Last updated : December 23, 2024
When Washington’s policymakers think about South American drug cartels, they think about how many acres are dedicated to cultivating heroine and how many acres are dedicated to growing cannabis. They also worry about what percentage of Americans buy these drugs once they are illegally shipped into the United States.
But they are simply not thinking about the right numbers. A much more important number is the retail price of drugs in the United States. How much, for example, is the retail price of a gram of pure cocaine from a local drug pusher? What these policy makers would find is that the price is at least 75% cheaper than it used to be 30 years ago.What does this lower price point mean? Why does it tell us so much about how the war on drug is failing? It’s quite simple. According to the economic laws of price, supply, and demand, the price of something is determined by its scarcity. If prices are falling it is because supply has increased considerably.
In fact, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the lower cost of drugs these days indicates that it is much easier to make a profit for a local drug dealer to sell at a lower cost because more customers are available.
If the war on drugs had been successful, the numbers would have been quite different–it would be more expensive to buy drugs. The price would have gone up because there were fewer drugs available to sell. So despite billions spent on spraying coca fields high up in the Andes, a gram of cocaine is cheaper today than in the past.
Similar numbers apply to the drop in price of heroin and methamphetamine. The only drug that has not dropped in price is marijuana. This is not because there is a loss of interest in this drug, which has now been refined to be even more potent than earlier generations, but because a different law of economics is at work here– the legalization of marijuana on the grounds of medicinal use in many states has caused the price to stabilize.
Drug Abuse Often Starts As Early As High School
According to a study conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, interest in drugs begins as early as high school. Today, as many as 40% of high school seniors openly admit to the recreational use of illegal drugs. This means that almost half of all high school seniors now consider drug use to be normal behavior. Contrast this with drug use only 20 years ago. At that time only about 10% of high school seniors took drugs.
However, it is not only illegal drugs that are popular amongst high school teenagers— but also the abuse of prescription drugs. Two decades ago the misuse of prescription drugs was not even an issue, with the result that it is even difficult to find surveys on it.
American Public Naïve about National Impact of Drug Abuse
A Gallup poll shows that 31% of Americans have lost faith in the government’s progress to reduce drug abuse, especially illegal drug abuse. This is surprising considering the fact that the government has spent an average of 25 billion a year over the past decade to counter drugs. Yet what is even more surprising is that 29% of Americans think drug abuse is a not serious problem.
The High National Cost of Drug Abuse
Drug abuse has created a serious economic problem in the United States. For one thing, about 75% of people in the American workforce use illegal drugs or abuse prescription drugs for recreational purposes. For another, one out of five people in State penitentiaries are there for a drug-related offense. This means that American workers have a high absentee rate and a low productivity rate. It also means that there is a strong link between drugs and crime.
Mobile Drug Testing Services
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