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Date: November 22, 2024 Fri
Time: 11:31 am
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Results for drug markets
110 results foundAuthor: Peters, Gretchen Title: How Opium Profits the Taliban Summary: In Afghanistan's poppy-rich southwest, a raging insurgency intersects a thriving opium trade. This study examines how the Taliban profit from narcotics, probes how traffickers influence the strategic goals of the insurgency, and considers the extent to which narcotics are changing the nature of the insurgency itself. Details: Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace, 2009. 39p. Source: Peaceworks No. 62 Year: 2009 Country: Afghanistan URL: Shelf Number: 115811 Keywords: Drug MarketsDrug TraffickingNarcoticsOpiumTaliban |
Author: Council of Europe. Criminal Justice Platform Title: Responding to Drug Markets and Drug Related Public Nuisance Summary: This report provides an overview of the hearings of the Pompidou Group Expert Forum on Criminal Justice between 2004 and 2006. During this period five platforms meetings were convened on the subject of open drug scenes, drug-related crime and the types of responses developed in various countries throughout the European Union and beyond. Presentations were heard covering the experience in over thirty cities. The scale and nature of the problem associated with open drug scenes varies from place to place. However, most countries have acknowledged that the complexity of the problem requires a multi-faceted response developed and implemented in partnership between relevant agencies and stakeholders. The report concludes by identifying some common principles underlying the various partnerships schemes and based on the evidence presented at the meetings, outlines a number of good practice guidelines for partnership working. Details: Strasbourg: Council of Europe, 2006. v.p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2006 Country: Europe URL: Shelf Number: 118674 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AdditionDrug MarketsDrug TrafficNuisance Behaviors and Disorders |
Author: Youngers, Coletta A. Title: Development First: A More Humane and Promising Approach to Reducing Cultivation of Crops for Illicit Markets Summary: This report lays out a more promising approach to reducing the cultivation of coca and poppy crops used in the production of cocaine and heroin. It is based on improving the welfare of poor farmers via comprehensive development strategies that include improving local governance and citizen security, combined with voluntary reductions in cultivation of crops deviated to the illicit market. Implemented in tandem with effective demand reduction strategies to contain and eventually shrink the global cocaine and heroin markets, the "development first" approach has the potential to gradually achieve sustainable reductions in coca and opium poppy cultivation by reducing poor farmers' reliance on such crops. Details: Washington, DC: Washington Office on Latin America, 2009. 39p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2009 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 119214 Keywords: CocaineDrug ControlDrug MarketsDrugsIllegal DrugsOpiumPoverty |
Author: International Drug Policy Consortium Title: The Illicit Drug Market and Its Possible Regulation: Act Upon the Market to Fight the Illicit Drug Industry Summary: Today the social costs associated with the consumption of drugs are mainly borne by the family of the user. The four-pillar policy (prevention, law enforcement, treatment and harm reduction) is not sufficient without a retraining and reintegration of the drug user into productive activity, this being effectively the fifth pillar on which a more proactive policy to contrast struggle against the illegal trade of drugs can be built. For a policy oriented towards rehabilitation, we need a small shift of funding from the justice system - made possible by a reduction in imprisonment for the drug user - to rehabilitation and employment programmes. The other components of this policy include: more aid to families; decriminalization of possession for personal consumption; alternatives to prison for problematic drug users, even if they commit petty crimes; establishing a revolving solidarity fund for social enterprises and the formulation of an anti-discriminatory law aimed towards the reintegration of problematic drug users, similar to those that which protects people with disabilities. Details: London: IDPC, 2010. 97p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2010 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 119370 Keywords: Alternative to IncarcerationDrug MarketsDrug Offenders, RehabilitationDrug PolicyDruu Abuse and Addiction |
Author: Keefer, Philip Title: Innocent Bystanders: Developing Countries and the War on Drugs Summary: Drug use and abuse is one of the most difficult challenges facing the contemporary world. If it is true that there has always been consumption of different types of drugs in different societies, although not in all of them, it is no less true that it generally took place in restricted, socially regulated realms, especially in ritualistic ceremonies. This is not the case today. Drug use has spread to all segments of society, with hedonistic motivations; although it is often not socially sanctioned, users are at times, depending on the drug, treated with leniency. It is well-established that all drugs are harmful to the health, even the legal ones, such as alcohol and tobacco, and that some drugs are more harmful, such as heroin and crack. The discussion of 'gateway drugs' is a medical issue on which there is no consensus. For the purposes of public policy design, the important thing to keep in mind is that drugs produce negative consequences for both users and societies in general, and that minimizing their consumption should be the main goal. The salient discussion, therefore, is about choosing among different strategies to achieve the same goal. Most of all, this report contributes to the debate by shedding light on the understanding of the economics and logistics of the drug market. Details: Washington, DC: The World Bank, 2010. 362p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2010 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 119523 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug MarketsDrug PolicyDrug TraffickingDrugs |
Author: Kilmer, Beau Title: Estimating the Size of the Global Drug Market: A Demand-Side Approach Summary: This report uses data on the prevalence of drug use, retail prices, and consumption patterns to generate country-level consumption and retail expenditure estimates for cannabis, heroin, cocaine, and amphetamine-type substances. Details: Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2009. 94p. Source: Internet Resource; Accessed August 10, 2010 at: http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/2009/RAND_TR711.sum.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/2009/RAND_TR711.sum.pdf Shelf Number: 117655 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug MarketsDrug Trafficking |
Author: Reuter, Peter Title: A Report on Global Illicit Drugs Markets, 1998-2007 Summary: "This document provides the key findings of a project assessing how the global market for drugs developed from 1998 to 2007 and describing drug policy around the globe during that period. To the extent data allows, the project assessed how much policy measures, at the national and sub-national levels, have influenced drug problems. The analysis is focused on policy relevant matters but it does not attempt to make recommendations to governments." Details: Brussels: European Communities, 2009p. 74p. Source: Internet Resource; Accessed August 17, 2010 at: http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/doc_centre/drugs/studies/doc/report_short_10_03_09_en.pdf Year: 2009 Country: International URL: http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/doc_centre/drugs/studies/doc/report_short_10_03_09_en.pdf Shelf Number: 113912 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug ControlDrug MarketsDrug Policy |
Author: Hipple, Natalie Title: The High Point Drug Market Initiative: A Process and Impact Evaluation Summary: The High Point Police Department in High Point, North Carolina has gained attention from the U.S. Department of Justice and police departments, prosecutors, and local governmental officials through a strategic problem solving intervention that has come to be known as the High Point Drug Market Intervention Program (DMI). The DMI seeks to focus on geographically-defined drug market locations and eliminate the overt drug market and the associated violence. The model includes a highly focused deterrence strategy coupled with police-community partnerships that seek to offer sources of social support to the subjects of the deterrence strategy while at the same time re-establishing informal social controls within the neighborhood in order to prevent the re-emergence of the drug market. HPPD has reported very significant declines in crime in the neighborhoods where the DMI has been implemented and an NIJ-supported study indicates strong support for the intervention among justice system officials and local residents. The purpose of this report is to test the impact of the intervention in the original DMI neighborhood through a rigorous outcome assessment. ARIMA time series models were used to test the impact of the DMI intervention. Trends in violent, property and drugs/nuisance offenses were compared for the 37 months prior to the intervention and 37 months following the intervention. Conservative time series estimates that controlled for prior trends in the data and examined the logged-crime incidents in the target community (in order to compress the skewed nature of the count data) indicated that violent crimes declined an average of 7.3 percent following the intervention, property offenses declined 9.1 percent (though this decline was not statistically significant when controlling for other trend influences), and drug and nuisance offenses declined roughly 5.5 percent between the pre and post intervention period, controlling for important trend influence factors. Perhaps most importantly, the decline in the trend in violent crime and in drug and nuisance offenses was marginally statistically significant (p < .10) meaning the observed post-intervention reduction was very unlikely to have been produced by chance. In future analyses these trends will be tested with comparison locations and similar analyses will be conducted in the other DMI intervention sites in High Point. The results of this analysis are consistent with the impressions of HPPD officials as well as residents of the affected neighborhood, the DMI intervention in the West End appears to have had a significant impact on the level of violent, drug, and nuisance offenses. When coupled with the results of a recent assessment of a similar intervention in Rockford, Illinois that was modeled on the High Point experience, these results suggest the DMI is a highly promising intervention for addressing the problem of illegal drug markets and deserves further implementation and evaluation. Details: East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University, School of Criminal Justice, 2010. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Project Safe Neighborhoods Case Study #12; Accessed August 23, 2010 at: http://www1.cj.msu.edu/~outreach/psn/DMI/HighPointMSUEvaluationPSN12.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www1.cj.msu.edu/~outreach/psn/DMI/HighPointMSUEvaluationPSN12.pdf Shelf Number: 119670 Keywords: Drug MarketsDrug OffendersNuisance Behaviors and DisordersPulling Levers StrategyViolenceViolent Crime |
Author: Frabutt, James M. Title: A Collaborative Approach to Eliminating Street Drug Markets through Focused Deterrence Summary: The purpose of this project was to conduct a process and outcome analysis of the street drug market elimination strategy. Two main goals were addressed by the evaluation. The first goal was to model and describe the elements, developmental stages, and operational steps of the street-drug intervention. The second goal was to measure the impact of the strategy across several levels: a) key stakeholder percepton of roles and impact; b) resident perception of impact; c) observable neighborhood changes; and d) crime impact. The report presents an overview of the intervention sites and the methodology, findings, and subsequent discussion of the data sources utilized. Details: Unpublished report to the U.S. National Institute of Justice, 2009. 72p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 23, 2010 at: http://www1.cj.msu.edu/~outreach/psn/DMI/HighPointEvaluation.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www1.cj.msu.edu/~outreach/psn/DMI/HighPointEvaluation.pdf Shelf Number: 119671 Keywords: Drug EnforcementDrug MarketsDrug OffendersDrugs |
Author: Galenianos, Manolis Title: A Search-Theoretic Model of the Retail Market for Illicit Drugs Summary: A search-theoretic model of the retail market for illegal drugs is developed. Trade occurs in bilateral, potentially long-lived matches between sellers and buyers. Buyers incur search costs when experimenting with a new seller. Moral hazard is present because buyers learn purity only after a trade is made. The model produces testable implications regarding the distribution of purity offered in equilibrium, and the duration of the relationships between buyers and sellers. These predictions are consistent with available data. The effectiveness of different enforcement strategies is evaluated, including some novel ones which leverage the moral hazard present in the market. Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2009. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: NBER Working Paper Series; Working Paper 14980: Accessed September 14, 2010 at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w14980 Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w14980 Shelf Number: 119803 Keywords: Drug MarketsIllegal Drugs |
Author: Fry, Craig Title: Benzodiazepine and Pharmaceutical Opioid Misuse and their Relationship to Crime: An Examination of Illicit Prescription Drug Markets in Melbourne, Hobart and Darwin. National Overview Report Summary: This National Overview Report presents a review of the literature, an overview of study methodology, key findings and jurisdiction-specific discussion points. It should be read in conjunction with each of the companion Jurisdiction Reports for Melbourne (Smith et al. 2004), Hobart (Bruno, 2004) and Darwin (O’Reilly et al. 2004), which contain detailed data content, and discussion of the findings and issues of local relevance to those study sites. This report avoids duplication of the data content of each Jurisdiction Report, in preference for summary and discussion of the main important findings and themes that have emerged from this comprehensive study. Specifically, the report focuses upon: • Salient issues that have emerged from the review of relevant national and international literature (current knowledge and gaps in the literature); • Comparison of key findings across study sites (descriptive and explanatory/statistical comparisons concerning market characteristics, diversion and links to crime); and • Discussion of the implications of these findings for law enforcement and health services (including implications for front line workers, options for intervention within the market, and future directions). Details: Hobart, Tasmania: National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund, 2007. 214p. Source: Internet Resource: Monograph Series No. 21: Accessed October 6, 2010 at: http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/pub/Monograph_21.pdf Year: 2007 Country: Australia URL: http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/pub/Monograph_21.pdf Shelf Number: 119864 Keywords: Drug Abuse and CrimeDrug MarketsIllicit DrugsOpiatesPrescription Drug Abuse |
Author: Moraes de Castro, Anderson Title: Drug Control and Its Consequences in Rio de Janeiro Summary: Although Rio de Janeiro (Rio) has not been the capital of Brazil since the 1960s, it is a beautiful city known internationally for its fireworks show on New Year's Eve on Copacabana beach and its carnival parades in the Sambadrome. The local violence associated with police repression and illicit drugs - known as Rio's urban war - is also known well beyond Brazil's national borders. This article presents the challenges of responding to the illicit drug market and its associated violence in Rio, highlighting the characteristics and dynamics of the markets, the impacts of the current drug policy approach adopted by the State of Rio on the scale of the illicit market, and its implications for the human rights and security of affected populations, in particular for the slum dwellers. Details: London: International Drug Policy Consortium, 2010. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: IDPC Briefing Paper: Accessed December 1, 2010 at: http://www.idpc.net/sites/default/files/library/IDPC%20Briefing%20Paper%20Violence%20in%20Rio.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Brazil URL: http://www.idpc.net/sites/default/files/library/IDPC%20Briefing%20Paper%20Violence%20in%20Rio.pdf Shelf Number: 120332 Keywords: Drug MarketsDrug PolicyDrug ViolenceDrugs (Rio de Janeiro)Violent Crime |
Author: Freisthler, Bridget Title: Social Mechanisms of Child Maltreatment Summary: This article begins to describe and explicate the specific mechanisms by which substance use and the substance use environment contribute to specific types of child maltreatment. These mechanisms relating alcohol outlet densities and drug market activities to child maltreatment described here include effects on social disorganization, parent's drinking and drug use behaviors, and parental supervision. By investigating potential mechanisms, new information could be obtained on the importance and role of alcohol, drugs, and their availability in the etiology of child maltreatment. This knowledge can be used to further tailor interventions to those conditions most likely to prevent and reduce maltreatment. Details: Los Angeles: California Center for Population Research, University of California - Los Angeles, 2010. 41p. Source: Internet Resource: PSP-CCPR-2010-018: Accessed December 3, 2010 at: http://papers.ccpr.ucla.edu/papers/PWP-CCPR-2010-018/PWP-CCPR-2010-018.SocMech Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ccpr.ucla.edu/papers/PWP-CCPR-2010-018/PWP-CCPR-2010-018.SocMech Shelf Number: 120369 Keywords: Alcohol Outlet DensityChild Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentDrug MarketsDrug UseSubstance Abuse |
Author: Freisthler, Bridget Title: The Geography of Drug Market Activities and Child Maltreatment Summary: The purpose of this study is to begin to understand how the drug market activities place children at risk for being abused or neglect by examining both the temporal and spatial patterns of drug market activities over time. Data were collected for 95 Census tracts in Sacramento, California over seven years (n = 665). The study examined the relationship between child maltreatment (as measured by referrals, substantiations, and foster care entries) and drug possessions and drug sales. Data were analyzed using Bayesian space-time models. The study found that referrals for child maltreatment investigations were less likely to occur in places where current drug market activity (as measured by drug possessions and drug sales) were present. However, drug sales and past year local and spatially lagged drugs sales were positively related to referrals. After the investigative phase (i.e., referrals) Census tracts with more drug possessions and drug sales had higher numbers of substantiations and those tracts with more possessions also had more entries into foster care. The temporal delay between drug sales and child maltreatment referrals may: (1) indicate that the surveillance systems designed to protect children may not be very responsive to changing neighborhood conditions or (2) be indicative of the time it takes for drug sales to reach their users and for the detrimental effects of the drug use to appear. Drug activity is likely factored into the overall risk to children by child welfare caseworkers as evidenced by significantly higher substantiations and foster care entries in these areas. Details: Los Angeles: California Center for Population Research, University of California - Los Angeles, 2010. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: PWP-CCPR-2010-016: Accessed December 3, 2010 at: http://papers.ccpr.ucla.edu/papers/PWP-CCPR-2010-016/PWP-CCPR-2010-016.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ccpr.ucla.edu/papers/PWP-CCPR-2010-016/PWP-CCPR-2010-016.pdf Shelf Number: 120380 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentDrug MarketsDrug Offenders |
Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Global SMART Programme Title: Myanmar: Situation assessment on Amphetamine-Type Stimulants Summary: The Situation Assessment provides a consolidated review of the ATS (Amphetamine-Type Stimulants) situation in Myanmar and the current developments with regard to the illicit manufacturing, trafficking and use of ATS in the country. The Situation Assessment also shows that the impact of methamphetamine and other amphetamine‐type stimulants trafficked from Myanmar extends not only to the immediate neighbouring countries but also to other countries in East and South‐East Asia. Seizures of methamphetamine pills tripled in 2009 – with most seizures being made in China, Thailand, Myanmar and Lao PDR. The increase in seizures has been most pronounced in China and Myanmar itself. But this phenomenon affects most of the countries in the Greater Mekong subregion to some degree, and methamphetamine pills sourced to Myanmar have been reportedly seized even in Oceania. Continuing insecurity and renewed hostilities during the past two years between the government and the ceasefire groups appear to be connected with the observed increase in illicit drug manufacture and trafficking both within and out of the country – primarily from the Shan State of Myanmar. In 2009, the total seizures of methamphetamine pills in Myanmar, Thailand and China amounted to more than 93 million – a rapid three‐fold rise from the approximate 32 million pills seized in 2008. With more than 66 million methamphetamine pills seized in Thailand and Lao People’s Democratic Republic already this year, there is a strong likelihood that total seizures in the region for 2010 will reach, if not surpass, the total seizures recorded in 2009. There are indications that the methamphetamine problem in Myanmar is becoming more severe. In 2009, large seizures of high purity crystalline methamphetamine were made in Myanmar. Authorities in both Myanmar and Thailand confirm that the manufacture of crystalline methamphetamine is now occurring in the Golden Triangle. Although most of the crystalline methamphetamine seized in Myanmar was destined for international markets, the domestic demand for methamphetamine pills in the country continues to grow. Meanwhile, drug‐dependence treatment in Myanmar is under‐resourced and there are no treatment facilities specifically focusing on ATS dependency. The Situation Assessment however notes the need for laws and policies conducive to dealing with synthetic drugs – as opposed to opiates – and the lack of sufficient information‐sharing between relevant agencies, the lack of consolidated information and focused research on ATS use, impede adequate progress. Details: Bangkok: Global SMART Programme, UNODC, 3020. 45p. Source: Internet Resoruce: Accessed December 22, 2010 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/eastasiaandpacific//2010/12/ops-myanmar-ats/Myanmar_ATS_Report_2010_lowres.pdf Year: 3020 Country: Asia URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/eastasiaandpacific//2010/12/ops-myanmar-ats/Myanmar_ATS_Report_2010_lowres.pdf Shelf Number: 120586 Keywords: Drug MarketsDrug TraffickingMethamphetamines (Myanmar) |
