Are Higher Cocaine Prices a Good Thing?

Here we go again. President Bush's Drug Czar is claiming success in the war on drugs because cocaine prices are rising. Except two recent government reports say cocaine is still widely available; and higher cocaine prices means greater profits for organized crime and greater violence in our communities. So what is the Bush Administration smoking?

Let's assume that a recent report by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is accurate, and the average price per pure gram of cocaine increased 47% in the U.S. since last October. That hardly means we're winning the war on drugs. Cocaine prices are still lower than they were 30 years ago, and rising cocaine prices will lead to greater trafficking, not less.

As the price of cocaine increases, it becomes more profitable to manufacture and sell cocaine, which means more people will get into the market and more cocaine will be made and sold. DEA Administrator Karen Tandy was just in Europe in May warning that higher cocaine prices there are causing Latin American drug traffickers to ship more and more drugs there. Higher U.S. prices will lead traffickers to ship more drugs here too.

As the Associated Press notes:

Even while acknowledging previously announced shortages during the first half of the year, [a] report prepared by the Justice Department's drug intelligence center found "cocaine availability may already be returning to previous levels in some areas."

[...]

The Justice Department report echoes the findings of another study presented to Congress on Oct. 25 by the Government Accountability Office.

Then there is the impact of higher drug prices on our communities. The minority of cocaine users who commit crimes to support their habit will commit even more crimes to pay for higher prices. And the increased profits that come from higher drug prices will spark turf wars between violent drug gangs. In their best-selling book Freakonomics, economist Steven Levitt and journalist Stephen Dubner review the scientific literature and conclude that falling cocaine prices resulted in a 15 percent decline in violent crime in the 1990s. Sustained increases in cocaine prices could drive crime rates back up.

The Bush administration is citing rising cocaine prices as a reason to give Mexico $1.4 billion for supply reduction efforts there. But even if successful, decreasing the supply would just make cocaine more valuable, boosting the profits of major drug cartels and increasing prohibition-related violence on both sides of the border. A more sensible approach would be to spend that $1.4 billion on drug treatment here at home. An estimated 20 percent of cocaine users account for 80 percent of the quantity consumed. Providing treatment to those who need it most could significantly reduce demand and make drug selling less profitable.

Comments

[MrSparky]

Just a note about jumping on the treatment bandwagon...

I'm not against treatment; it's a good thing. But forced treatment is kinda pointless. Any "recovering" addict will tell you, a person has to sincerely want to quit. Plus, since only a small minority of users of any drug are actually addicts, you wind up filling up rehabs with a lot of people who don't need to be there. And success rates for people addicted to drugs like crack are pretty low anyway.

We need to start looking at medical means of treating addiction. Giving people group therapy for an illness that's primarily a physiological problem is silly.

It would be nice to see some more medical research into alternative forms of treatment like the Swiss heroin clinics. That approach also appears to be reducing demand, and disrupting the market, which will never happen the way we're headed now.
http://www.popcenter.org/Library/CrimePrevention/Volume%2011/04-Killias.pdf

[Pdubya]

higher prices = more crime and more illegal wars

[sparkandy]

You hardly ever used to see white drug addicts here using cocaine. The drug of choice was meth. Then the state came down hard and made it almost impossible to buy the cold medicines needed for the manufacture of meth. Cooks had to go to Arkansas or Texas to get the ingredients. Then, with the huge influx of Mexicans, coke began appearing in the drug market, along with high quality crystal meth made in Mexico. Now our tweakers have a choice! And I'm not blaming the Mexicans any more than I'm blaming the people who use the drugs. They're all guilty.

[drblack]

As someone who studies Drugs I have found no evidence for higher prices among the users i have polled.
I have been told that supply and purity are up and the prices are the same.

[wadenelson1]

Are higher coke prices a good thing?

It all depends on if you're buying or selling.

Actually, elasticity of demand factors in too. Contrary to government propoganda, not every coke user is an addict who will buy at any price. There actually ARE some # of recreational users who will cut back on their recreating when prices skyrocket.

So I guess the answer is, "It All Depends".

[SamThornton]

Odd that while conservatives tout their economic expertise, they fail to see how the economics of drug supply and demand work out in the real world.

[taikan]

Just as one cannot truly have a "war" against a tactic such as terror, one cannot truly have a "war" against an object such as drugs. Neither of them is a nation or even a group of people who can be defeated in a war.
Economics teaches us that where there is demand there shall be supply. History teaches us that where there are people, there is demand for some form of reality-altering substance. The only realistic and compassionate way to deal with the problem (if it is a problem) of recreational drug use is to legalize it, tax it heavily, and use the proceeds of the tax to pay for treatment programs for those who are unable to control their desires. A less compassionate approach would be to legalize it and tax it, but to use the tax revenues generated by the sale of drugs for purposes other than providing drug treatment programs.

[oldpotsmuggler]

A DRUG WAR STORY - #9
Owsley was clearly one of the first celebrities of the underground culture that developed in the sixties. Pretty much all of the acid we dropped back then was said to have been made by him, and, as it turns out, often it was. What a beautiful thing to have such a good reputation that your name could be a selling point for a psychedelic drug.

Our drug warriors are so rabid that Owsley was literally arrested for making LSD before it was even illegal to do that. Needless to say, he beat that charge.

Ultimately, however, the legislative void was filled, and Mr. Owsley received his due at the bar of justice. And not a second too soon, I’m sure. Can you imagine where our country would be today if many of the people in the upper reaches of power grew up in an environment where recreational drug use was accepted, and almost even expected?

Oh, that’s right. That’s the world we live in now, isn’t it. And the leading edge of “The Greatest Generation” grew up flouting the law during the era of alcohol prohibition.

I guess it just goes to show that you never can tell.

[realitytrumpsbull]

I think if they shut the US/Mexico border was
closed for a year, it'd help both countries
and largely end the War On Drugs.

Of course, then there'd be some people that
used to think of the War On Drugs as lifetime
employment out there looking for a new job,
but into every life, some rain must fall...