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The illegal drug trade is a global black market consisting of the cultivation, manufacture,...

The illegal drug trade is a global black market consisting of the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of illegal controlled drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug control laws. Some drugs, notably alcohol and tobacco, are outside the scope of these laws, but may be subject to control under other laws. The illicit drug trade operates similarly to other underground markets. Various drug cartels specialize in the separate processes along the supply chain, often localized to maximize production efficiency and minimize damages caused by law enforcement. Depending on the profitability of each layer, cartels usually vary in size, consistency, and organization. The chain ranges from low-level street dealers who may be individual drug users themselves, through street gangs and contractor-like middle men, up to multinational empires that rival governments in size. The UN report said the global drug trade generated an estimated $321.6 billion in 2003. Illegal drugs may be grown in wilderness areas, on farms, produced in indoor/outdoor residential gardens, indoor hydroponics grow-ops, or manufactured in drug labs located