Author: Hubschle, Annette, compiler Title: Organised Crime in Southern Africa: First Annual Review Summary: In 2005 representatives of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and the Secretariat of the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (SARPCCO) discussed the lack of reliable information and research on organised crime and how it impacted on law enforcement in southern Africa. The lack of credible homegrown research data ultimately led to the conceptualisation of a joint research project between the Cape Town-based ISS Organised Crime and Money Laundering Programme and SARPCCO. The Enhancing Regional Responses Against Organised Crime (EROC) Project commenced in January 2008 and concludes in December 2010. The objectives of the research are to: Provide in-depth information on contemporary organised criminal activities in the sub-region to policy and decision makers; Analyse the transnational dynamics of organised criminal groups and networks; Determine whether, and to what extent, links exist between organised crime and terrorism; Consider and document the role that corruption plays in organised crime; and Evaluate the capacity and effectiveness of law enforcement agencies in the sub-region to overcome organised crime. This report comprises the research findings of the first year of data collection (2008) for the EROC project. It is the first of three such reports that will be published by the ISS in collaboration with SARPCCO. It looks at selected organised criminal activities and observed levels of prevalence in 12 southern African countries. Research questions, methodologies, limitations and ethical considerations are discussed in detail. Due to the lack of statistical and quantitative data, the report relies mostly on qualitative methodologies. Representatives of law enforcement agencies, government departments and para-statals, civil society, business and professional associations, academics, prisoners, former gang members and members of the broader communities whose lives have been affected by organised crime, were consulted in one-on-one interviews, focus groups, observations and workshops. A team of field researchers led by a research coordinator collected the data presented and analysed in this report. The research was informed by a working definition of organised crime which was jointly developed by the heads of criminal investigation departments in southern Africa and the research team. The report shows that the more serious forms of crime in terms of the monetary value involved or the potential harm they cause have a transnational dimension, both in terms of being committed by people of varying nationalities and in terms of affecting more than one country. It has been established that organised crime in most countries is underpinned by corruption, which is either a facilitating activity or an organised criminal activity in its own right. The geo-political and economic environments of individual countries amplifies the significance of specific criminal activities, the commonest forms of which have been identified as stock theft, theft/hijacking of motor vehicles, cultivation of marijuana and a broad spectrum of economic crimes. Further, the research has shown that although economic crimes may not be as prevalent as other forms of crime, statistically their impact on the society and the economy are far reaching. Furthermore, the effectiveness of law enforcement against organised crime has been put in the spotlight. Details: Pretoria, South Africa: Institute for Security Studies, 2010. 101p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 11, 2011 at: http://www.iss.co.za/uploads/OrgCrimeReviewDec2010.pdf Year: 2010 Country: South Africa URL: http://www.iss.co.za/uploads/OrgCrimeReviewDec2010.pdf Shelf Number: 120675 Keywords: CorruptionCounterfeit GoodsDrug MarketsFinancial CrimesHuman TraffickingMoney LaunderingOffenses Against the EnvironmentOrganized Crime (South Africa)PoachingSmugglingStolen Motor VehiclesWildlife Crime |
Author: Mejia, Daniel Title: Cocaine Production and trafficking: What Do We Know? Summary: The main purpose of this paper is to summarize the information currently available on cocaine production and trafficking. The paper starts by describing the available data on cocaine production and trade, the collection methodologies (if available) used by different sources, the main biases in the data, and the accuracy of different data sources. Next, it states some of the key empirical questions and hypotheses regarding cocaine production and trade and takes a first look at how well the data match these hypotheses. The paper states some of the main puzzles in the cocaine market and studies some of the possible explanations. These puzzles and empirical questions should guide future research on the key determinants of illicit drug production and trafficking. Finally, the paper studies the different policies that producer countries have adopted to fight against cocaine production and the role consumer countries play in the implementation of anti-drug policies. Details: Washington, DC: The World Bank, Development Research Group, Macroeconomics and Growth Team, 2008. 62p. Source: Internet Resource: Policy Research Working Paper 4618: Accessed February 9, 2011 at: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2008/05/13/000158349_20080513084308/Rendered/PDF/wps4618.pdf Year: 2008 Country: International URL: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2008/05/13/000158349_20080513084308/Rendered/PDF/wps4618.pdf Shelf Number: 120727 Keywords: CocaineDrug Control PoliciesDrug MarketsDrug Trafficking |
Author: Corsaro, Nicholas Title: The Peoria Pulling Levers Drug Market Intervention: A Review of Program Process, Changes in Perception, and Crime Impact Summary: The Peoria Drug Market Intervention (DMI) program was intended to alleviate the disproportionately high crime rates found within a high-risk, disadvantaged, and chronically violent geographic area. Officials within the city decided to implement a focused deterrence strategy that relied upon the use of target identification, investigation, and arrest sweeps followed with an offender notification session that occurred within the target neighborhood. At the core of the strategy was the enhanced prosecution of identified offenders combined with an attempt to bridge partnerships between local law enforcement and residents of the target area. Increased prosecution was designed to incapacitate chronic and violent offenders as well as to communicate a credible deterrent threat to potential replacement law violators. The public meeting (i.e., notification session) was used to publicize the increased risk of sanctions that potential replacement offenders would face if the drug markets re-emerged. This study used a variety of methodological and analytical approaches to examine the following: • The fidelity of program implementation through the use of a detailed process assessment. • The change in officially reported violent, property, and drug related offenses as well as calls for police service trends by relying upon interrupted time series analyses. • Peoria residents’ perceptions of crime after the implementation of the strategy, awareness of the DMI program, and changes in police-community partnerships through the use of phone surveys that captured information from residents living in the target area, a control area, and the remainder of Peoria (for comparison purposes). • The use of in-depth resident interviews to capture detailed information regarding the dynamics of neighborhood conditions, drug markets, and perceived police activity. A synthesis of study results indicated that Peoria police and public officials were consistent with the fidelity of the focused deterrence framework throughout the duration of the initiative. Study results clearly indicated, however, that crime and calls for service within the target area remained relatively stable between pre- and post-intervention periods. In addition, the vast majority of target area residents that were interviewed appeared somewhat unfamiliar with the tenets and purpose of the intervention program, indicating a shortfall in the intended police-community partnership. In-depth resident interviews suggested that residents were seriously concerned with replacement offending, displacement, retaliation, and neighborhood stigmatization if they cooperated with police. We drew upon research from organizational and social disorganization theories to highlight the key themes, implications, and potential limitations of the Peoria focused deterrence strategy. Details: Chicago: Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, 2011. 72p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 11, 2011 at: http://www.icjia.state.il.us/public/pdf/ResearchReports/PeoriaPullingLeversDrugMarketIntervention_Report_March_2011.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.icjia.state.il.us/public/pdf/ResearchReports/PeoriaPullingLeversDrugMarketIntervention_Report_March_2011.pdf Shelf Number: 121307 Keywords: Drug EnforcementDrug MarketsDrug OffensesFocused Deterrence (Illinois)Neighborhoods and CrimePolice-Community PartnershipsProsecutionPulling Levers Strategy |
Author: Jacobs, Keith Title: Making Sense of Partnerships: A Study of Police and Housing Department Collaboration for Tackling Drug and Related Problems on Public Housing Estates Summary: In recent years, interdepartmental partnerships within the public sector have been heralded as effective instruments for addressing complex social problems. For example, it is claimed that they can motivate staff and facilitate innovative practices that lead to improvements in service delivery. However, though partnerships are widely promoted as a panacea within the sector, there is a paucity of research that has looked at them from a critical perspective or examined how they operate in practice. The aim of this project is to explore the realities of partnership working by focusing on collaboration between the police and housing departments to tackle problems associated with illicit drug activity and anti-social behaviour (ASB) on three Australian public housing estates. The rationale for the project is that, though only a small minority of tenants are perpetrators, their actions can seriously blight the lives of their neighbours. Usually it is the housing department that responds to complaints relating to ASB but, in the more serious cases that are deemed criminal, the police also perform a role. Three locations were chosen as case studies. East Devonport in Tasmania and Girrawheen in Western Australia are areas with a large public housing stock. In East Devonport ASB and illicit drug activities are seen as nascent problems while in Girrawheen these problems are viewed as more pervasive, but to date there has been only limited collaboration between the police and housing departments. Collingwood in Victoria includes a large system-built housing estate that has become a location for the buying and selling of drugs. In Collingwood, police and housing departments have, for many years, worked on a series of partnership projects to address the problem and to enhance community wellbeing. The empirical component of the project entailed two stages. The first stage initiated meetings between the police and housing departments in order for them to agree to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on partnership protocols. The second stage reported on existing and new activities undertaken by both departments over a twelve month period. The research methods entailed participant observation, secondary data collection and qualitative interviews with key personnel. The findings from the case studies are structured around three thematic areas: setting up partnerships, the benefits of partnerships, and the obstacles that can impact on partnership working. Details: Hobart, Tasmania: National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund, 2007. 69p. Source: Internet Resource: Monograph Series No. 26: Accessed April 11, 2011 at: http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/pub/Monograph_26.pdf Year: 2007 Country: Australia URL: http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/pub/Monograph_26.pdf Shelf Number: 121312 Keywords: Antisocial BehaviorDrug Abuse and CrimeDrug EnforcementDrug MarketsPolice PartnershipsPublic Housing |
Author: Nicholas, Roger Title: The Impact of Social Networks and Not-for-Profit Illicit Drug Dealing on Illicit Drug Markets in Australia Summary: This paper focuses on some of the dynamics at play in the lowest level of illicit drug retailing in Australia. It is not the purpose of this paper to fully document the functioning of these illicit drug markets. Rather, the aim is to point out some changes that appear to have occurred in the markets in recent years and to highlight some potential gaps in the knowledge base of the law enforcement sector concerning the functioning of these markets. The trafficking and retail sale of illicit drugs is, by definition, an illegal activity. The structure of illicit drug markets is often conceptualised as pyramidal, with a relatively small number of importers or producers of drugs at the top who sell their drugs to intermediaries, who on-sell them in ever decreasing quantities (perhaps involving some cutting of the drugs) until ultimately the drugs are sold at the retail level to consumers. The extent to which the supply pyramids are taller or flatter, and have longer or shorter supply chains, probably varies between different drugs and depends upon the modus operandi of the individuals and organisations involved in this trade. Some drugs such as cocaine, for example, appear to have very short, flat supply chains. Given that the supply of illicit drugs is illegal and can attract severe sanctions, it is reasonable to assume that, for the trade to occur,, there needs to be some combination of three factors present. The first of these is some form of motivation which, in the view of the offender, outweighs the severity of the sanctions which are likely to be imposed in the event of being apprehended for this offence. The second condition is a perception that the likelihood of being apprehended is such that the risk of involvement in the activities is considered reasonable. The third is a perception that the trafficking behaviour has become normalised and is not seen as criminal activity at all, or at least not an action with serious consequences. The most obvious motivation for trafficking and selling drugs is financial gain. This is clearly an important motivation for a large proportion of the (particularly upper level) supply chain. The major focus of this paper is the extent to which this profit motivation applies equally to all levels of the retail drug markets and to all drugs. Specifically, what is at issue are the motivations and dynamics that sit behind the transactions that occur at the lowest or retail level of the supply chain of illicit drugs in Australia. Without a good understanding of the motivations and modus operandi of all levels of the supply chain, it is very difficult for the law enforcement sector to effectively target its efforts. Details: Hobart, Tasmania: National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund, 2008. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Discussion Paper: Accessed April 12, 2011 at: http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/pub/The%20impact%20of%20social%20networks.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Australia URL: http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/pub/The%20impact%20of%20social%20networks.pdf Shelf Number: 121316 Keywords: Drug EnforcementDrug MarketsDrug TraffickingIllicit Drugs (Australia)Social Networks |
Author: Australian Crime Commission Title: Organised Crime in Australia 2011 Summary: The Organised Crime in Australia 2011 report is the third and largest report of its kind that the Australian Crime Commission has produced since 2008. The latest edition provides the most comprehensive unclassified profile of organised crime in Australia, including the characteristics of those involved, what drives them, the activities they are involved in and the extent and impact of organised crime. Most organised criminal activities in Australia are focused on illicit drug markets, although organised crime groups also engage in a wide variety of associated criminal activity including tax evasion, money laundering, fraud, identity crime and high tech crime. The impact of organised crime in Australia is serious and far exceeds the direct harm caused by the specific offences. In fact, the activities of high-threat serious and organised criminal enterprises result in significant harm to the Australian community. There are significant losses to the economy, including the redirection of resources that might otherwise be invested in legitimate business, reductions in tax revenue and increasing costs of law enforcement and regulation. The widespread impact extends to costs associated with longer-term health and social harm. The activities of organised criminal enterprises can also undermine public confidence in the integrity of key business sectors and government institutions. Details: Canberra: Australian Crime Commission, 2011. 103p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 21, 2011 at: http://www.crimecommission.gov.au/publications/oca/_files/2011/oca2011.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Australia URL: http://www.crimecommission.gov.au/publications/oca/_files/2011/oca2011.pdf Shelf Number: 121465 Keywords: Drug MarketsDrug TraffickingFraudIdentity TheftMoney LaunderingOrganized Crime (Australia)Tax Evasion |
Author: Birdwell, Jonathan Title: Taking Drugs Seriously: A Demos and UK Drug Policy Commission Report on Legal Highs Summary: Since first coming to public prominence at the end of 2009, legal highs have posed a major challenge to existing legal and legislative structures designed to deal with drugs. With the market in manufactured psychoactive substances like mephedrone moving faster than public policy can accommodate, this report asks whether the assumptions enshrined in the 40-year-old Misuse of Drugs Act are still valid when applied 21st century drugs market. Bringing together stakeholders from across all areas involved in drugs policy - including frontline practitioners such as medical professionals, youth workers and law enforcement - Taking Drugs Seriously brings bold, innovative responses to an area too often dominated by stale rhetoric. The report points a way forward for public policy, taking account of the opportunities for new thinking presented by the challenges of the modern drugs market. Details: London: Demos, 2011. 155p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 19, 2011 at: http://www.demos.co.uk/files/Taking_Drugs_Seriously_-_web.pdf?1305207826 Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.demos.co.uk/files/Taking_Drugs_Seriously_-_web.pdf?1305207826 Shelf Number: 121748 Keywords: Drug Abuse Policy (U.K.)Drug ControlDrug MarketsDrug PolicyDrug ReformDrugs |
Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Studies and Threat Analysis Section Title: The Transatlantic Cocaine Market Summary: Key Findings of this report include: Global demand for cocaine has shifted. Demand in the United States was more than four times as high as in Europe in 1998, but just over a decade later, the volume and value of the West and Central European cocaine market (US$33 billion) is approaching parity with that of the US (US$37 billion). Two thirds of European cocaine users live in just three countries: the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy. With Germany and France, these countries represent 80% of European cocaine consumption. European cocaine seizures increased rapidly between 1998 and 2006, peaking at some 121 tons. They have dropped off sharply since then, to some 53 tons in 2009, while at most, European demand has stabilized. There have been increases in seizures in South America, but the price of pure cocaine has not increased greatly in Europe, suggesting that traffickers have found new ways of evading law enforcement. In the last decade, most (about 60%) of the cocaine seized was taken at sea or in ports. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela was the most prominent country of origin for direct cocaine shipments to Europe, with the cocaine coming mainly from Colombia. It appears that most of Europe’s cocaine enters by sea, primarily via Spain. Nearly half the cocaine seized in Europe was taken by Spanish authorities, two-thirds of which was detected in international waters and 11% in containers. Excluding what is imported for local consumption, it is estimated that about 21 tons of cocaine were trafficked from West Africa to Europe in 2009. This is down sharply from two years before, when the total could have been as high as 47 tons. Much of the trafficking to West Africa used to be carried out by large ‘mother ships’ that unloaded the drugs on to smaller, local vessels off the West African coasts. Today, large maritime shipments have virtually disappeared, suggesting that traffickers have changed their tactics. There is evidence of shipments in large commercial aircraft purchased second-hand by traffickers for this purpose. There are also indications that containerized shipping is being utilized, but very few of these shipments have been detected. Most of the recently reported seizures of cocaine from container consignments from South America to West Africa had Nigeria or Ghana as their destination. Most of these containers originated in Peru or the Plurinational State of Bolivia. Commercial air flights used to be the most common vector for trafficking cocaine from West Africa to West and Central Europe (97% of seizure cases over the last decade, or 58% of all cocaine seized). But the number of detections have declined drastically in recent years, suggesting again that traffickers have changed their tactics. There appears to be some trafficking of cocaine from West Africa to Europe across the Sahara to countries in northern Africa, although very few seizures have been made. There is some evidence of use of the traditional cannabis resin trafficking routes from Morocco to Spain. Although it appears that Colombian organized crime groups still dominate trafficking of cocaine to Europe, domestic markets are often in the hands of traffickers of other nationalities. In addition to the health consequences of cocaine use, the impact of cocaine trafficking includes drug-funded violence, political instability and corruption in many areas. In line with the principle of shared responsibility and a balanced approach to the drug problem, the expansion of the cocaine market across the Atlantic and, more recently, in South America, highlights the importance of developing strategies on the scale of the cocaine threat. Efforts must be increasingly coordinated and integrated into an international approach that adapts to new developments as quickly as the traffickers. There are many reasons to be optimistic about the capacity of the international community to achieve a significant reduction of the global cocaine market during the present decade. Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2011. 66p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 15, 2011 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/Studies/Transatlantic_cocaine_market.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/Studies/Transatlantic_cocaine_market.pdf Shelf Number: 122077 Keywords: CocaineDrug MarketsDrug TraffickingOrganized CrimeTransnational Crime |
