I recently embarked on an internet quest for some backpacking tips to supplement my own experiences. I stumbled upon (not for the first time) the Broke Backpacker blog (www.brokebackpacker.com). Among the plethora of useful information it features disappointing advice on drug use among backpackers. This comment in particular made me uncomfortable:
“Be aware that many dealers don’t give a shit about you… They may sell you MDMA and it could be speed instead (which is fine) or rat poison (which is not). In general, I tend to avoid buying MDMA unless a local friend who I trust provides the hookup. Weed is easy – what you see is what you get.
NEVER try to smuggle drugs across an international border. The last thing you want is to end up in a jail filled with murderers and lunatics.”
The essence of the remark shrieked at me. It displayed a misunderstanding about the illegal drug industry, the environmental devastation and the torture and murder that blight millions of people. In particular, the author substantiates that drug use among backpackers is a customary recreational pastime. While this may be true, he neglects (as do many other backpacking related blogs) to detail the desolation that this illegal trade manufactures.
Can Drug Use Among Backpackers be Justified?
“The last thing you want is to end up in a jail filled with murderers and lunatics.” Ostensibly this is sound advice for backpackers indulging in recreational drug usage. But let’s investigate the topic more closely.
The Broke Backpacker blog provides advice related to ethical and responsible tourism. It encourages backpackers to understand and consider environmental impacts, and offers ecological tips for greener travel among many other travel related topics. This is commendable guidance for those without extensive travel experience.
But the author clearly doesn’t possess much experience with the criminal justice sector. I’ve personally been to two prisons in the UK (as a convicted criminal), both in London; Feltham prison and Belmarsh Prison. I cannot cast comment on other global prison systems but I believe it prudent for me to indicate that if UK society could empty our prisons of drug dealers, drug addicts, prisoners suffering mental health problems related to drugs, and criminals stealing to acquire money for drugs, the UK would save billions of pounds per year!
It’s Not Just Financial Costs …
Furthermore the industry itself leads to additional criminal activity. The National crime Agency says:
“Organised crime groups involved in drug trafficking are typically also involved in a range of criminal activity, and the profits from illegal drugs are used to fund other forms of criminal operations, including buying illegal firearms and financing terrorism.” (1)
In an unrelated newspaper article The Times newspaper has recently reported on the barbarism of drug related violence:
“Two teenagers were tortured on video and shot dead by a Rio drugs gang after entering the traffickers’ turf while trying to escape a police shoot-out with a different group of criminals.” (2)
A transparent and discernible link exists between drug dealers and violent crime. So should drug use among backpackers ever be advised from a ‘fun’ and ‘carefree’ perspective?
Backpackers, Drug use & Ignorance
It is likely many Western tourists have purchased an illegal substance such as cocaine or MDMA that has a revenue stream linked to violent criminal cartels. Sadly most of these transactions would have been conducted with total ignorance of where the money was going!
Brazil has been increasing its share in cocaine distribution. As that share increases so too does the level of violence disseminated by the gangs. Recently in a prison in Brazil, 30 Brazilian inmates were decapitated by a drug gang who were inspired by Mexican cartels. Senior security officials have been anxious about the surge in drug related violence. (3)
When Backpackers use Drugs are they Aware of the Blood Trail?
A video from a notorious gore website that showcased a member of a Mexican drug cartel peeling skin from a rival’s face demonstrates the viciousness of gang violence. The man was heinously tortured before presumably being killed. I’ve included a screenshot of the victim but omitted the video because of its harrowing contents.
So drug use among backpackers; can any pro-drug action be followed in a responsible way? I suspect not. Whenever somebody purchases an illegal substance from a drug dealer he/she has no knowledge of its origin.
Drugs & a Blood trail: But Who Cares?
But do Western backpackers care, and are they apt to acknowledging responsibility? Sadly I suspect the answer is no. Experimentation and fun using illegal drugs is more likely to take precedence while accountability is neglected.
But the Broke Backpacker blog does echo accountability and concern. For instance, this following article (unrelated to the topic of drug use among backpackers) ‘Reduce your Plastic Footprint and Embrace Sustainable Travel’ cites in an early paragraph:
“Here’s the thing guys – the generation before us has fucked up. Big time.”
He merely shifts responsibility.
Like older generations younger people embrace technological and societal innovations that impact the environment. But sometimes it’s easier to shift responsibility rather than accept it.
By purchasing illegal drugs while travelling, the author of the Broke Backpacker is funding drug cartels that devastate people’s lives. Unintentionally the author may encourage other backpackers to indulge in similar activities. I must specify that his website does include a disclaimer dissuading drug use for backpackers.
But If The Government Legalised Drugs!
