The black market refers to a clandestine market that is also referred to as a shadow economy, or underground economy; whereby noncompliant behavior to constitutional laws and, or regulations are practiced. It may define a set of goods and services whose production has been outlawed, and the distribution has also been prohibited. Leaving the participants to conduct their business in secret as it is considered illegal

Banning substances such as specific alcohol, tobacco products, drugs, and the likes always create an underground market for it. The people who use those products do not necessarily stop consuming them because they are outlawed. They continue to use them in secret. Just like drug peddlers, banned goods get their own buyers and sellers who will buy from those who are offering them up for sale. Usually at exorbitant prices.

The price does not moderate if the substance is particularly rare and in high demand. Instead, demand increases and the peddlers make more money each time they sell. In many instances, the banned substances are drugs such as cocaine, heroin opium, and the likes. However, will the recent legalization of marijuana in many states and countries, the demand will no longer be as steep as it was. Since the market for marijuana has not been explored sufficiently, it will still be a lucrative business, but not among illegal suppliers.

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This is because it is no longer a risky business. The price command will not be as high, nor will the customers pay the black-market vendors as much as they did before. Contraband is the collective word used to describe goods which are in nature too dangerous or offensive according to the law and are therefore forbidden. This refers to drugs and in some regions alcohol and tobacco products as well. Contraband also describes smuggled goods, stolen goods or the fruits of fraud, forgery or any other illegal activities

The black market can become so large and so lucrative, that it becomes an industry on its own. It also brews gangs and cartel rivalry as the black market also has dominant and rival players as any other industry does. It also brings about corruption, in that many law officers and police can become compromised in their line of work. Many are threatened and offered money for their silence; with the alternative being death. While it may sound like a fictional drug drama, these kinds of actions exist as a reality for many the world over.

When black-market businessmen and women get very wealthy from selling contraband and drugs, there also have a sway on the people in power. Who inevitably become soiled and tangled in a mess. As money is used to lure, confuse and derail people the most, it is not surprising that after all the people in power do accept bribes to rule in favor of cartels or drop and ignore their cases altogether. As a result, the black market thrives and continues to grow larger.

A black market exists in almost every country in the world. Some black markets function on a larger scale, especially when dealing with contraband that has been outlawed on a global scale. Such items include weapons and ammunition, biological gases that are harmful to human beings used for warfare and essentially illegal worldwide. Additionally, the black market can consist of trading; rare animals, ornaments, jewels and stones that are of value in different markets but have been outlawed in another country. When illegal contraband is seized it is often confiscated and, in some cases, returned to the countries who claim ownership (like elephant tusks) or burned like drugs and biochemical substances that could cause mass epidemics and warfare. In the black market, the more security watch and the tighter and harsher the rules apply to a commodity, the more money or value it has.