Author: Kelleher, Cathy Title: An Overview of New Psychoactive Substances and the Outlets Supplying Them Summary: This report represents the outcome of a review of new psychoactive substances within the Irish context, including a review of the outlets that supply these substances. The review was commissioned by the National Advisory Committee on Drugs (NACD) in accordance with Action 14 of the National Drugs Strategy (interim) 2009–2016. Action 14 provides for the monitoring of ‘head shops’ and other outlets for the sale of psychoactive substances, under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 and the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Regulations 2007. Researchers at the Centre for Social and Educational Research (CSER) within the School of Social Sciences and Law at Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), and at the School of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences (DIT), conducted the review between May and August 2010. The proliferation of head shops and online retailers has facilitated the emergence of a range of new psychoactive substances in Ireland. Such outlets have supplied products containing powerful synthetic substances that mimic the common illegal stimulants cocaine, ecstasy and amphetamine; they have also supplied synthetic cannabinoids designed to serve as cannabis substitutes. Often these substances are ‘research chemicals’, with no medicinal value, and where there is little existing knowledge in relation to their safety or toxicity. The location of head shops in prominent areas has highlighted their existence, and has fuelled concerns relating to their unknown potential for causing harm. The ‘head shop phenomenon’ has received unprecedented attention from the general public and the media, while the dynamic nature of the phenomenon has led to demands for a swift and comprehensive response from legislators. In response to the ‘phenomenon’, the Government introduced legal measures, including the control of BZP (March 2009) and the control of mephedrone (May 2010). Also in May 2010, the Government made an Order under the Misuse of Drugs Acts 1977 and 1984 controlling a broad range of new psychoactive substances, including benzylpiperazine derivatives, synthetic cannabinoids and a number of named cathinones. In August 2010, the Criminal Justice (Psychoactive Substances) Act 2010 came into operation, making it an offence to sell, import, export or advertise psychoactive substances. This move coincided with a sharp decrease in the number of head shops which had been open for business and a significant decrease in the availability of new psychoactive substances in the few shops remaining open. This review represents the aggregation of available knowledge on new psychoactive substances within the Irish context, and empirical research aimed at providing new insights into this complex phenomenon. Specifically, the review sought to assess the availability and accessibility of new psychoactive substances in retail outlets throughout Ireland and online, and to identify and describe the products, and where possible, their specific contents. A range of new psychoactive substances was acquired and was subjected to Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) chemical analysis in order to identify active constituents. The availability of reference standards for the analysis of new psychoactive substances was also determined. Alongside the analyses, published data in relation to new psychoactive substances and their effects were reviewed and an online survey of users of head shop products or ‘legal highs’ (as they are commonly known) was conducted in order to gain insights into patterns of use and reported effects. To further explore the use and effects of these substances, semi-structured interviews were conducted with both ‘recreational’ users and ‘problem’ drug users. Based on available information and data gathered, a number of risks associated with the use of new psychoactive substances were identified. Harm-reduction measures to minimise risk to users were considered in light of existing advice for users of cannabis and stimulant drugs. Finally, measures taken in other jurisdictions to restrict psychoactive substances were examined. Details: Dublin: National Advisory Committee on Drugs, 2011. 176p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 15, 2011 at: http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/15390/2/NACDoverview3B217396d01.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Ireland URL: http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/15390/2/NACDoverview3B217396d01.pdf Shelf Number: 122078 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug MarketsDrug Policy (Ireland)Psychoactive Drugs |
Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Laboratory and Scientific Section Title: Amphetamines and Ecstasy: 2011 Global ATS Assessment Summary: Amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) are firmly established on global illicit drug markets and their use continues to exceed that of opiates or cocaine. While the number of people who have used ATS at least once in the last 12 months has stabilized at the global level, increases have occurred in parts of the world that previously had only very small ATS-related problems. The widespread use of ATS is a result of their attractiveness to users: they seem to appeal to the needs of today’s societies and have become part of what is perceived to be a modern and dynamic lifestyle; in some segments of society, they continue to be used frequently for occupational purposes. It is also a result of a market potential with continuously high profits and low risks that maintain their attractiveness to criminal groups around the world. Since the last global ATS assessment was published in 2008,1 there have been several new developments. The report provides evidence for these developments since 2008, with a special focus on subregional patterns and trends, and highlights the challenges ahead. Details: Vienna: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2011. 124p. Source: Internet Resource: Global SMART Programme: Accessed September 11, 2011 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/ATS/ATS_Global_Assessment_2011.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/ATS/ATS_Global_Assessment_2011.pdf Shelf Number: 122738 Keywords: AmphetaminesDrug Abuse and AddictionDrug MarketsEcstasyIllegal Drugs |
Author: Wendel, Travis Title: Dynamics of Methamphetamine Markets in New York City: Final Technical Report to the National Institute of Justice Summary: Using Respondent Driven Sampling, this study piloted an innovative research design mixing qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, and social network analysis, that addresses a gap in information on retail methamphetamine markets and the role of illicit drug markets in consumption. Based on a sample of 132 methamphetamine users, buyers and sellers in New York City (NYC), findings describe a bifurcated market defined by differences in sexual identity, drug use behaviors, social network characteristics, and drug market behaviors. The larger sub-market is a closed market related to a sexual network of men who have sex with men (MSM) where methamphetamine (referred to as “tina”) is used as a sex drug. The smaller submarket is a less-closed market not denominated by sexual identity where methamphetamine (referred to as “crank,” “speed,” or “crystal meth”) overlaps with powder and crack cocaine markets. Participants in the MSM submarket viewed “tina” as very different from cocaine, due to what they characterized as the drug’s intense sexual effects, whereas participants in the smaller non-sexual-identity-denominated submarket saw “crystal meth” as a cost-effective alternative to cocaine. While majorities of participants in all subpopulations studied reported that their use of methamphetamine primarily centered on sex, almost all (91%) MSM reported this. Many MSM reported that their sexuality had become indistinguishable from their drug use. MSM had denser patterns of social network ties and many more sex partners than other subpopulations. MSM market participants reported higher prices for the drug, which may be an indication that they are accessing purer forms of methamphetamine. Participants were more willing to discuss accessing or purchasing methamphetamine than they were to discuss providing or selling the drug, although all indications are that most market participants do both. Compared with the sometimes highly organized markets that have existed for other illegal drugs (e.g., heroin, cocaine, marijuana), retail methamphetamine markets have remained, by contrast, relatively primitive in their social and technical organization, and distinct patterns of drug use emerged as an outcome of interactions between drug providers and members of their social networks. In this case, those with less structurally advantageous positions within the network must depend on better-positioned network contacts to supply them with methamphetamine. Findings from the study indicate that the most striking characteristic of the methamphetamine market in New York City is the extent of the secondary market. Study data suggests this large secondary market has developed because of “bottlenecks” in the chain of distribution, which may be the outcome of the inconsistent supply of methamphetamine available in New York City. Participants reported essentially no violence in connection with methamphetamine markets in NYC. Participants have a lifetime total of 13 methamphetamine possession arrests for the sample of 132; none has ever been arrested for methamphetamine distribution. Study findings may be useful to practitioners, policy-makers and researchers in fields including law enforcement, criminal justice, and public health and substance abuse treatment. Details: New York: John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 2011. 268p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 20, 2011 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/236122.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/236122.pdf Shelf Number: 123063 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug Law EnforcementDrug MarketsDrug OffendersIllegal DrugsMethamphetamine (New York City) |
Author: Burke, Cynthia Title: 2010 Adult Arrestee Drug Use in the San Diego Region Summary: This SANDAG CJ Bulletin is one in a series1 highlighting findings from data collected as part of the Substance Abuse Monitoring (SAM) program. Since 2004, when federal funding for the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program was suspended, San Diego has been the only site to continue this project uninterrupted. With funding from SANDAG’s Criminal Justice Clearinghouse, these data have been reported on an annual basis, providing useful information to policy makers, as well as law enforcement, prevention, and treatment professionals regarding drug use trends over time. In 2010, this data collection effort was generously supported by the California Border Alliance Group (CBAG), County of San Diego Alcohol and Drug Services (ADS), the District Attorney’s Office, and the Public Safety Group. Their support, as well as the cooperation of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, is gratefully acknowledged. As part of this project, arrestees are approached (using a random sampling method) within 48 hours of their arrest and booking into jail. If the arrestee is available and willing to participate in a confidential survey, s/he is asked a series of questions related to her/his drug use history and to provide a urine sample for drug testing. In 2010, 563 male arrestees were selected to be interviewed at the Vista and Central Jails and 269 female arrestees were selected at Las Colinas. Of these 832 arrestees, 802 completed the interview and also provided a valid urine sample for analysis. This research bulletin includes updated information regarding self-reported drug use, the results of urinalysis trends since 2000, factors related to drug use, drug market dynamics, prior justice system contact, participation in other risky behaviors, and prior receipt of drug and/or mental health treatment. Details: San Diego, CA: SANDAG, Criminal Justice Research Division, 2011. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: CJ Bulletin: Accessed January 19, 2012 at: http://www.sandag.org/uploads/publicationid/publicationid_1621_13749.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.sandag.org/uploads/publicationid/publicationid_1621_13749.pdf Shelf Number: 123664 Keywords: Drug Abuse and Addition (San Diego)Drug Abuse and CrimeDrug MarketsUrinalysis |
Author: DuPée, Matthew C. Title: The Narcotics Emirate of Afghanistan: Armed Polities and Their Roles in Illicit Drug Production and Conflict 1980-2010 Summary: The production of illicit narcotics in low-intensity conflict environments remains a serious concern for U.S. policymakers. Afghanistan is a solid example where the intersection of crime, narcotics production and insurgency has successfully thwarted U.S. stabilization and security efforts despite a 10-year military engagement there. This study seeks to examine the role of crime better, particularly narcotics related criminal enterprise, and its effect on the Taliban-led insurgency in Afghanistan. This study explores political, economic and conflict related factors that facilitate the narcotics industry and forges cooperation between drug trafficking organizations and insurgent movements. A key argument of this study is that nontraditional participants in narcotics production, such as insurgent groups or state representatives and institutions, acquire more than just profit and resources. Participants stand to gain political leverage, the social and political legitimacy derived from “protecting” the livelihoods of rural farmers, as well as “freedom of action;” the ability to operate unimpeded within a given territory or space because of public support. This study also suggests that one additional factor, social control, is a key motivator for an actor’s participation in the narcotics industry. Details: Monterey, CA: Naval Postgraduate School, 2010. 143p. Source: Thesis, Naval Postgraduate School: Internet Resource: Accessed February 12, 2012 at http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ada536901.pdf&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Afghanistan URL: http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ada536901.pdf&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf Shelf Number: 124110 Keywords: Drug MarketsDrug TraffickingNarcotics (Afghanistan) (Pakistan)OpiatesOrganized CrimeTaliban |
Author: Bouchard, Martin Title: Estimation of the Size of the Illicit Methamphetamine and MDMA Markets in Canada: A Discussion Paper on Potential Methods and Data Sources Summary: Ever since their relatively recent appearance as drugs of choice among the Canadian population, methamphetamine (meth) and 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine (MDMA or ecstasy) hydrochloride have been the object of concern for public health and law enforcement agencies. The concern with meth and ecstasy are based on two main issues: (i) the highly addictive nature of these drugs paired with serious health consequences for users (especially for meth), (ii) the identification of Canadian offenders as major players in meth/ecstasy production and exportation. Although various reports suggest that both issues deserve immediate consideration from policy makers and researchers, there is a lack of data on the most basic (yet crucial) issue – the size of the markets. The purpose of this report is to re-examine the scientific and grey literature on current methods of estimating the size of illegal markets, with an emphasis on the meth/MDMA markets. The first part of this paper reviews the current data available from various surveys on the prevalence of Amphetamine-Type Stimulants (ATS) and MDMA use in Canada. The second section of the report examines recent innovations in the area, with a special emphasis on two families of methods: (i) multiplier methods, which derive an estimate of the population based on a rate of occurrence of an event in the population of interest (e.g. number of overdoses per ATS user); and (ii) capture-recapture methods, which infer the number of users, dealers or producers never arrested based on the patterns of arrests and re-arrests over a fixed time period. The third part of the paper turns to the data requirements for applying these methods to the Canadian meth and ecstasy markets, with an emphasis on estimating the scale of ATS production. Details: Ottawa: Organized Crime Division, Law Enforcement and Policy Branch, Public Safety Canada, 2010. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Report No. 003, 2010: Accessed February 27, 2012 at: http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2012/sp-ps/PS4-90-2010-eng.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Canada URL: http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2012/sp-ps/PS4-90-2010-eng.pdf Shelf Number: 124279 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug MarketsDrug OffendersMethamphetamine (Canada) |
Author: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction Title: A Definition of 'Drug Mules' for Use in a European Context Summary: The trafficking of drugs and, in particular, the use of human carriers (often called ‘drug mules’) remains a relatively hidden phenomenon, on which limited information is available. This latest EMCDDA Thematic paper explores whether a common definition of ‘drug mules’ can be developed in the European context and assesses the implications of this for data gathering and future research. The paper has its roots in a questionnaire launched by the EMCDDA in 2010 to test a proposed conceptual framework of drug couriers. Taking part in the survey were experienced professionals, academics and practitioners from a variety of countries, legal traditions and law-enforcement practices. Drug mules are reported to be transporting all of the major illicit drug types through Europe and making full use of all European transport routes. This paper draws a number of conclusions and recommendations for further investigation into drug markets and related responses. Details: Lisbon: EMCDDA, 2012 46p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 2, 2012 at: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_150421_EN_EMCDDA_ThematicPapers_DrugMules.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Europe URL: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_150421_EN_EMCDDA_ThematicPapers_DrugMules.pdf Shelf Number: 124787 Keywords: Drug MarketsDrug Mules (Europe)Drug Trafficking |
Author: Tanner, Murray Scot Title: China Confronts Afghan Drugs: Law Enforcement Views of “The Golden Crescent” Summary: The rising flow of illegal drugs from the “Golden Crescent” region—Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran—into western China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) has caused increasing concern to Chinese law enforcement officials and analysts. This study seeks to strengthen understanding of Chinese law enforcement perceptions of the Golden Crescent drug problem by making use of previously underexploited Chinese law enforcement publications. Key Findings • Chinese law enforcement officials and analysts now see Golden Crescent trafficking as a major and rapidly growing threat to society. This view reflects a major shift from China’s earlier exclusive focus on the “Golden Triangle” region drug threat. • Chinese law enforcement analysts blame the rise in Golden Crescent drug smuggling on the increase in foreign supply rather than Chinese demand. These analyses tend to understate Chinese domestic problems, such as police corruption, ethnic tensions, and rising drug prices and demand, which may have made China a more attractive drug shipping route. • Chinese analyses of popular Golden Crescent smuggling routes emphasize highway, air, and rail routes through Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan. If correct, these analyses indicate that these four important security partners of Beijing may be failing to prevent trafficking into China across their territory. • The Chinese law enforcement writings reviewed indicate that China has serious weaknesses in its counternarcotics intelligence capabilities and is anxious to overcome them. Problems include meager clandestine intelligence on Asian drug networks, weak data on trafficking by ethnic separatists, and poor intelligence networking and sharing across jurisdictions. • Increasingly sophisticated trafficker techniques coupled with greater linguistic diversity among traffickers are frustrating Chinese law enforcement officials, who find these traffickers more difficult to investigate, detect, and interrogate. • Even though law enforcement analysts confidently assert a significant link between terrorism and drug trafficking, sources reviewed for this study provide very little solid evidence that the two are connected. Details: Alexandria, VA: CNA Analysis & Solutions, 2011. 39p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 17, 2012 at: http://www.cna.org/sites/default/files/research/China%20Confronts%20Afghan%20Drugs...%20D0024793.A1_1.pdf Year: 2011 Country: China URL: http://www.cna.org/sites/default/files/research/China%20Confronts%20Afghan%20Drugs...%20D0024793.A1_1.pdf Shelf Number: 125635 Keywords: Drug MarketsDrug TraffickingDrug Trafficking ControlIllegal Drugs (China and Afghanistan) |
Author: Maftei, Loredana Title: Illegal Drug Markets in Europe: The Negative Consequences of Globalization Summary: Globalizing processes have profoundly shaped the European drugs situation. The illegal drug markets have reached to evolve and to transform all the advantages of this phenomenon, in their favor. Based on globalization aspects, the paper purpose is to present the main characteristics of illicit drugs market within European countries, from the last years. Furthermore the article is focused on the analysis of theoretical and empirical drugs literature, especially on the current reports and studies of EMCDDA and UNODC, which indicated certain drug sectors. Due to its richness, position and high demand of illegal drugs, Europe is viewed by criminal organizations as a transit area for heroin, cocaine, cannabis and synthetic drugs, and a big customer which continued to sustain this profitable enterprise, over the last decades. Regarding the drug problem, the governance needs to be reframed and to take account of economical, social and moral character. The simple connection of illegal drug markets with globalization, gives the originality note of the paper, which leads to some important new insights for future research and policy. Details: Romania: Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași,, 2012. 13p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 19, 2012 at: http://www.cse.uaic.ro/WorkingPapers/articles/CESWP2012_IV2_MAF.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Europe URL: http://www.cse.uaic.ro/WorkingPapers/articles/CESWP2012_IV2_MAF.pdf Shelf Number: 125685 Keywords: CannabisCocaineDrug MarketsDrug TraffickingHeroinIllegal Drugs (Europe) |