Drug use among backpackers reeks of hypocrisy and duplicity. Many travellers feel connected to the world. They engage in yoga and immerse themselves in Buddhism and spirituality. Often they find tranquillity and peace in charming sanctuaries around the world. They appear lost in the ‘summer of love’ and the 1960’s. Moreover they tend to be ecologically aware and environmentally concerned. They thumb books on social justice and chastise inequality and violence.
I understand these traits are not specific to every backpacker. But I have witnessed these personas in many backpacking folk across the globe and not just in spiritual places such as Pushkar in India or hippy retreats like Australia’s Byron Bay. Compassion and empathy tend to motivate such people.
A Limit on Empathy?
But when I decline their invitations to enjoy a night of dancing to raucous music while influenced by MDMA I’m degraded to a boring fuddy-duddy. A few years ago I would make my excuses and politely reject their invites. Nowadays I’m ready for a boisterous discussion on illegal drug use. Drawing on my (hopefully well crafted!) opinions on illegal drugs and brief prison experience (not drug related) I try and educate the reality of the drug cartels and how Westerners are funding torture, financial impropriety, fraud, environmental destruction and murder … albeit unintentionally.
Nonetheless this message doesn’t penetrate. They remain clouded by ignorance and self-delusion. One 18 year-old cocaine user informed me on receipt of my argument that I was a despicable person because … I ate meat! Yep, because animals were slaughtered I’m a barbarian. Her status had no connection with the illegal drug trade or backpackers drug use. She was immature.
I’m particularly troubled by the common contention that often starts:
‘But if the government legalised drugs …’
Would Legalisation Work?
Sure, if inter-governmental co-operation simultaneously legalised all drug production and possession the above assertion would work. The likelihood of this happening is slim.
This would cause a shift in the scope of the industry. For example, you could transfer production from small illegal and unsanitary home-made labs to huge multi-national pharmaceutical conglomerates. But how would regulation work? Would the increase in purity in some substances – cocaine for instance – increase the likelihood of addiction? Perhaps an increase in competition could drive down prices making addictive substances more accessible? Criminal gangs might attempt to undercut the legitimate pharmaceutical companies and sell at lower prices.
Sadly these considerations are seldom acknowledged by keen travellers.
Is Drug Use Among Backpackers Ever Okay?
I’ve been reading the Broke Backpacker blog for some time. It contains helpful information on various backpacking and budget travel topics. While I understand that an ethical investigation is beyond the remit of the blog, it’s crucial to recognise how purchasing your party drugs while backpacking has social, environmental and in some circumstances violent consequences.
The Broke Backpacker (for me personally) represents utter hypocrisy. While I agree with his sentiments on ecology and the environment what troubles me is the illegitimate advice on drug use among backpackers.
So often will an individual point the finger of blame towards everybody but himself. The Broke Backpacker is hideously guilty of such insincerity. While he reprimands industries that damage the environment he is keen to indulge in illegal substance use which arguably involves as much or more damage to humans.
Speaking on the airline industry and their unnecessary use of plastic he writes:
“Airlines package their meals in an appalling amount of plastic. Plastic-wrapped food. Plastic-wrapped cutlery. Plastic cups. Plastic straws. Plastic-wrapped everything! To think about the amount of plastic waste generated by airline companies on a daily basis is truly mind-boggling. These airline practices are unacceptable.”
While I understand that this sentiment will resonate with many readers, what concerns me is that he cannot extend his anxiety to the victims of drug abuse and its gang related corruption. Instead he contributes to the industry by investing his money into the coffers of the drug gangs.
In my judgement there are two features which provide adequate explanation for this position. Firstly, ignorance! Knowledge is paramount in understanding the illegal drug industry. I learned as a teenager in a brutal environment like Feltham prison in West London that the drug industry has many complications and is headed by violent gangsters. It has permanently deterred me from funding their mobs.
But I think the more pressing reason is simply one of fun! Drug use among backpackers is common. I’ve seen it multiple times on my travels. Egotism and narcissism sometimes compel humans to indulge in activities that may damage the well-being of others. Sadly many backpackers indulge in recreational drug use while on their travels, and the wider consequences are unnoticed.
In Conclusion …
The Broke Backpacker blog is certainly a worthy resource for us keen backpackers. Subsequently I feel that the topic of recreational (let’s be honest, illegal!) drug use should be tackled in a more constructive manner like many other articles on the blog. Sadly the narrative is the usual ignorant interpretation and lack of compassion to those who are victims of the criminal enterprise of the drug cartels.
In my judgement the Broke Backpacker blog has a responsibility to its readers. Throughout its articles it boasts of being a market leader in the budget travel industry. Hopefully in the future it will craft a more altruistic approach to drug use among backpackers. I doubt it but we shall see!
Thanks for taking the time to read my article. This lighthearted look at the erotic temples of Khajuraho may interest you: HERE
Online Sources:
1. https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/what-we-do/crime-threats/drug-trafficking
2. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rio-gang-tortures-fleeing-boys-lj0qgfw7m