Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale: Blushing Beauty of America
For more than 500 years, people have been enjoying Fort Lauderdale's brilliant natural beauty. This untouched beauty of Florida is famous for leisure and fun-in-the-sun-and-water. It is popular for miles of gorgeous beaches along with the Atlantic. Embraced by the Atlantic Ocean, New River and a myriad of scenic inland waterways, Fort Lauderdale truly lives up to its designation as the "Venice of America."

Fort Lauderdale and its surrounding towns - known collectively as Greater Fort Lauderdale - have become a favorite destination for families and couples, adding eclectic and ethnic dining and outstanding cultural institutions to its natural beauty. Blessed with over 3,000 hours of sunshine each year and pleasant year-round ocean breezes, world-famous Fort Lauderdale Beach offers premier opportunities for recreation, relaxation and enjoyment.

Drug Situation
Florida leads the nation in MDMA seizures and international MDMA traffickers are using South Florida as an importation and distribution staging area. Fort Lauderdale has advantageous economic climate for world class international business center, which has invited loads of outside businessmen, who have found desirable locations in Fort Lauderdale for new, expanding or relocating businesses. This condition has opened a gateway for importation of illicit drugs into the city.

MDMA
The vast majority of MDMA distributed in Florida formulates and originates in Europe and is generally smuggled via postal/ parcel services. MDMA continues to be widely available and used in the club scene in South Florida (Miami to Fort Lauderdale).

Methamphetamine
The Southeast Regional Lab (SERL) reports that crystal methamphetamine averages above 80% in purity and can be seen in lots of South Florida clubs, where users mix it with MDMA to enhance their pleasure. There has also been a significant increase in crystal methamphetamine use in South Florida, specifically Fort Lauderdale. Being a major provider of Mexican-produced crystal methamphetamine, California has become the source to smuggle and distribute this chemical substance in South Florida, especially Fort Lauderdale.

Marijuana
Marijuana, both domestically grown and imported, is readily available throughout the Florida. Marijuana is considered to be the second most preferred drug in Fort Lauderdale after Methamphetamine. Domestic indoor cultivation of Marijuana is a significant industry throughout Florida, which makes its consumption easier among teenagers and college students.

Drug Effects
The adverse affect of drug can be unimaginable. When one starts consuming it, he/ she never predicts its side effects on the body, only its desired effect, i.e. momentary pleasure occupies the user's mind and compels for its regular usage. Addictive drugs enter the body through a variety of routes, make their way to the bloodstream, and go straight to the brain, where they exert their effects. Gradually, its horrible effects can be observed and experienced in the whole body, sometimes making difficult to rid of.

Instead of teaching us to repeat survival behaviors, drugs teach us to take more drugs. If use continues, drug effects gradually change the brain and these changes can eventually lead to addiction.