Author: Golub, Andrew Title: Monitoring Drug Epidemics and the Markets that Sustain Them Using ADAM II Final Technical Report Summary: Effective law enforcement, drug abuse and related social policies and initiatives depend on the timely availability of information and its interpretation. This study examined trends in use of five widely abused drugs among arrestees at ten geographically diverse locations from 2000 to 2010: Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Denver, Indianapolis, Manhattan, Minneapolis, Portland OR, Sacramento, and Washington DC. The data came from the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program reintroduced in 2007 (ADAM II) and its predecessor the ADAM program. ADAM data are particularly valuable because they include urinalysis results that provide an objective measure of recent drug use; they provide location specific estimates over time; and, they include sample weights that yield unbiased estimates for each location. Arrestees are often at the forefront of drug use trends. Moreover, this population is of central concern to law enforcement and related agencies. The ADAM data were analyzed according to a drug epidemics framework, which has been previously employed to understand the decline of the crack epidemic, the growth of marijuana use in the 1990s, and the persistence of heroin use. Similar to other diffusion of innovation processes, drug epidemics tend to follow a natural course passing through four distinct phases: incubation, expansion, plateau, and decline. The study also searched for changes in drug markets over the course of a drug epidemic. A variety of exploratory analyses strongly suggest that there is no simple relationship between the nature of individuals’ drug market purchases and the broader course of drug epidemics. As of 2010, the Marijuana Epidemic was in its plateau phase across the country. In contrast, by 2010 the Crack Epidemic had been in decline for some time at most locations. The timing of the decline phase varied substantially across locations. The decline started as early as 1990 in Manhattan and Washington DC and as late as 2003 in Indianapolis. As of 2010, the Crack Epidemic was still in the plateau phase in Sacramento. Powder cocaine use was only substantial at 5 of the 10 ADAM II locations. The Powder Cocaine Epidemic entered a decline early in the 2000s at two eastern locations (Charlotte and Manhattan) and closer to 2010 at two western locations (Denver and Portland OR). In Atlanta, the recent Powder Cocaine Epidemic was either still in plateau or had just entered the decline phase. Heroin use was limited to four locations and was in decline at three of the four (Chicago, Manhattan and Washington DC). Heroin use appears to be endemic to Portland OR; use is not widespread but appears to be embedded within a small population that continues to attract new young users. Methamphetamine use was substantial at two West Coast locations. Of note, the data strongly indicate that the Methamphetamine Epidemics in Portland OR and Sacramento entered the decline phase during the 2000s. The primary limitation to this analysis is that it focused exclusively on male arrestees from the 10 urban locations included in the ADAM II Program. The trends identified do not necessarily parallel the trends in the general population. Additionally, there may be variations in drug use across gender not detectable with ADAM data. The ADAM II locations provide geographic diversity but the program does not include any rural locations. Details: Final Report to the U.S. National Institute of Justice, 2012. 85p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 23, 2012 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/239906.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/239906.pdf Shelf Number: 126946 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug MarketsDrug OffendersDrugs Abuse and Crime (U.S.) |
Author: Ritter, Alison Title: Evaluating Drug Law Enforcement Interventions Directed Towards Methamphetamine in Australia Summary: Methamphetamine belongs in the class of stimulant drugs referred to as Amphetamine Type Stimulants (ATS). The category of ATS includes ecstasy, amphetamine and methamphetamine. This research project concerned itself with the amphetamine and methamphetamine class and excluded ecstasy (and henceforth we use the generic term methamphetamine). In Australia, methamphetamine is available in three forms—powder, base and crystal. Methamphetamine is associated with significant harms and is an important drug policy priority. The National Amphetamine-Type Stimulants Strategy (2008–2011) (Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy, 2008) articulates the following priority areas in relation to methamphetamine: • improve community awareness and understanding of amphetamine-type stimulant use and related problems; • reduce the supply of amphetamine-type stimulants; • develop specific strategies to prevent and reduce amphetamine type stimulant use; and • develop organisational and system capacity to prevent and respond to amphetamine-type stimulant problems This research concerns the second priority area—reducing the supply of methamphetamine. The specific aims of the research were twofold: • to provide a rich description of the Australian methamphetamine supply chains in order to inform drug law enforcement interventions; and • to conduct an initial economic evaluation comparing law enforcement interventions directed at the methamphetamine market. The work focused on the methamphetamine market(s) and supply chains in Australia above the retail level. Previous research (eg McKetin, McLaren, & Kelly, 2005) has examined retail methamphetamine markets in Australia. Governments and policymakers are interested in determining which interventions are more or less effective than others, such that the scarce funding resources can be allocated in the most efficient manner possible. There is scant research available to law enforcement to guide such decisions. The main impediments to such research are the fundamental methodological challenges inherent in such an undertaking. This project is an attempt to conduct a preliminary analysis comparing the costs and impacts of different types of law enforcement. It is a ground-breaking study as this has not been previously attempted and it should be seen as the initial development of a methodological approach that can be improved upon with subsequent research. The project aimed to determine the relative cost-to-impact ratios of different law enforcement strategies aimed at reducing methamphetamine production and distribution. In an environment focused on efficiency in resource allocation, it is hoped that this research will provide the impetus for further research on the effectiveness of drug law enforcement. As the results of such research accumulate, it is hoped that policymakers will be able to use the information to improve decision making on law enforcement investment. As with all research, this study has limitations, which we hope will be addressed in future research. The economic results should be read with these limitations in mind. • This study assessed the difference between four drug law enforcement interventions in terms of the impact (value of seized drugs) against expenditure (government costs). It is not a cost-effectiveness or a cost– benefit study. The results are reported in terms of the ranking of the interventions against each other. This study does not allow one to draw conclusions about the overall efficiency or value for money represented by drug law enforcement. Future research, which builds on this work, could include a cost-effectiveness analysis, between drug law enforcement interventions and across drug law enforcement and other interventions which reduce methamphetamine use (such as drug treatment). • In this evaluation, the measure of policing impact was the monetary value of seized methamphetamine (or precursor). This is an imperfect impact measure. Drug law enforcement that results in seized product can also impact on the overall capacity of a criminal network. • This study used the value of seized drugs as the measure to compare law enforcement interventions. However, drug law enforcement may change other financial aspects for drug criminals, such as increase the costs of manufacture and distribution (by seizing assets), increase the risks of arrest and imprisonment (opportunity costs) and increase the operational costs of running a business (costs of new avoidance strategies adopted against drug law enforcement). The aggregate costs are the losses to illicit drug enterprises due to drug law enforcement activities. A comprehensive analysis would include each of these aspects and calculate ‘total loss’ due to drug law enforcement. However, in this preliminary work, we were not able to cost each of these components and hence used only replacement costs (seizures) to represent the loss. • There are other important impacts of drug law enforcement interventions—deterrence, public safety and public amenity, and disruptions on other crimes that criminal networks are engaged in that have not been included in this study; future research could adopt the broader, taxpayer (societal) perspective, rather than policing agency perspective. • In this study, we evaluate the relative impact of discrete law enforcement interventions. However, in reality, law enforcement interventions are likely to exert synergistic effects such that the combined impact of a suite of interventions is likely to be greater than the sum of the impact of individual interventions. Thus, an important caveat to our results relates to the cumulative impact of law enforcement interventions. The current project did not examine the impact of cumulative or multi-pronged interventions. • There is a substantial lack of data across many areas of illicit drug markets. We had difficulty obtaining methamphetamine price data, information about market structure, police agency budgets and detailed seizure data. Some of these data, such as information about markets, involves ethnographic research. For quantitative data, consideration should be given to the development of data collection systems which would facilitate illicit drug market and law enforcement effectiveness research (eg collection of data which connects price and purity of seizures). • Our study did not include the relative impact of precursor regulations and the enforcement of these regulations, nor did it include source country interventions conducted by Australian law enforcement. There is currently very little empirical evidence to guide policy decisions about drug enforcement interventions directed to methamphetamine. In fact, the paucity of research on the effectiveness of law enforcement across all illicit drugs ‘continues to pose a major barrier to applying these policies effectively’ (Babor, et al., 2010 p. 258.) Decisions about which methamphetamine supply control policy to fund, which policies should receive increased funding, or how to derive the most effective balance of priorities, are currently uninformed by the results of research. There is a clear and pressing need for further research that examines the effectiveness of law enforcement interventions directed at methamphetamine. The current study aims to begin to fill this gap. Details: Canberra: National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund, 2012. 133p. Source: Internet Resource: Monograph Series No. 44: Accessed November 24, 2012 at: http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/pub/Monograph_44.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Australia URL: http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/pub/Monograph_44.pdf Shelf Number: 126990 Keywords: AmphetaminesDrug Abuse and CrimeDrug EnforcementDrug MarketsDrug OffendersDrug TreatmentIllegal DrugsMethamphetamine (Australia) |
Author: Kennedy, David M. Title: The High Point Drug Market Intervention Strategy Summary: Drug markets are the scourge of too many communities in the United States. They destroy neighborhoods, a sense of community, and the quality of life. They contribute to crime, shootings, prostitution, assaults, robbery, and have a negative effect on local businesses and on business and residential property values. Police sweeps, buy-bust operations, warrant service, and the arrests and jailing of drug dealers have not eliminated the problem. The drug dealers return, new dealers come into the neighborhood, and the drug markets are quickly back in business. Exasperated by the problem, the High Point (North Carolina) Police Department tried a different tactic and, to the surprise of many, succeeded in eliminating the notorious West End drug market. Creating swift and certain consequences by “banking” existing drug cases; addressing racial conflict between communities and law enforcement, setting strong community and family standards against dealing; involving dealers’ family members, and offering education, job training, job placement, and other social services, the police department was able to close the drug market. Buoyed by this success, the police also were able to close three other drug markets in the city using the same tactics. After studying the successes in High Point, other cities across the country have used similar strategies with similar levels of success. The High Point strategy does not solve the drug problem, but by eliminating street drug markets, we can reduce crime, reduce racial conflict, reduce incarceration, build a sense of camaraderie among residents, and turn some dealers’ lives around. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing, 2012. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 4, 2012 at: http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/files/RIC/publications/e08097226-HighPoint.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/files/RIC/publications/e08097226-HighPoint.pdf Shelf Number: 127117 Keywords: Drug MarketsDrug OffendersNuisance Behaviors and DisordersPulling Levers StrategyViolenceViolent Crime |
Author: Fries, Arthur Title: The Price and Purity of Illicit Drugs: 1981-2007 Summary: Through the years, policymakers and researchers have constructed estimates of the price and purity of illicit drugs as a means to monitor the status of drug markets and to gauge the effectiveness of efforts to cope with the illegal drug problem. Notwithstanding the acknowledged challenges that confront the meaningful collection, analysis, and interpretation of data on illicit drugs, it is widely recognized that price and purity affect actual drug use and consumption, and that estimates of price and purity can shed light on the workings of drug markets as well as provide insights on the utility of counter-drug policies, initiatives, and specific intervention events. This document, the Results Report, updates estimates of the price and purity of five specific illicit drugs published by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in 2004: powder cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, d-methamphetamine, and marijuana. The time period spanned by the present analyses is 1981 through 2007, adding 18 quarters to the period covered in the preceding report. All estimates were derived from records in the System To Retrieve Information from Drug Evidence (STRIDE) database maintained by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and furnished to IDA by ONDCP. STRIDE data records, totaling more than a million in number, are based on seizures and undercover purchases of illicit drugs. No other database encompasses as much spatial and temporal data on the price and purity of illicit drugs. As directed by ONDCP, the estimation methodology for generating the price and purity time series given in this current Results Report is essentially identical to the formal econometric modeling approach used in the 2004 study. We provide descriptions of that “Expected Purity Hypothesis (EPH)” modeling construct in Chapter I of this Results Report as well as in Chapter II of the accompanying Technical Report. The STRIDE database reduces down to about 163,000 records for estimating prices of our subject illicit drugs – with respective proportions being 31 percent for powder cocaine, 35 percent for crack cocaine, 20 percent for heroin, 10 percent for d-methamphetamine, and 3 percent for marijuana. Given the thousands of parameters that the EPH methodology estimates for constructing a single time line of estimates for any drug, the STRIDE data content is considered to be sparse for marijuana and d-methamphetamine, and limited for heroin (due to the inherent variability of those data). Our initial execution of the EPH modeling methods replicated the data count totals, estimates, figures, and tables presented in the 2004 ONDCP Results Report and Technical Report. We then incorporated a few modest software modifications, and executed the revised code to generate the price and purity estimates published in the present report. These updates to the previous results can be viewed as a continuation of those provided in 2004. Although the new results are not always numerically identical to past counterparts (e.g., prices for all years in this report are expressed in terms of constant 2007 dollars and zero purity observations are discarded for all drugs but marijuana), they generally are very similar and past major trends and features were reproduced. In Section A, we report national quarterly EPH estimates for each illicit drug for three or four quantity levels, and, where sufficient data exist, for sets of selected major cities. For powder cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, and d-methamphetamine, all estimated prices reflect adjustments to account for customers’ perceptions of expected purities; i.e., we report estimated price per expected pure gram (sometimes shortened to estimated adjusted price). The lack of purity data for marijuana limits estimation to purchase prices only; i.e., we report estimated price per bulk gram. With the exception of some supplementary purity analyses that incorporate STRIDE records from seizures, all of the price and purity estimates were based exclusively on STRIDE purchase transactions. Section B follows with a discussion of the roles and utilities of specific methodological approaches for constructing price and purity time series from STRIDE data – including the EPH modeling construct (that generated the results presented in Section A) and alternative analytical techniques. Possible future methodological enhancements and research topics also are addressed. Details: Alexandria, VA: Institute for Defense Analyses, 2008. 166p. Source: Internet Resource: ICA Paper P-4369: Accessed February 22, 2013 at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/policy-and-research/bullet_1.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/policy-and-research/bullet_1.pdf Shelf Number: 127701 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug MarketsIllegal Drugs (U.S.) |
Author: Weisheit, Ralph A. Title: Methamphetamine and Violence in Illinois Summary: Methamphetamine has spread eastward from Hawaii and California to other parts of the country, including the Midwest. Despite aggressive efforts by state and federal governments the problem persists and has been particularly visible in rural areas of the Midwest. Responding to the problem has been made more difficult because social science research on methamphetamine lags, even though the number of recent methamphetamine users is about the same as the number of recent crack cocaine users – a group that has been extensively studied (SAMHSA, 2006). Beyond a lack of basic information about methamphetamines in rural areas there is a need for research on the association between methamphetamine and violence. Public perceptions notwithstanding, there is very little empirically based knowledge about the association between methamphetamine and violence. This study was designed to fill gaps in knowledge about the problem. The general purpose and goals of the project were as follows: General Purpose -- The general purpose of this study was to generate a better understanding of factors associated with methamphetamine use and methamphetamine-related violence in Illinois. Goals -- There were several inter-related goals for the project: 1. Provide a description of the epidemiology of methamphetamine use and of methamphetamine-related violence, across counties of different sizes in Illinois, with a particular emphasis on use and violence in rural areas. 2. Gain an understanding of the connection between methamphetamine and violence in rural areas, including violence associated with both use and methamphetamine markets. 3. Develop policy recommendations to respond to the methamphetamine problem. Details: Chicago: Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, 2012. 76p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 22, 2013 at: http://www.icjia.state.il.us/public/pdf/ResearchReports/METHAMPHETAMINE%20AND%20VIOLENCE%20IN%20ILLINOIS%20062009.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.icjia.state.il.us/public/pdf/ResearchReports/METHAMPHETAMINE%20AND%20VIOLENCE%20IN%20ILLINOIS%20062009.pdf Shelf Number: 127703 Keywords: Drug MarketsDrug Use and AbuseDrugs and CrimeDrugs and ViolenceMethamphetamine (Illinois, U.S.)Rural Areas |
Author: U.S. Department of Justice. National Drug Intelligence Center Title: Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program. Drug Market Analysis 2011 Summary: The overall drug threat to the Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands (PR/USVI) High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) has remained relatively consistent over the past year. Drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) transport multikilogram quantities of cocaine and South American (SA) heroin through the PR/USVI HIDTA region en route to drug markets in the continental United States (CONUS). While most of the cocaine and heroin arriving in the region is further transported to the CONUS for distribution, a portion remains in the HIDTA region for local distribution and consumption. As a result, cocaine trafficking and heroin abuse are the principal drug threats to the PR/USVI HIDTA region. In addition, cannabis cultivation and the subsequent distribution and abuse of marijuana pose serious threats to the region. Murders and incidents of violence linked to cocaine trafficking have increased in Puerto Rico over the past year, resulting in widespread fear among the general population because of the often indiscriminate nature of the violence. Key issues identified in the PR/USVI HIDTA region include the following: • Colombian and Venezuelan DTOs have shifted some of their cocaine air transportation routes from the Dominican Republic to the eastern Caribbean in the vicinity of the British Virgin Islands and the USVI.1 • Cocaine continues to pose the greatest drug threat to the region because of the continued high level of trafficking in the PR/USVI HIDTA region. • The number of murders and other violent incidents linked to cocaine trafficking increased in Puerto Rico during the past year. • Heroin abuse is prevalent in Puerto Rico, with high rates of bacterial and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections occurring among heroin abusers, who typically inject the drug. • The PR/USVI HIDTA region is a major bulk cash movement center for drug traffickers operating in the region and the CONUS. Details: Johnstown, PA: National Drug Intelligence Center, 2011. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 5, 2013 at: http://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/dmas/PR-VI_DMA-2011(U).pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/dmas/PR-VI_DMA-2011(U).pdf Shelf Number: 127827 Keywords: Drug MarketsDrug Trafficking (Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands)Drug-Related ViolenceIllicit DrugsOrganized Crime |
