute and launder profits.

There has been a decrease in meth laboratories/clandestine manufacturing in southeastern Kentucky and this is countered by importation of "ICE" methamphetamine from Mexico via the Southwest Border, Atlanta, Georgia, and Ashville, North Carolina.

MDMA, Ketamine, GHB, and LSD remain easily available in Kentucky and are mainly used by teenagers and young adults in the cities with colleges and universities, such as Lexington, Richmond, and Morehead.

There is a demand for small amounts of heroin in some areas of southeastern Kentucky.