Global ‘war’ on illegal drugs is failing, says study
Drugs are getting cheaper - and purity is increasing
The global war on heroin, cocaine and cannabis is failing to stem supply, as prices of these drugs have tumbled while seizures of them have risen, according to a study published on Monday.
Researchers analysed data from seven government-funded programmes that tracked the illegal drug market over more than a decade.
Three of the programmes monitored international drugs trafficking; three focused on the United States; and one tracked the drugs business in Australia.
The prices of heroin, cocaine and cannabis tumbled by 81 per cent, 80 per cent and 86 per cent respectively between 1990 and 2007 in the United States when adjusted for inflation, the researchers found.
Over the same period, the average purity of these drugs rose by 60 per cent, 11 per cent and 161 per cent respectively.
In 18 European countries, the street price of cocaine and heroin fell by 51 and 74 per cent between 2000 and 2009.
Neither the purity of drugs seized in Europe nor the price of cannabis on the continent was given in the study.