Author: Count the Costs Title: The War on Drugs: Wasting billions and undermining economies Summary: Whilst accurate figures are hard to come by, global spending on drug law enforcement certainly exceeds $100 billion each year. Given current economic conditions it is more important than ever that spending is effective and not a waste of taxpayer money. However, the huge investments in enforcement have consistently delivered the opposite of their stated goals—to reduce drug production, supply and use. Instead they have created a vast criminal market. This in turn has substantial social and economic costs, through crime and ill health, far exceeding even the billions in enforcement spending. There are huge opportunity costs to wasteful expenditure on this scale. As drug enforcement budgets continue to grow, other areas are being starved of funds, and cuts in government budgets are hitting public services and support for the needy. Despite the appalling track record of failure, the level of value-for-money scrutiny applied to drug enforcement spending has been almost zero, at both national and international levels. At a time of global economic crisis, after literally trillions wasted over the last half-century, it is time to meaningfully count the real economic costs of the war on drugs. Details: London: Transform Drug Policy Foundation, 2012. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed march 8, 2013 at: http://www.countthecosts.org/sites/default/files/Economics-briefing.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://www.countthecosts.org/sites/default/files/Economics-briefing.pdf Shelf Number: 127899 Keywords: Drug Law EnforcementDrug MarketsDrug PolicyDrug Use and AbuseEconomics of CrimeOrganized CrimeWar on Drugs |
Author: Armenta, Amira Title: The Illicit Drugs Market in the Colombian Agrarian Context: Why the issue of illicit cultivation is highly relevant to the peace process Summary: The repeated appearance of coca producing zones is related to the unequal distribution of wealth in Colombia, and to the dynamic of land concentration which continues expelling peasants who migrate to new settlement areas. Colombia must re-examine and fix the existing relationship between policies of force and alternative development programmes, and should decide whether eradication is still a valid prior condition for alternative development. Institutional mechanisms of participation should be created for communities and integrated with local and regional development processes. Colombia needs to establish limits to its agricultural frontier. The cost-benefits of alternative development investment in remote areas are poor, because infrastructure is bad and services are basic. Consequently, it would be advisable to discourage settlement in those areas, which usually have fragile ecosystems suitable for preservation. The Land Restitution Law makes restitution claims difficult for poor displaced families. A genuine and fair restitution policy would constitute one important step in consolidating a future peace. Details: Amsterdam: Transnational Institute, 2013. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Drug Policy Briefing Nr. 40: Accessed March 8, 2013 at: http://www.tni.org/sites/www.tni.org/files/download/brief40_0.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Colombia URL: http://www.tni.org/sites/www.tni.org/files/download/brief40_0.pdf Shelf Number: 127904 Keywords: Drug Law EnforcementDrug MarketsDrug PolicyDrug Use and Abuse (Colombia)Illicit Drugs |
Author: U.S. Department of Justice, National Drug Intelligence Center, National Gang Intelligence Center Title: Eastern Pennsylvania Drug and Gang Threat Assessment 2011 Summary: The influence of New York area (New York City and northern New Jersey) drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) and gangs reaches nearly every sizable drug market in eastern Pennsylvania. a Dominican DTOs and gangs are the most active of these groups, and their influence within the region is increasing except in select drug markets where Mexican DTOs are dominant and growing. In Philadelphia and Reading, for instance, the influence of Dominican DTOs has diminished since 2008, when Mexican DTOs emerged as the principal wholesale drug distributors, supplying hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and heroin each year to eastern Pennsylvania drug markets. Drug-related violence, committed primarily by criminal groups against other criminals, is increasing in several eastern Pennsylvania communities even as overall violent crime rates are decreasing throughout the region. Emerging trends in the region include the following: • New York area gangs—previously significant but ad hoc suppliers of drugs to eastern Pennsylvania—are becoming increasingly organized, entrenched, and dominant in many eastern Pennsylvania drug markets. • Cocaine and heroin trafficking have represented the greatest drug-related law enforcement and healthcare challenges to communities in eastern Pennsylvania for many years. However, heroin trafficking has increased sharply in recent years, emerging as the single greatest drug threat to the region. • Heroin abuse among adolescents is increasing in eastern Pennsylvania, in part because some adolescent prescription opioid abusers are transitioning to heroin. • Dominican DTOs and gangs—the most prolific drug distributors in eastern Pennsylvania— are strengthening their operations in Hazleton, a strategic location where they are dominating and expanding drug distribution. • Mexican DTOs are the dominant wholesale cocaine distributors in Philadelphia and Reading drug markets. They are increasingly transporting wholesale shipments of cocaine from the Southwest Border to Philadelphia and Reading, contributing to strong and stable cocaine availability in those drug markets. • Rival gangs and organized thieves are more frequently engaging in home invasions, ransom kidnappings, and organized thefts from drug dealers in many eastern Pennsylvania drug markets. • Coatesville, Harrisburg, Lancaster, and Lebanon have experienced an increase in organized and deliberate drug-related violence perpetrated by street gangs and independent robbery crews that target other criminals, particularly drug dealers in possession of cash. Details: Johnstown, PA: National Drug Intelligence Center, 2011. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 26, 2013 at: http://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs44/44229/44229p.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs44/44229/44229p.pdf Shelf Number: 128143 Keywords: Drug Abuse and CrimeDrug MarketsDrug Trafficking (U.S.)Gangs and Drug ViolenceOrganized Crime |
Author: Stevens, Alex Title: Applying Harm Reduction Principles to the Policing of Retail Drug Markets Summary: The policing of drug markets is usually conceptualised primarily as a matter of law enforcement – drug dealers and people who use drugs (PWUDs) are breaking the law, and the role of the police is to reduce such law breaking. However, the wider purpose of policing is to ensure the safety of the community by reducing harms to its members. This report examines the interaction between law enforcement and harm reduction in the policing of retail level drug markets. Key Points: • The level of harm is more important than the size of the market. • Visible, open air drug markets tend to be more harmful per unit of use than hidden, closed drug markets • Policing tactics that are not experienced by the community as being fair, lawful and effective will harm police legitimacy and community relations. • Some enforcement-led approaches, including short-term crackdowns and large scale stop and search, are unlikely to produce sustainable reductions in drug sales. They may increase levels of violence and health harms and reduce police legitimacy. • It is rarely possible to eliminate retail drug markets, but well designed and implemented policing tactics can force the drug market to take less harmful forms. • Applying harm reduction principles to drug policing may boost police legitimacy as well as community safety. • Focused deterrence and ‘pulling levers’ may reduce both harm and crime, but this depends on the context and on careful implementation and evaluation. Details: London: International Drug Policy Consortium, 2013. 15p. Source: Internet Resource: Modernising Drug Law Enforcement Report 3: Accessed April 6, 2013 at: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/64663568/library/MDLE-report_3_applying-harm-reduction-to-policing-of-retail-markets.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/64663568/library/MDLE-report_3_applying-harm-reduction-to-policing-of-retail-markets.pdf Shelf Number: 128303 Keywords: Drug Abuse and CrimeDrug EnforcementDrug MarketsDrug OffendersDrug Policy |
Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Global SMART Programme Title: The Challenge of New Psychoactive Substances Summary: UNODC launched the Global Synthetics Monitoring: Analyses, Reporting and Trends (SMART) Programme in September 2008. The Programme seeks to enhance the capacity of Member States and authorities in priority regions, to generate, manage, analyse and report synthetic drug information, and to apply this scientific evidence-based knowledge to design the policies and programmes. The Global SMART Programme is being implemented in a gradual phased manner, with East Asia being the first focus priority region. Operations in Latin America started in 2011. This report is the first global situation assessment on new psychoactive substances put forward under the Global SMART Programme and pursuant to Commission on Narcotic Drugs Resolution 55/1 on “Promoting international cooperation in responding to the challenges posed by new psychoactive substances”, which requested the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to provide an update to its 2011 report entitled “Synthetic cannabinoids in herbal products”, addressing a wider range of new psychoactive substances, in addition to synthetic cannabinoids, and to take into consideration the creation of a compilation of new psychoactive substances encountered by Member States, to serve as an early warning advisory. It constitutes the first step in providing consolidated up to-date analysis, based primarily on the information shared by Member States and the International Collaborative Exercise network of drug analysis laboratories. It is hoped that the information on new psychoactive substances presented in this report will make a practical contribution to addressing the significant threat posed by the manufacture, trafficking and use of these substances throughout the world, and place policymakers in a better position to evaluate the drug situation, and to make informed decisions on intervention and prevention strategies. This report provides an overview of the situation throughout the world. It outlines the emergence of different groups of new psychoactive substances in the regions and highlights several key issues associated with these substances, including reported adverse effects associated with their use, the challenges for the identification of these substances and their subsequent control through legislation. While the information presented points towards increasing efforts by the countries to address the NPS problem, it also highlights the need for continued and joint efforts, both at the national as well as regional levels. It is hoped that this report will contribute to a better understanding of the NPS problem and in developing effective strategies to address it. Details: Vienna: Laboratory and Scientific Section United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2013. 122p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 16, 2013 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/scientific/NPS_2013_SMART.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/scientific/NPS_2013_SMART.pdf Shelf Number: 128358 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug Control PoliciesDrug MarketsDrug TraffickingPsychoactive Drugs |
Author: Spagens, Toine Title: Decriminalization as Regulation: The Gambling and Cannabis Markets in the Netherlands Summary: Decriminalizing an illegal market may be a useful strategy for reducing crime. It is also necessary, however, to have a clear understanding of the nature of the illegal market before undertaking such an endeavor. Experiences in the Netherlands show that decriminalizing illegal markets may indeed result in a substantial reduction of organized crime and other criminal activities, if the regulatory system is designed adequately. These experiences also show that such systems inherently lack flexibility and that criminals are usually quick to re-enter the market when unforeseen developments, particularly technical innovations and internationalization, create new illegal business opportunities. Details: Tilburg, Netherlands: Tilburg University, 2013. 7p. Source: Internet Resource: Tilburg Law School Research Paper No. 05/2013: Accessed April 17, 2013 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2107654 Year: 2013 Country: Netherlands URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2107654 Shelf Number: 128392 Keywords: Drug LegalizationDrug MarketsGamblingIllegal MarketsMarijuana (Netherlands)Narcotic Drugs |
Author: Organization of American States Title: The Drug Problem in the Americas: Studies. The Economics of Drug Trafficking Summary: Summary and Findings: While estimating the size of global and hemispheric drug markets presents tremendous challenges, evidence suggests that some two thirds of total revenues are earned at the final, retail level in consuming countries. Wholesalers and traffickers through transit countries account for another 20-25 percent of revenues, while just under 1 percent of total retail sales finds its way to drug cultivators in the Andes. In terms of the size of overall drug markets, the most recent UN estimates place total retail sales of illicit drugs at some $320 billion or 0.9 percent of GDP. Other estimates are lower. The UN estimates annual drug revenues in the Americas at $150 billion or just under half the global total, though other estimates are lower. North America currently occupies a dominant share of the hemispheric total, reflecting higher prices as well as higher drug prevalence, though this could change in future years. Cocaine estimates enjoy better consensus, with U.S. sales accounting for some $34 billion out of a global retail cocaine market of about $85 billion. Cocaine estimates for the rest of the hemisphere are a small fraction of this figure, but this could change when revised Brazilian data become available. Estimates of marijuana and methamphetamine revenues suffer particularly high rates of uncertainty. Details: Washington, DC: OAS, 2013. 46p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 25, 2013 at: http://www.cicad.oas.org/main/policy/informeDrogas2013/laEconomicaNarcotrafico_ENG.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://www.cicad.oas.org/main/policy/informeDrogas2013/laEconomicaNarcotrafico_ENG.pdf Shelf Number: 128797 Keywords: Drug MarketsDrug TraffickingEconomics of CrimeIllicit DrugsMoney Laundering |
Author: Seddon, Toby Title: Regulating Global Drug Problems Summary: The problems associated with the global drug trade are amongst the most challenging and intractable of all those facing policy-makers. The global drug prohibition system is widely acknowledged as a costly and counterproductive failure, not only presiding over a massive expansion of the problem but also causing a range of damaging side-effects, notably fuelling organised crime. The need for new thinking has never been more evident. It is argued that current arguments for drug policy reform, whilst highly effective at critiquing prohibition, are nevertheless based on a false understanding of the nature of markets and regulation. This paper sets out an alternative constitutive conception of drug control which not only provides a better basis for challenging prohibition but also a more fruitful framework for developing an alternative approach. It is suggested that the regulation perspective outlined in this paper represents a new paradigm for addressing the challenges presented by global psychoactive commerce in the early twenty-first century. Details: Canberra: Australian National University, Regulatory Institutions Network (RegNet), 2013. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: RegNet Research Paper No. 2013/6 : Accessed June 1, 2013 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2261026 Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2261026 Shelf Number: 128889 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug ControlDrug MarketsDrug PolicyDrug Regulation |
Author: New Jersey Commission of Investigation Title: Scenes from an Epidemic: A Report on the SCI’s Investigation of Prescription Pill and Heroin Abuse Summary: Stopping regularly in downtown Newark, the nondescript minivans drew a select clientele: homeless Medicaid recipients and drug addicts who had been told by flyers and word-of-mouth where to wait for a ride. Ten miles and 15 minutes later, they arrived at a strip mall “medical center” on Main Avenue in neighboring Passaic where a doctor licensed by the State of New Jersey quickly got down to the business of cursory examinations and bogus diagnoses. Then he wrote prescriptions for powerful painkillers, sedatives and cough syrup, which his “patients” could use themselves or sell on the street, their choice. They also left with $10 cash gift cards as thanks for coming in. The bill for it all went to government health insurance, which funneled a fortune in fraudulent Medicaid reimbursements into the bank accounts of the hidden entrepreneurs the doctor fronted for – associates of Russian organized crime. The flagrant and unbridled operation of this pill mill and others like it, the descent of sworn medical professionals into outright drug dealers, the intrusion of organized crime and other criminal elements into lucrative recesses of the health-care industry to feed an epidemic of demand for drugs: These are among the key findings of the State Commission of Investigation’s ongoing probe of illegal trafficking in and abuse of prescription painkillers and other addictive narcotics. Even as law enforcement authorities, public-health officials, social workers, treatment counselors, schools and families redouble their efforts to combat the purveyors and consequences of this predatory scourge, it continues to evolve in ways that few could have imagined when the so-called war on drugs was launched more than four decades ago. Staggering amounts of legitimate medicines manufactured by major pharmaceutical companies and intended for those needing relief from the pain of disease and injury have been diverted into criminal enterprises founded on drug abuse and addiction. What once was a menacing background narrative centered narrowly around subculture-based substances like opium, morphine and heroin has exploded into a mainstream horror story whose first chapter often begins with pill bottles in the average household medicine cabinet. Some medical management companies with names that incorporate benign terms like “pain management” and “wellness” have transformed street-corner drug-dealing into an orderly and seemingly ordinary business endeavor, except for the hidden financial backing from individuals linked to organized crime, the multiple bank accounts for money-laundering, the expert help of corrupt physicians and the shady characters who recruit and deliver customers and provide security. Meanwhile, conventional drug dealers – those tied to criminal street gangs and similar criminal enterprises – exploit legitimate businesses like used car dealerships, clothing outlets, barber shops, bars and liquor stores to cover their illicit retail commerce. They take advantage of advanced computers, communications and social networking technologies to facilitate criminal activities and thwart law enforcement. And they are finding new ways to profit from a market hungry for addictive drugs stretching well beyond New Jersey’s cities and into the outlying affluence of its suburbs and rural communities. On the demand side, witnesses told the Commission during an unprecedented public hearing that, given the shared properties of pain-numbing, high-inducing substances known as opiates and opioids, the widening abuse of prescription pills containing Oxycodone and related chemical ingredients has triggered a new and sustained rise in use of the original opiate of choice – heroin. Indeed, with high-quality heroin readily available on New Jersey streets today at roughly the same price as a pack of cigarettes – cheaper than painkilling pills of similar strength and effect – it should be no great surprise that the road to addiction has evolved fullcircle. And all too often ensnared in this harrowing, potentially lethal cycle – in many instances before they, or their families, even know it or suspect it – are adolescents, teenagers and twenty-somethings, young people on their way to becoming a new lost generation of what used to be called junkies. Also, much of what used to take place “underground” in the drug milieu is now happening in plain sight. With the advent of instantaneous communication technology and suburban demand, a handful of pills or a bag of heroin is only a text message or cell-phone call away as many dealers now deliver product to customers waiting in shopping-mall parking lots. Former suburban high school students told the Commission that the depth of their prescription pill and heroin dependency played out in full view of teachers and other adults who they said did not seem to have a clue or even care when they nodded off and fell asleep in class, day after day. During a three-week surveillance operation at several major intersections in downtown Trenton, Commission investigators observed a bustling open-air drug market daily during morning rush hour within blocks of New Jersey’s Statehouse. Law enforcement authorities are quite familiar with the spiking collateral damage from this disturbing trend: the thefts and violence, the burglaries, armed robberies, pharmacy holdups and worse. Elsewhere on the frontlines, drug treatment facilities are seeing record numbers of admissions for heroin and other opiate/opioid addictions. Details: Trenton: New Jersey Commission of Investigation, 2013. 74p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 13, 2013 at: http://www.nj.gov/sci/pdf/PillsReport.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.nj.gov/sci/pdf/PillsReport.pdf Shelf Number: 129390 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug MarketsDrug TraffickingHeroinOrganized CrimePrescription Drug Abuse (New Jersey, U.S.) |
