A social issue in the Dominican Republic is the lack of control over drug trafficking. Currently, the Dominican Republic plays an important role in the transit of illegal drugs from South America to the United States of America and Europe.

 The Dominican Republic is known as the “drug trafficking heart of the Caribbean” The United States Government approximates that six percent of the Cocaine that arrives in the Unites states and Europe, transits through the Dominican Republic, which highlights the fact that the current system in place to control the shipments through the Dominican republic is not affective and allows the corruption to pass. Drug traffickers are using maritime routes for smuggling the drugs in and out of the country. The Dominican Republic has also seen an increase in Narcotics this year (2015). The Dominican Republic seized roughly 5.4 metric tons of cocaine and 1.2 Metric Tons of Marijuana, as well as contributing to nearly two tons of seizures made by the United States and other nations in drug partnership with the Dominican Republic. Marijuana is cultured in the Dominican Republic for local use and seizures mostly take place in the northwest and southwest provinces surrounding Haiti.

 There are consequences of illicit drug use. Like any other place, in the Dominican Republic, consequences are extensive and take a major toll on society, cause mental and physical damage to the user and impact those around them. Drug law violations should lead to imprisonment and represent the most common arrest causes, but in areas where drug trafficking control is poor, (as there is in the Dominican Republic), there is often indemnity shown towards taking action and stopping the fraud and unlawful acts.

 The Dominican Republic is currently cooperating with the United States to combat illicit drug trafficking and crime related to drug use. The National Directorate for the Control of Drugs (DNCD) and Dominican Military officials cooperated with the United States in planning operations to stop drug trafficking vehicles before they reach their destination. The Dominican Specialized Corps for Port security is working together with United States authorities in an effort to better port security. The Dominican Republic participates in the Cooperating Nations Information Exchange System (CNIES), the Cooperative Situational Information Integration System (CSII), the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), and lastly, the Central American Integration System. Dominican officials have also joined efforts with the Haitian National Police to battle the drug trafficking issue by improving law enforcement technique.  

Sources:

http://www.insightcrime.org/news-briefs/dominican-republic-local-police-corruption-sign-of-booming-drug-market

http://www.narconon.org/drug-information/dominican-republic-cocaine.html

http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2013/9/23/49041/Dominican-Republic-cant-fight-drug-traffickers-US-billions-alone