Author: Jacobi, Liana Title: Marijuana on Main Street: What if? Summary: Illicit drug use is prevalent. While the nature of the market makes it di¢ - cult to determine sales with certainty, estimates are around $150 billion a year in the US. Marijuana is the most common illicit drug used, where the US spends upwards of $7.7 bil- lion per year in law enforcement (Miron, 2005). For the past 30 years there has been a debate regarding marijuana legalization. There are two important avenues through which legalization could impact use: it would make marijuana easier to get, and it would remove the stigma (and cost) associated with illegal behavior. Studies to date have not considered either of these avenues explicitly. However, both are important for policy. We develop and estimate a model of marijuana use that disentangles the impact of limited accessibility from consumption decisions based solely on preferences (and distaste for illegal behavior). We nd that both play an important role and that individuals who have access to the illicit market are of speci c demographics. We nd that selection into who has access to cannabis is not random, and the results suggest estimates of the demand curve will be biased un- less selection is explicitly considered. Counterfactual results indicate that making marijuana legal and removing accessibility barriers would have a smaller relative impact on younger individuals but still a large impact in magnitude. Use among teenagers would (a little less than) double and use among individuals in their thirties and forties would almost triple. Details: Unpublished paper, 2013. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 17, 2013 at: https://economics.adelaide.edu.au/research/seminars/2013-cannabis.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: https://economics.adelaide.edu.au/research/seminars/2013-cannabis.pdf Shelf Number: 129419 Keywords: Drug LegalizationDrug MarketsDrug PolicyIllicit DrugsMarijuana |
Author: Grund, Jean-Paul Title: Coffee Shops and Compromise: Separated Illicit Drug Markets in the Netherlands Summary: Though famous for its coffee shops, where cannabis can be purchased and consumed, the Netherlands has accomplished many enviable public health outcomes through its drug policy. These include low prevalence of HIV among people who use drugs, negligible incidence of heroin use, lower cannabis use among young people than in many stricter countries, and a citizenry that has generally been spared the burden of criminal records for low level, nonviolent drug offenses. Coffee Shops and Compromise: Separated Illicit Drug Markets in the Netherlands tells the history of the Dutch approach and describes the ongoing success of the country’s drug policy. This includes the impact of the Dutch “separation of markets,” which potentially limits people’s exposure and access to harder drugs. Though coffee shops have traditionally commanded the most media attention, the Netherlands also pioneered needle exchange and safer consumption rooms, decriminalized possession of small quantities of drugs, and introduced easy-to-access treatment services. These policies, coupled with groundbreaking harm reduction interventions, have resulted in the near-disappearance of HIV among people who inject drugs and the lowest rate of problem drug use in Europe. Details: New York: Open Society Foundations, 2013. 80p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 5, 2013 at: http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/reports/coffee-shops-and-compromise-separated-illicit-drug-markets-netherlands Year: 2013 Country: Netherlands URL: http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/reports/coffee-shops-and-compromise-separated-illicit-drug-markets-netherlands Shelf Number: 129535 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug MarketsDrug PolicyIllicit Drugs (Netherlands)Marijuana |
Author: Bryan, Mark Title: Licensing and Regulation of the Cannabis Market in England and Wales: Towards a Cost-Benefit Analysis Summary: We agree with David Cameron's observation on drugs policy that "it would be very disturbing if some radical options were not at least looked at". Among the radical options that are often proposed is the creation of a system of licensed cannabis supply subject to taxation and regulation of supply and demand sides of the market. In this study, we consider a hypothetical reform of this kind and identify a long list of possible sources of net social cost and benefit that could result. We attempt to quantify them, using the concept of net external benefit as an evaluation criterion. Net external benefit is the total value in cash-equivalent terms of the costs and benefits that cannabis use imposes on society outside the user him/herself, and it therefore excludes the potential net benefits ('enjoyment') accruing to cannabis users in a reformed market. Our evaluation is consequently conservative in that it contains an inherent bias in favour of the prohibitionist status quo. In our view, it is impossible with available UK evidence to produce a credible estimate of net consumption benefits. Despite the bias this entails, it gives a far more reliable picture of the policy question than the many widely-cited estimates of the "social cost of drug use", which include internal costs (potential harms to drug users) but ignore completely the internal benefits which are the reason that recreational drugs are used in the first place. The estimates underpinning our evaluation should not be seen as predictions of what would happen if such a policy were to be introduced in some future period, since they relate to the market situation as it existed in England and Wales in 2009/10, and they abstract from any transitional adjustments (and any accompanying transitional cost). We have not attempted to extend the evaluation to cover Scotland or Northern Ireland, since most of the data resources available to us cover England and Wales only. In constructing the estimates, we consider a wide range of evidence and the difficulties involved in drawing conclusions from that evidence. We provide simple, largely subjective, quantitative indications of the degree of uncertainty involved in our estimates, some of which should be regarded as illustrative calculations rather than formal estimates. Our aim is not to produce a definitive cost-benefit analysis of a licensed and regulated cannabis market - which we believe to be impossible in the present state of knowledge - but to set out clearly the range of considerations that need to be considered in forming a view about this policy, and to indicate which aspects of the evaluation are likely to be critical to the outcome of a full cost-benefit analysis. Details: London: The Beckley Foundation; Colchester, UK; Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex, 2013. 156p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 11, 2013 at: http://www.beckleyfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/BF-CANNABIS-CBA-REPORT.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.beckleyfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/BF-CANNABIS-CBA-REPORT.pdf Shelf Number: 129956 Keywords: CannabisCost-Benefit AnalysisDrug MarketsDrug Policy (U.K.)Marijuana |
Author: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) Title: Drug Supply Reduction and International Security Policies in the European Union: An Overview Summary: The production and trafficking of illicit drugs poses complex and interlinked problems, which have a negative impact on public health and the security and stability of society. In responding to the dynamics of a globalised drug market, the EU and its partners are involved in actions within and outside the EU. Focusing on actions directed at the EU's internal security situation, this paper elaborates who is involved in setting policy, what legal and funding basis for action has been established, and what the main priorities are. In doing so, the paper looks at the EU institutions (the Parliament, the European Council, the Council and the Commission) and agencies predominately involved in the management of drug supply reduction and internal security issues. The paper explores relevant EU treaties and legislations that provide a means to target the supply of illicit drugs, as well as the financial instruments and programmes supporting this action. Additionally, this paper also discusses how these policy areas are addressed in the EU's strategic planning documents. For example, the Stockholm Programme, the EU internal security strategy, the EU policy cycle for organised and serious international crime and the EU drugs strategy 2013-20 and action plan 2013-16. Details: Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2013. 30p. Source: Internet Resource: EMCDDA Papers: Accessed March 12, 2014 at: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_220676_EN_TDAU13006ENN.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Europe URL: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_220676_EN_TDAU13006ENN.pdf Shelf Number: 131878 Keywords: Drug EnforcementDrug MarketsDrug PolicyDrug TraffickingOrganized Crime |
Author: Applied Research Services, Inc. Title: Georgia Drug Arrest Trends: The Supply-Side Model of Drug Interdiction in Georgia Summary: The present report serves as the preamble to a larger study of Georgia's Multi-jurisdictional Drug Task Forces (MJTF). In this quasi-experimental analysis of MJTF and non-MJTF jurisdictions, we examine arrest and conviction data from the state Computerized Criminal History (CCH) database as well as a number of other sources. One reason for pursuing this longitudinal study first is to ensure this particular period does not present any temporal issues that could confound the analysis. Specifically, Georgia has, along with the rest of the nation, seen significant decreases in crime over the past few years. As this study will report, Georgia's overall arrest rates have plummeted since the 2008 recession. While declining arrest rates are predictable given the drop in reported crime rates, the recession may have had a particular period effect that needs to be taken into consideration during the propensity matching phase of the MJTF study. In essence, this report accomplishes the following as a means of providing a context for the larger study and report: - Introduce the Supply-Side theory of drug interdiction; - Introduce our use of "Criminal Career" methods to study crime trends in Georgia; - Discuss and distinguish between Participation and Frequency as components of crime rates; - Discuss use of CCH data within the context of criminal career methods as a means of testing the effectiveness of Supply-Side approaches; - Discuss falling crime rates as a counterfactual; - Demonstrate the effectiveness of the supply-side approach and the differential effectiveness of the MJTFs by demonstrating: o Increased number of high-level drug arrests (larger quantities, trafficking offenses) in MJTF counties, as compared to non-MJTF counties o Larger decreases in smaller-level offenses (users), especially first-time offenses in MJTF counties, as compared to non-MJTF counties; - Discuss how drug prices have fluctuated in Georgia and the relationship of this fluctuation to drug interdiction methods. Details: Atlanta: Georgia Governor's Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, 2013. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 21, 2014 at: http://cjcc.georgia.gov/sites/cjcc.georgia.gov/files/related_files/site_page/Georgia%20Drug%20Arrest%20Trends_9.30.13.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://cjcc.georgia.gov/sites/cjcc.georgia.gov/files/related_files/site_page/Georgia%20Drug%20Arrest%20Trends_9.30.13.pdf Shelf Number: 132094 Keywords: Drug Abuse and CrimeDrug EnforcementDrug MarketsDrug Offenders |
Author: Kilmer, Beau Title: Before the Grand Opening: Measuring Washington State's Marijuana Market in the Last Year Before Legalized Commercial Sales Summary: In 2012, Washington state voters passed Initiative 502 (I-502), which removed the prohibition on the production, distribution, and possession of marijuana for nonmedical purposes and required the state to regulate and tax a new marijuana industry. Legalization of possession went into effect almost immediately, but the revolutionary aspect of the law - allowing businesses to openly produce and distribute commercial-scale quantities for nonmedical use - is expected to be fully implemented in 2014. Decisionmakers in Washington need baseline information about the amount of marijuana that is currently consumed in the state for many reasons. For example, it is important for making informed decisions about the number of licenses to distribute, to accurately project tax revenues, and to provide a foundation for evaluations of I-502. This report estimates the total weight of marijuana consumed in Washington in 2013 using data from existing household surveys as well as information from a new web-based consumption survey. Although the principal motivation for the study was estimating the size of the market, the report also describes various characteristics of the market, including traits of marijuana users in Washington and how they obtain marijuana. While the Washington Office of Financial Management projected that 85 metric tons (MT) of marijuana would be consumed in the state in 2013, this report suggests that estimate is probably too low, perhaps by a factor of two. There is inevitable uncertainty surrounding estimates of illegal and quasi-illegal activities, so it is better to think in terms of a range of possible sizes, rather than a point estimate. Analyses suggest a range of 135-225 MT, which might loosely be thought of as a 90-percent confidence interval, with a median estimate close to 175 MT. Details: Santa Monica, CA: RAND, Drug Policy Research Center, 2013. 68p. Source: Internet Resource: http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR400/RR466/RAND_RR466.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR400/RR466/RAND_RR466.pdf Shelf Number: 132177 Keywords: Drug LegalizationDrug MarketsDrug Policy ReformMarijuana |
Author: Kramer, Tom Title: Bouncing Back: Relapse in the Golden Triangle Summary: The illicit drug market in the Golden Triangle - Burma, Thailand and Laos - and in neighbouring India and China has undergone profound changes. This report documents those changes in great detail, based on information gathered on the ground in difficult circumstances by a group of dedicated local researchers. After a decade of decline, opium cultivation has doubled again and there has also been a rise in the production and consumption of ATS - especially methamphetamines. Drug control agencies are under constant pressure to apply policies based on the unachievable goal to make the region drug free by 2015. This report argues for drug policy changes towards a focus on health, development, peace building and human rights. Reforms to decriminalise the most vulnerable people involved could make the region's drug policies far more sustainable and cost-effective. Such measures should include abandoning disproportionate criminal sanctions, rescheduling mild substances, prioritising access to essential medicines, shifting resources from law enforcement to social services, alternative development and harm reduction, and providing evidence-based voluntary treatment services for those who need them. The aspiration of a drug free ASEAN in 2015 is not realistic and the policy goals and resources should be redirected towards a harm reduction strategy for managing - instead of eliminating - the illicit drug market in the least harmful way. In view of all the evidence this report presents about the bouncing back of the opium economy and the expanding ATS market, plus all the negative consequences of the repressive drug control approaches applied so far, making any other choice would be irresponsible. Details: Amsterdam: Transnational Institute, 2014. 116p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 16, 2014: http://www.tni.org/briefing/bouncing-back Year: 2014 Country: Asia URL: http://www.tni.org/briefing/bouncing-back Shelf Number: 132462 Keywords: Drug Control Drug MarketsDrug PolicyIllicit DrugsOpium |
Author: Aldridge, Judith Title: Not an 'Ebay for Drugs': The Cryptomarket 'Silk Road' as a Paradigm Shifting Criminal Innovation Summary: The online cryptomarket Silk Road has been oft-characterised as an 'eBay for drugs' with customers drug consumers making personal use-sized purchases. Our research demonstrates that this was not the case. Using a bespoke web crawler, we downloaded all drugs listings on Silk Road in September 2013. We found that a substantial proportion of transactions on Silk Road are best characterised as 'business-to-business', with sales in quantities and at prices typical of purchases made by drug dealers sourcing stock. High price-quantity sales generated between 31-45% of revenue, making sales to drug dealers the key Silk Road drugs business. As such, Silk Road was what we refer to as a transformative, as opposed to incremental, criminal innovation. With the key Silk Road customers actually drug dealers sourcing stock for local street operations, we were witnessing a new breed of retail drug dealer, equipped with a technological subcultural capital skill set for sourcing stock. Sales on Silk Road increased from an estimate of $14.4 million in mid 2012 to $89. million by our calculations. This is a more than 600% increase in just over a year, demonstrating the demand for this kind of illicit online marketplace. With Silk Road functioning to considerable degree at the wholesale/broker market level, its virtual location should reduce violence, intimidation and territorialism. Results are discussed in terms of the opportunities cryptomarkets provide for criminologists, who have thus far been reluctant to step outside of social surveys and administrative data to access the world of 'webometric' and 'big data'. Details: Unpublished paper, 2014. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 1, 2014 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2436643 Year: 2014 Country: International URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2436643 Shelf Number: 132582 Keywords: Drug DealersDrug MarketsDrug OffendersOnline Communications |
Author: Financial Action Task Force Title: Financial flows linked to the production and trafficking of Afghan opiates Summary: 1. Drug trafficking is a business, but our understanding of this enterprise and response to it remain limited - less than 0.5% of the total laundered funds are seized. 2. In 2011, the annual volume of the global opiate market was estimated at USD 68 billion (with around USD 60 billion from Afghan opiates). However, no widely agreed method or framework currently exists to map "the business model". Although a number of business modelling methodologies appear to have been created by academics, multilateral bodies and private organisations, the survey responses suggest that it remains unclear if these methodologies have been practically incorporated into law enforcement and FIU's intelligence collection plans and disruption strategies. 3. Terrorists profit from and are engaged in opiate trafficking - over half the Afghan Taliban Senior Leadership listed under United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1988 are involved in drug trafficking. 4. The UN Al Qaida and Taliban Monitoring Team assesses that opiate-financing will imminently be the leading source of income for the Afghan Taliban and thus enable a major threat to the national security of Afghanistan and wider regional stability. 5. International opiate traffickers rely on the services of financial professionals, either unwitting or complicit, to manage their assets but no global system exists to alert countries or the private sector of these individuals and entities, or to freeze the assets of opiate traffickers. 6. At most stages in the enterprise, opiates and associated financial flows do not follow the same routes. 7. The Afghan opiate business is believed to be a mixture of both cartels and multiple markets. There appears to be no single or small group of cartels that control the global opiate trade; but some groups control significant portions of the trade along various routes. However, detailed and reliable information regarding this issue remains limited and this can be considered a key information gap. 8. Between 50-90% of all financial transactions in Afghanistan are conducted via money or value transfer services (MVTS). Illicit use of MVTS appears to be a critical capability for opiate trafficking networks, not only in Afghanistan but also internationally. 9. The majority of illicit funds are likely moved through, and possibly stored in, financial centres. As the region's leading financial centre, the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) financial system appears to be particularly vulnerable to abuse by opiate traffickers, regionally and internationally. 10. Cash, commodity-transfer and MVTS appear to be the leading value transfer instruments at the cultivation and manufacture stages of the enterprise; the formal financial system, MVTS and high-value commodities appear to facilitate international distribution of opiates. 11. Apart from cash, new payment methods (including virtual currencies) are used at consumer and international distribution stages of the Afghan opiate enterprise, albeit less than the above methods but may pose significant challenges to regulators, financial intelligence units (FIUs) and law enforcement agencies. 12. Many similarities exist between financing methodologies of different illicit drugs. Opiate-specific and more generic red flag indicators have been identified and collated. 13. This project was conducted in parallel with the Paris Pact (UNODC) Illicit Financial Flows analysis. The ML/TF threats from illicit groups, vulnerabilities in AML/CFT systems and opportunities identified herein are being used for immediate technical assistance delivery within the framework of the UNODC's current activities. Details: Paris: Financial Action Task Force, 2014. 77p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 25, 2014 at: http://www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/reports/Financial-flows-linked-to-production-and-trafficking-of-afghan-opiates.pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: http://www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/reports/Financial-flows-linked-to-production-and-trafficking-of-afghan-opiates.pdf Shelf Number: 132781 Keywords: Drug MarketsDrug TraffickingFinancial CrimesHeroinIllicit DrugsMoney Laundering |
Author: Diarisso, Boubacar Title: Illicit drug trading in Dakar: Dimensions and intersections with governance Summary: The authors provide a thorough analysis of the situation with regard to illegal drugs in Senegal's capital, Dakar. The paper focuses on cannabis, cocaine and heroine, as well as counterfeit pharmaceutical products. It discusses the extent of cultivation, patterns of consumption, international trafficking methods and routes, the role of women, police action and the impact of trafficking on governance. It is concluded that while there is no evidence that hard drugs are manufactured in Dakar and there are insufficient indicators for Dakar being a drug trafficking hub, it is evident that crime networks are interested in exploiting the city for the channelling of drugs to other parts of the world. Details: Pretoria: Institute for Security Studies, 2014. 10p. Source: Internet Resource: ISS Paper 260: Accessed August 14, 2014 at: http://www.issafrica.org/uploads/Paper260.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Senegal URL: http://www.issafrica.org/uploads/Paper260.pdf Shelf Number: 133052 Keywords: Drug MarketsDrug Trafficking (Senegal) Illegal DrugsOrganized Crime |
Author: Chi, Jocelyn Title: Reducing Drug Violence in Mexico: Options for Implementing Targeted Enforcement Summary: Between 2006 and 2012, drug-related violence in Mexico escalated to unprecedented levels. During this time, five of the top ten most violent cities in the world were found in Mexico, and over 60,000 Mexicans were killed at the hands of Violent Drug Trafficking Organizations (VDTOs). This reign of terror has expanded to include other types of violence, such as extortion, robbery, kidnapping, and spectacular public displays of violence. Most alarmingly, VDTO victims increasingly include ordinary citizens, journalists, law enforcement and military, and other government officials. To date, enforcement efforts in the United States (U.S.) have focused almost exclusively on reducing the flow of drugs from, and through, Mexico. Violence reduction has been a secondary concern, and has been mostly considered as a potential side-benefit of flow reduction policies. Until recently, Mexican authorities have focused their attacks on the upper leadership of major organized crime groups as a method of reducing flows, and in an effort to address threats to public safety. However, freshly elected President Enrique Pena Nieto has indicated that his administration will shift focus away from drug flows, in order to prioritize crime prevention and violence reduction. Given that both the Bush and Obama Administrations have acknowledged that the U.S. market for illegal drugs is largely responsible for fueling the Mexican drug trade, and that the U.S. has a strategic interest in Mexican security, the U.S. may have a currently-unexploited opportunity to reduce violence in Mexico. In this project, we explore whether the adoption of targeted enforcement in the Unites States could theoretically effect a reduction in violence in Mexico, and, if so, what form that strategy might take. We consider the operational and informational requirements for implementation, as well as the information a decision-maker would require in order to elect targeted enforcement as a strategy for addressing the security problem in Mexico. Targeted enforcement is novel in several respects. While it is not inconsistent with flow-reduction goals, the strategy leverages enforcement resources in the United States to effect violence reduction in Mexico. Furthermore, because it is a deterrent strategy, targeted enforcement requires authorities on both sides to clearly and publicly identify the target and communicate that violence will no longer be accepted as a method of conducting business. Finally, the target will encompass entire VDTOs, and not just individual offenders, which increases the cost of individual offending through internal organizational pressure. Keeping in mind current budgetary constraints, we develop four design options for violence-focused U.S.-side targeted enforcement. We evaluate our options with reference to the potential for crime and violence reduction, intelligence demands, implementation and political feasibility, and community impacts. Through a series of interviews with experts in the field, and an exhaustive review of secondary sources, we find that not only is U.S. adoption of targeted enforcement possible within existing frameworks, but that this approach has great potential for reducing Mexican-side violence. Our findings suggest: - First and foremost, we note that the adoption of a targeted violence-reduction approach need not conflict with current U.S. efforts to reduce drug flows; thus, there should be no cost in terms of drug abuse in the U.S. - While a short-term surge in violence is possible, attacking drug-trafficking revenues in the U.S. could incentivize VDTOs away from using violence to advance their drug-trafficking interests. Authorities would need to better understand the revenue portfolios of VDTOs in order to estimate how responsive organizations might be to attacks on revenues, and measure the cost-effectiveness of such a strategy. - Successful implementation requires sophisticated intelligence, and while there is some indication that both the U.S. and Mexico possess the capacity to gather this intelligence, this capacity would likely need to be refined and/or expanded. - The necessary administrative and enforcement infrastructures appear to be in place in the U.S., though resources would need to be reallocated, and additional funding might be necessary. - In the U.S., policies targeting drug flows are popular due to a perception that they decrease drug consumption; a shift towards violence reduction would probably require intensive outreach to educate stakeholders. In Mexico, current distrust in government would require clear and public communication about target selection and the role of Mexican authorities in U.S.-side enforcement. - Finally, a number of possible community impacts exist, and U.S. and Mexican authorities would need to establish mechanisms for collecting data and tracking trends in order to respond to negative externalities. Details: Los Angeles: UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, 2013. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 25, 2014 at: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/reducing_drug_violence_mexico.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/reducing_drug_violence_mexico.pdf Shelf Number: 129923 Keywords: Criminal NetworksDrug MarketsDrug TraffickingDrug-Related Violence (Mexico)HomicidesKidnappingsOrganized CrimeTargeted Law EnforcementViolenceViolence PreventionViolence ReductionViolent Crime |
Author: Schoofs, Steven Title: Illicit Drugs and Peace: Challenges for the Bangsamoro Peace Process Summary: This policy brief argues that the illicit drug economy should be regarded as a strategic concern in the peace process between the government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Left unchecked, the combination of drug-related corruption and violence is likely to have an adverse effect on the governance institutions of the future Bangsamoro. Stakeholders in the peace process therefore need to turn their attention to the drug economy and use the implementation of the peace agreement as an opportunity to address the drug problem. Priorities for action include using drug enforcement as a confidence-building measure, insulating the new Bangsamoro police from corruption, providing alternative economic opportunities for poor communities, challenging the sense of impunity among drug criminals, preventing money laundering, and cutting the links between criminals and politicians. Details: London: International Alert, 2014. 4p. Source: Internet Resource: Policy Brief: Accessed September 27, 2014 at: http://www.international-alert.org/sites/default/files/Philippines_PolicyBriefIllicitDrugs_EN_2014.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Philippines URL: http://www.international-alert.org/sites/default/files/Philippines_PolicyBriefIllicitDrugs_EN_2014.pdf Shelf Number: 133463 Keywords: Drug Law Enforcement Drug MarketsDrug-Related Violence Drugs and Crime (Philippines) Illegal Drugs |
Author: Farabee, David Title: It Came from the North: Estimating the Flow of Methamphetamine and Other Synthetic Drugs From Quebec, Canada Summary: The focus of this study was to estimate the size of synthetic drug production (methamphetamine in particular) in Quebec, Canada, assess its export potential, and explore implications for counter-narcotics policies. Research on drug trafficking in the U.S. has mostly centered on Latin America-particularly Mexico-in recent years due to widely publicized violence. However, there have been well documented cases of drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) in Canada, such as the Hells Angels and Asian gangs, that produce and transport large quantities of cannabis and amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) into the U.S. Official reports from both countries and the United Nations suggest that Canada is becoming a major global supplier of synthetic drugs. But little empirical research has been conducted to verify these claims or to estimate the size of the drug trade. Estimating the production and trafficking of any illicit drugs is a daunting endeavor because conventional sampling or statistical procedures are inadequate. However, without reliable empirical knowledge, policy making becomes problematic. Innovative methods therefore must be used to acquire the information in a systematic, albeit incremental, manner. In this study, we used capture-recapture sampling and multiple data sources to gauge this "hidden market" and its impact on the U.S. drug market. The scientific as well as policy implications of this empirical effort cannot be overstated at a time when there is a resurgence of high-quality synthetic drugs in the U.S. Policy makers and law enforcement agencies are searching for valid empirical measures to marshal resources to mount counter measures. The specific objectives of this study were as follows: 1. What is the scale of production and consumption of ATS in Quebec Canada, based on capture-recapture sampling and analysis of official data? 2. What is the difference between production and consumption, assuming any surplus is intended for export to other North American markets? 3. How are these drugs manufactured in Quebec (using lab records of chemical composition assays of seized drugs to establish the origin of production)? 4. What are the organizational characteristics of those involved in the production and distribution of methamphetamine and other synthetic drugs in Quebec? 5. What threats do these criminal organizations pose to both the U.S. and Canada, and what policy implications can be drawn from our impact estimates? This study capitalized on existing data sources and field research opportunities already established by our Canadian colleagues. We had access to data sources of multiple years, which are necessary for repeated sampling of the target population. The capture-recapture method specified in this proposal has been around for many years but have rarely been applied to organized crime research, particularly impact assessment. Based on our findings, it appears that the same method can be applied to assess the impact of other illicit commodities or enterprising activities because inference to larger populations is possible under theoretical and empirical assumptions. Findings from this joint effort by U.S.- and Canada-based researchers provide much needed empirical guidance to policy makers of federal and local governments of both countries. Details: Final Report to the U.S. National Institute of Justice, 2014. 110p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 13, 2014 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/248134.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Canada URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/248134.pdf Shelf Number: 134076 Keywords: Drug Enforcement PolicyDrug MarketsDrug TraffickingIllicit DrugsMethamphetamine (U.S.; Canada)Organized Crime |
Author: Willis, Katie Title: Assessing the impact of police on cannabis markets Summary: - The enforcement of laws relating to the production and distribution of illicit drugs is a major investment for the Australian community, with one recent estimate indicating that the annual direct costs of drug law enforcement (DLE) are around $1.7 billion - Traditional measures of DLE performance are based on drug seizure and arrest data. While these are simple and well-understood measures of DLE effort, they are ambiguous and imperfect - Work undertaken in Australia and overseas to develop more rigorous measurement systems emphasises the use of multiple, cross-sectoral indicators in assessing law enforcement impacts, rather than relying on single indicators of performance - While the police and health sectors use very different strategies and interventions to deal with cannabis-related problems, there is important convergence in what both sectors seek to achieve. That is, a community that is less burdened by cannabis-related crime, illness and injury - The new measures outlined in this bulletin would not only assist to improve DLE's understanding of the cannabis market, but their impact on that market - Work would need to be undertaken to identify or establish suitable data sources for some of the suggested measures - Including new questions in existing population surveys or expanding current agency administrative data sets are two low cost ways to improve the types of data available. There may also be scope for development of new data capture methods that focus on populations that often have high levels of cannabis use, such as youths in juvenile justice settings Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre 2010. 11p. Source: Internet Resource: criminal justice bulletin series 7: Accessed December 10, 2014 at: https://ncpic.org.au/media/1937/assessing-the-impact-of-police-on-cannabis-markets.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Australia URL: https://ncpic.org.au/media/1937/assessing-the-impact-of-police-on-cannabis-markets.pdf Shelf Number: 134312 Keywords: Cannabis (Australia)Drug EnforcementDrug MarketsDrug PolicyMarijuana |
Author: Connolly, Johnny. Title: Crack cocaine in the Dublin Region: An evidence base for a crack cocaine strategy Summary: Crack cocaine is produced from powder cocaine using readily available chemical agents such as ammonia or baking soda. Smoking crack is a highly efficient way of getting cocaine into the brain, making its use compulsive and difficult to control in some cases. In early 2005, a number of seizures of crack cocaine were made by An Garda Siochana in Dublin's north-inner city. In addition, there were anecdotal reports of individuals using crack cocaine in Dublin. As a result, the Intersectoral Crack Cocaine Strategy Group (ISCCSG) was established in the north-inner city in March 2006. The group decided to document the nature and extent of crack use; the availability of crack; the impact of crack on the user, the family and the wider community; and current treatment and policing responses to crack use. The Alcohol and Drug Research Unit (ADRU) of the Health Research Board (HRB) was commissioned to complete the study using a rapid situation assessment method. The study involved a review of findings from relevant research, the collection and analysis of up-to-date drug-treatment and criminal justice data, and interviews and focus groups with crack users, service providers and the Garda National Drugs Unit. The study received ethical approval in August 2007. Details: Dublin: Health Research Board, 2008. 142p. Source: Internet Resource: HRB Research Series 6: Accessed February 9, 2015 at: http://www.hrb.ie/uploads/tx_hrbpublications/HRB_Research_Series_6.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Ireland URL: http://www.hrb.ie/uploads/tx_hrbpublications/HRB_Research_Series_6.pdf Shelf Number: 113022 Keywords: Crack Cocaine (Ireland)Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug Abuse and CrimeDrug Abuse TreatmentDrug Markets |
Author: Buxton, Julia Title: The Rise and Challenge of Dark Net Drug Markets Summary: Key Points - Recent years have seen a dramatic growth in the sale of a variety of illicit substances on Dark Net drug markets, with on line sales projected to increase exponentially due to expanding internet availability, evolving technologies and the profusion of social media. - This new form of retail market poses a major challenge to not only law enforcement agencies but also the UN international drug control system and related legal structures within which these agencies operate. - For vendors and purchasers who use the sophisticated, user friendly and increasingly secure Dark Net sites, hidden markets present a safer environment for drug transactions and they reduce the multiple risks (coercion, violence, arrest, exposure to other drugs) associated with 'street' sales. - Research demonstrates that anonymised user forums and online chat rooms encourage and facilitate information sharing about drug purchases and drug effects, representing a novel form of harm reduction for drug users and an entry point for drug support services. - Experience to date shows that enforcement efforts through surveillance, hacking and other forms of interdiction may be successful in closing down a particular site, but at the cost of proliferating hidden drug markets and incentivising technological innovation. - Given an acknowledged lack of technical capacity, legal constraints and poor international enforcement coordination, Dark Net interdiction efforts should prioritise high-end crimes such as child sexual exploitation, cyber terrorism and weapons trafficking, and work with self-regulating, 'ethical' drug sites to enhance understanding of high-level criminality on the Dark Net. - The 2016 UN General Assembly Session (UNGASS) on the World Drug Problem is a timely opportunity to discuss reform of the UN drug control treaty system to better deal with the challenges of the increasingly complex illicit drug market in the twenty-first century. Details: Swansea, UK: Global Drug Policy Observatory, Swansea University, 2015. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Policy Brief 7: Accessed February 12, 2015 at: http://www.swansea.ac.uk/media/The%20Rise%20and%20Challenge%20of%20Dark%20Net%20Drug%20Markets.pdf Year: 2015 Country: International URL: http://www.swansea.ac.uk/media/The%20Rise%20and%20Challenge%20of%20Dark%20Net%20Drug%20Markets.pdf Shelf Number: 134609 Keywords: Computer CrimesDark NetDrug MarketsIllicit DrugsInternet Crimes |
Author: Arias-R., Omar Fdo. Title: From monopsonistic insurgent groups to oligopolistic cocaine traffickers: the market of cocaine in Colombia Summary: The main purpose of this note is to model an imperfect competitive and vertically integrated market structure of production and trafficking of cocaine. We consider the particular case of Colombian cocaine market, but the results could be generalized to different scenarios. We model three main participants: farmers, producing the coca-leaf and being price-takers in its market; insurgent groups, producing paste of cocaine and being a local monopsony in the coca-leaf market; and cocaine traffickers, being an oligopoly competing a la Cournot. We find out an explicit relationship between the price of coca-leaf and paste of cocaine, with the coca-leaf elasticity of supply. An inelastic coca-leaf supply allows the insurgent groups to increase the gap between the price of coca-leaf and the price of the paste of cocaine. Additionally, the insurgent groups obtain important profits from the oligopolistic market structure of cocaine market, because the increase in the price of cocaine also increases the price of paste of cocaine, through the increase in its demand. These profits feed every step in the pyramid of cocaine production exacerbating the problem and making more difficult its solution. These remarks others important information to explain the reasons behind the ineffectiveness of some national and international policies in the war against illegal drugs. Details: Munich: Munich Personal RePEc Archive, 2014. 11p. Source: Internet Resource: MPRA Paper No. 60000: Accessed February 18, 2015 at: http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/60000/1/MPRA_paper_60000.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Colombia URL: http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/60000/1/MPRA_paper_60000.pdf Shelf Number: 134635 Keywords: Cocaine Drug MarketsDrug Trafficking (Colombia) |
Author: Goodman, Mary Beth Title: To Stem the Flow of Illicit Drugs from Afghanistan, Follow the Money Summary: Corruption poses an existential challenge to Afghanistan's stability, as well as its political and economic development. Under the leadership of President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, there is an opportunity for the United States to capitalize on the newly expressed political will of Afghanistan's elected leaders to curb corruption. Afghanistan's national unity government has prioritized the fight against the epidemic of graft plaguing the country, and this fight is intricately tied to the production and flow of drugs. Although the United States has invested $8 billion-as of December 30, 2014-in counternarcotics efforts, Afghanistan still leads the world in opium production, and its farmers are growing more opium than ever before. The sale of opium and cannabis - another drug of which Afghanistan is a leading cultivator on the international market - produces huge sums of cash that must be laundered, or made clean, so it can appear legitimate. This parallel market and the illicit financial transactions that sustain it have a debilitating impact on the rule of law in Afghanistan; undermine the legitimacy of government institutions; and ultimately impede the ability of the Afghan government to provide basic services to its citizens. Because no bank outside of Afghanistan denominates in the Afghani-the country's national currency-the state's drug trade runs on the flow of international currencies such as U.S. dollars, euros, and British pounds. Moreover, the weak oversight of anti-money laundering controls coupled with the systemic corruption plaguing Afghan institutions serves to compound the narcotics conundrum. The Afghan drug trade poses an immediate and urgent threat to U.S. interests in Afghanistan and to the integrity of the Afghan state itself. Greater efforts must be made to stem the flow of money derived from the narcotics trade in order to significantly reduce Afghanistan's narcotics production and curb corruption. Details: Washington, DC: Center for American Progress, 2015. 11p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 19, 2015 at: https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/AfghanistanNarcotics-brief.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Afghanistan URL: https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/AfghanistanNarcotics-brief.pdf Shelf Number: 134975 Keywords: Drug MarketsDrug TradeDrug TraffickingIllegal DrugsMoney LaunderingNarcotics (Afghanistan) |
Author: Afilipoaie, Alois Title: The Growing Industry of Darknet Marketing Summary: Tor's hidden services have allowed a new form of low-risk high-profit drug dealing to emerge and grow quickly over the last four years. Vendors of narcotics are utilising innovative marketing techniques that mirror those used by legal, 'real-world' and web-based businesses to promote and sell goods and services. These range from offers of free samples and discounts, to the use of banner adverts and brand management. Drug marketing is becoming increasingly sophisticated as more users and buyers flock to the Tor network and as hidden markets become more diversified and competitive. Details: Singleton Park, Swansea, UK: Global Drug Policy Observatory, 2015. 4p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 6, 2015 at: http://www.swansea.ac.uk/media/GDPO%20SA%20Marketing.pdf Year: 2015 Country: International URL: http://www.swansea.ac.uk/media/GDPO%20SA%20Marketing.pdf Shelf Number: 135157 Keywords: Drug DealingDrug Markets Illegal DrugsInternet Crimes |
Author: Day, Marcus Title: Making a mountain out of a molehill: myths on youth and crime in Saint Lucia Summary: This report reflects a short summary of one year (2012) of ethnographic observations and 'informal conversations' with various stakeholders across Saint Lucia, a small Caribbean nation. The effort was undertaken to assess the profile of youth gangs and their members in order to add depth to existing analysis on gangs in the Caribbean by using one country as a model. This summary of the report focuses on the interaction between the cannabis and cocaine markets, and the role of youth in that trade on the one hand, and the increase in violence indicators on the other. The Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) and individual member states face shared challenges of youth involvement in crime, violence, gangs and other anti-social activities. It is not uncommonly heard the "drug problem" is to be blamed for this. This briefing wants to show this relation is far more complex and often misunderstood. Saint Lucia is a small island state, one of the fifteen members of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM). It became independent from the United Kingdom in 1979, and is situated in the south eastern part of the Caribbean and has a population of around 180 thousand. The Caribbean region, due to its proximity to cocaine producers in the South and its well established trading links with Europe and North America is well positioned as a transit zone, accounting for an estimated 25-30 per cent of cocaine reaching Europe. The main destination for the bulk of cocaine transiting Saint Lucia is Martinique and onward to Paris and beyond. The isolated coast lines and island geography contribute to the popularity of the sub region for the transhipment of cocaine. Details: Amsterdam: Transnational Institute, 2014. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Briefing Series on Drug Markets and Violence, Nr 3: Accessed April 6, 2015 at: http://www.tni.org/sites/www.tni.org/files/download/dmv3-e.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Caribbean URL: http://www.tni.org/sites/www.tni.org/files/download/dmv3-e.pdf Shelf Number: 135160 Keywords: CocaineDrug MarketsDrug TraffickingDrug-Related Violence |
Author: Vazquez, Pedro Title: Residents' Feelings and Interpretation of the Open-Air Drug Market in Conkey and Clifford Neighborhood of Rochester, New York Summary: Low-level drug dealers thrive where they do not conflict with legitimate businesses, but rather support and are supported by certain elements of their environment (Thomas J. Charron, Debra Whitcomb, & George Ross, 2004, pg. 3). According to T. Charron, D. Whitcomb, & G. Ross (2004), dimly lit parking lots, alleys, abandoned buildings, bars, and roads that allow drivers to slow down or stop are some of the elements of the environment that support low-level drug dealers. Low-level drug dealing in open-air markets generates or contributes to a wide range of social disorder and drug-related crime in the surrounding neighborhood that can also have an effect on the residents' quality of life (Alex Harocopos & Mike Hough, 2005). The purpose of this paper is to gain an understanding of how residents in the Conkey and Clifford neighborhood in Rochester, New York have been affected by the open-air marijuana market, as well as their view of their neighborhood. The Rochester Drug Free Street Initiative (RDFSI) coalition has been working with residents in the Conkey and Clifford neighborhood to bring to an end the marketing of low-level drugs in their neighborhood. The RDFSI is implementing two approaches, which is led by Ibero-American Development Corporation (IADC), the H.O.P.E project and other committed local partners. The intervention, which is known as INSPIRE (Invested, Neighbors, Seeking, Progress, Inspiration, Restoration, & Empowerment), is being run by RDFSI staff and community members. The RDFSI is applying the two civil approaches to a two- tiered strategy. First is the Restorative Practices Strategy: working with PiRI (Partners in Restorative Initiatives,) neighborhood residents, and other community providers. RDFSI created what is being known as "Restorative Community Circles"; here people who are currently selling marijuana on the street can meet with other community members who want to help them transition into productive community members. This process creates a safe space for those who inform dealers how drug sales are affecting them and their families. The second strategy involves a stay-away order. RDFSI staff knows that not all dealers will be receptive to the restorative community circle process, but residents still need to be protected from those who continue to sell marijuana in their neighborhoods. The order will assist in interrupting the sale of marijuana by extricating the dealers from their geographical market. Residents have asked, "Why haven't the police done anything about drug dealers?" Police officers have a hard task when it comes to arresting low-level drug dealers. Marijuana has been decriminalized in New York State, which means that any individual found with less than an ounce of marijuana will not be arrested, charged, or face any jail time. These individual will only face a violation, which is punishable by a fine of $25.00 or less. Parking on the wrong side of the street is a much more serious violation than that of a violation for marijuana possession of less than an ounce, as alternate parking fines are $50.00 in the City. This is why police officers have limited power in handling the issues of open-air drug markets. This paper will highlight the answers to the survey conducted by RDFSI during the Rochester T.I.P.S event. Project T.I.P.S stand for Trust, Information, Programs & Services, the projects includes community agencies and law enforcement personnel working together in a selected neighborhood to rebuild trust amongst residents and share information. The answers to the "Your Voice" survey, which was construed by CPSI (Center for Public Safety Imitative) student researcher. This survey was giving to residents who are involved with RDFSI, and the information from the resident's focus group conducted by the RDFSI. Details: Rochester, NY: Center for Public Safety Initiatives Rochester Institute of Technology, 2014. 17p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 21, 2015 at: https://www.rit.edu/cla/criminaljustice/sites/rit.edu.cla.criminaljustice/files/docs/WorkingPapers/2014/Conkey%20and%20Clifford%20Resident%20Surveys%20-%20MJ%20Market%20-%20WEBSITE%20VERSION.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: https://www.rit.edu/cla/criminaljustice/sites/rit.edu.cla.criminaljustice/files/docs/WorkingPapers/2014/Conkey%20and%20Clifford%20Resident%20Surveys%20-%20MJ%20Market%20-%20WEBSITE%20VERSION.pdf Shelf Number: 135328 Keywords: Drug DealersDrug DealingDrug MarketsDrug OffendersDrugs and Crime |
Author: Charles, Christopher A.D. Title: The Entrepreneurial Experiences of a Jamaican Posse in the South Bronx Summary: This chapter extends the prior research on gang members as entrepreneurs and in particular seeks to understand the members of the Peyton Place Posse as entrepreneurs in the illegal narcotics market, as they pursued their quest to achieve the American Dream. Specifically, we explore the reasons for Posse members entering the illicit drug market and review their successes and failures in pursuit of capital accumulation. We begin with a synopsis of strain theory, and how gangs operate in the illegal drug market. The foregoing is followed by a brief discussion of the characteristics of the Bronx, NY. Next, we present a synopsis of the Peyton Place Posse. Finally, we use strain theory to explain the Posse's entrepreneurial experiences and outcomes in the illegal narcotics market. Details: Kingston, Jamaica: University of the West Indies; Bronx, NY: Monroe College, 2013. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 30, 2015 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2372179 Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2372179 Shelf Number: 135807 Keywords: Drug MarketsDrug TraffickingGangsJamaican Posses |
Author: Gandilhon, Michel Title: Chemical precursors, the unknown dimension of the world's illegal drug market Summary: Precursor trafficking draws little attention as efforts are focused on seizures of finished products listed as narcotics. Yet, this trafficking is a reality that now touches all continents and makes use of all major global trade routes. For the services responsible for controlling chemical precursors and preventing their trafficking, the task is extremely complex because, in contrast with finished products, the production and commerce of substances involved in the production of the majority of illegal drugs is in fact perfectly legal. Furthermore, to circumvent the controls established by international conventions and regulations, dealers constantly adapt by using unclassified substances. After presenting an overview in the first section of the global situation, and in particular, the main trafficking routes, this issue will discuss the latest trends, and especially the challenges facing Europe with the appearance on the market of new precursors and pre-precursors. The third section will be dedicated to the resources employed by the international community to fight against this phenomenon. Details: Saint Denis La Plaine Cedex: French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, 2014. 7p. Source: Internet Resource: Drugs, International Challenges, no. 7: Accessed July 13, 2015 at: http://en.ofdt.fr/BDD/publications/docs/efdamgub.pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: http://en.ofdt.fr/BDD/publications/docs/efdamgub.pdf Shelf Number: 135998 Keywords: Drug MarketsDrug TraffickingIllegal Drugs |
Author: Australian Crime Commission Title: 2013-14 Illicit Drug Data Report Summary: The Australian Crime Commission's Illicit Drug Data Report, now in its 12th edition, informs Australia's understanding of the illicit drug threat and focuses our collective efforts by bringing together data from a wide range of sources into the one unique report. Serious and organised criminals are at the centre of the Australian illicit drug market. Motivated by greed and power, many of these groups and individuals use the illicit drug market as their primary income stream, profiting from the misery illicit drugs inflict on the nation. Targeting illicit drug importation, production and distribution is a focus of the Australian Crime Commission and its partners. In 2013-14, law enforcement agencies recorded more than 93 000 illicit drug seizures, with a combined weight of 27 tonnes and more than 110 000 arrests. These figures are all the highest on record. While this is testament to the vigilance and achievements of law enforcement in combating the illicit drug trade, it also demonstrates the continued prevalence of drugs in our society and the need for a collective approach. All illicit drug activity is a concern for law enforcement and the wider community. But in my 38 years in law enforcement, I have never seen a substance as destructive as methylamphetamine, particularly crystal methylamphetamine (ice). Methylamphetamine is wreaking havoc in every state and territory. It is ruining lives, families and communities. We are now seeing demand for methylamphetamine in areas where the drug has not previously been a significant issue. This includes urban and rural areas and disadvantaged communities where it is having a destructive impact. Seizures in 2013-14 include a record 10 tonne seizure of benzaldehyde - a chemical used to make methylamphetamine. If not seized, this chemical could have been used to produce up to 4.5 tonnes of methylamphetamine - this equates to an estimated 45 million individual street deals, with an estimated value of $3.6 billion. More than 740 clandestine laboratories were detected this reporting period. Add that to the previous two reporting periods and that's more than 2 300 labs detected. These are dangerous, with many of the chemicals used hazardous and corrosive in nature, posing significant risk to the community and the environment. While the methylamphetamine market is the primary concern, there was also a number of records reported across other drug markets. These include a record number of national amphetamine-type stimulant seizures and arrests, a record number of national cannabis arrests, a record number of national cocaine seizures and arrests, a record number of national steroid seizures and arrests, a record number of national hallucinogen arrests and a record number of national other opioid seizures. The Illicit Drug Data Report 2013-14 provides governments, law enforcement agencies, policy makers, academia, interested stakeholders and the community with a robust statistical picture of the Australian illicit drug market. Details: Canberra: Australian Crime Commission, 2015. 228p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 29, 2015 at: https://crimecommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/IDDR-201314-Complete_0.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Australia URL: https://crimecommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/IDDR-201314-Complete_0.pdf Shelf Number: 136228 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug Abuse and CrimeDrug EnforcementDrug MarketsIllicit DrugsOrganized Crime |
Author: Zamudio Angles, Carlos Alberto Title: Drugs DF: Illegal Drugs Markets in Mexico City Summary: In this sixth edition titled Drugs DF, CuPIHD presents a statistical, qualitative, informative and quality analysis of the dynamics and characteristics of illegal drug markets and drug users, particularly within Mexico City. Drugs DF describes the size and characteristics of the drug market in Mexico City, as well as the perceptions and relationships of drug users with their legal, economic, institutional and social environments. Using this research, we highlight the most important market dynamics within Mexico City in order to effectively deal with the issue of drugs and drug policy, not only in Mexico City, but also in all of Mexican society. We are positive that Drugs DF will be a helpful, practical tool for researchers, policy-makers and civil society that are committed to designing and implementing public policies related to illegal drugs. We hope that it will also be informative for those who have interest in going deeper in their understanding of a complex phenomenon, filled with misinformation and prejudice. We hope this publication will con- tribute to a better understanding of illegal drug markets, its dynamics and actors, in such a way that we can begin constructing alternatives to our current drug policies. Details: Ciudad de Mexico, D.F., Mexico: Colectivo por una Politica Integral hacia las Drogas (CUPIDH), 2014. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 17, 2015 at: http://www.cupihd.org/portal/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Descargue-DRUGS-DF-aqui..pdf Year: 2014 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.cupihd.org/portal/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Descargue-DRUGS-DF-aqu..pdf Shelf Number: 136801 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug MarketsDrug Policy |
Author: Coghlan, Sarah Title: Findings from the DUMA program: Methamphetamine drug market trends Summary: Methamphetamine is a drug of national concern, with the Australian Crime Commission (ACC; 2015a) assessing it to be the illicit drug posing the greatest risk to the Australian community. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's (AIHW) 2013 National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS) reported that approximately 400,000 Australians had used meth/amphetamines in the previous 12 months (AIHW 2014). The NDSHS reported a stable rate of meth/amphetamine use in the general community from 2010 to 2013 of 2.1 percent. However, there was a shift in the type of meth/amphetamine used, from powder to purer forms like ice or crystal methamphetamine (AIHW 2014). Specifically, powder meth/ amphetamine use among recent users decreased from 51 percent to 29 percent, while ice use more than doubled from 22 percent to 50 percent (AIHW 2014). In line with this, the frequency of methamphetamine use among injecting drug users in Melbourne remained consistent from 2008 to 2014, but users reported transitioning from powder to crystal forms of methamphetamine (Scott et al. 2015). Frequency of use of methamphetamine has also changed across the 2010 to 2013 period. In 2013, 15.5 percent of recent meth/amphetamine users reported daily or weekly use, compared with 9.3 percent in the 2010 survey (AIHW 2014). When examining use by form, approximately a quarter of users who mainly used ice reported using it at least weekly, compared with 2.2 percent of powder users who reported weekly use (AIHW 2014). Scott et al.'s (2015) study of injecting drug users in Melbourne found that those already using methamphetamine were starting to purchase the drug more frequently in 2013 compared with 2011. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2015. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Research in Practice: Accessed September 21, 2015 at: http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/rip/rip43/rip43.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Australia URL: http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/rip/rip43/rip43.pdf Shelf Number: 136834 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug Abuse and CrimeDrug MarketsMethamphetamine |
Author: Coghlan, Sarah Title: Findings from the DUMA program: Impact of reduced methamphetamine supply on consumption of illicit drugs and alcohol Summary: Changes in illicit drug availability have been shown to impact users' alcohol and other drug consumption. In late 2000 and early 2001, Australia experienced a sudden and dramatic reduction in the supply of heroin which has continued to the present date. This shortage has been attributed to, at least in part, supply-side reduction strategies undertaken by law enforcement (Weatherburn et al. 2003). However, the benefits associated with this shortage were to some degree offset by the unintended consequence of displacement in illicit drug use, reflected in an increase in the use of other drugs, such as cocaine (Weatherburn et al. 2003). Research into the impact of the heroin shortage on illicit drug users has resulted in an awareness of the need to understand potential unintended outcomes of supply-side drug law enforcement strategies. Recent media articles and government inquiries have highlighted methamphetamine as a drug of particular concern in Australia, with both the purity and availability of methamphetamine currently being very high (ACC 2014; LRDCPC 2014; Scott et al. 2014). It is not clear whether law enforcement efforts could produce a substantial methamphetamine shortage, such as that seen for heroin, as the methamphetamine supply is supported by both domestic production and importation (ACC 2014; LRDCPC 2014). However, as seizure rates continue to climb, there is some evidence that government policy and policing efforts are having an impact on supply. In 2012-13, the number and weight of border detections of amphetamine type stimulants (ATS) increased and were reported by the Australian Crime Commission to be the highest on record, with the 21,056 reported seizures accounting for 24.2 percent of national illicit drug seizures, second only to cannabis (ACC 2014). Further, the number of clandestine laboratories detected in Australia was the second highest on record, having more than doubled over the last 10 years, with the majority of clandestine laboratories detected domestically producing ATS (ACC 2014). Few studies have examined the likely impact of such seizures on methamphetamine users' drug usage habits. However, a recent examination of the impact of supply-side reduction strategies on drug use and harm in New South Wales conducted by Wan et al. (2014) reported that seizures and supplier arrests for ATS were either positively associated, or were not significantly associated, with drug use and harm measures. For example, an increase in the number of large-scale ATS seizures was positively associated with an increase in the number of arrests for use or possession of ATS (Wan et al. 2014). However, no significant associations were found between the number of ATS seizures or supplier arrests and emergency department admissions (Wan et al. 2014). Although subject to number of limitations including that the study measured the associations across a relatively short temporal period (ie drug use/possession arrests were examined monthly for 4 months after seizures occurred) and that some of the drug use and harm measures may not have been sensitive enough to detect changes in consumption, the findings suggested that increases in seizures and supplier arrests for ATS may be indicative of an increased supply in the short term (Wan et al. 2014). A study by Chalmers, Bradford and Jones (2010) examined responses to hypothetical changes in the price of methamphetamine among a sample of New South Wales residents between 18 and 58 years of age (n=101) who reported using methamphetamine in the past month. As the price of methamphetamine was manipulated, users reported that they would purchase less methamphetamine at higher price levels. It was estimated that a price increase of 10 percent would result in an 18 to 19 percent decrease in the quantity of methamphetamine purchased (Chalmers, Bradford & Jones 2010). However, a number of respondents anticipated switching to using pharmaceutical opioids, cocaine and to a lesser extent, heroin, if the price of methamphetamine were to rise (Chalmers, Bradford & Jones 2010). Despite this evidence of anticipated displacement, the authors concluded that there would be an overall reduction in drug consumption, as the level of substitution for other drugs was more than offset by the decrease in the quantity of methamphetamine purchased (Chalmers, Bradford & Jones 2010). However, this study suffered from a number of limitations. First, the findings represent methamphetamine users' intentions as reported to researchers, which may or may not correspond to actual behaviour during periods of reduced methamphetamine supply. It is important to examine the actual behaviour users demonstrate in response to changes in drug markets, rather than how they believe they would behave in a hypothetical situation. Second, the assumption that supply reduction through law enforcement leads to an increase in the price of an illicit drug may not be valid or may only occur when an extreme shortage is experienced. A study conducted in the United States reported that if a drug market is well-established, the expansion of drug law enforcement may yield little return in the way of increased prices (Caulkins & Reuter 2010). Consistent with this, a 2014 review of empirical studies into the impact of increased law enforcement efforts on drug prices concluded that there was insufficient evidence to link the escalation of law enforcement activity with the raising of drug prices (Pollack & Reuter 2014). Since 1999, the Australian Institute of Criminology has monitored drug use and crime trends across Australia through the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) program. Each quarter, detainees held in watchhouses at various sites across Australia are asked to complete an interviewer-assisted self-report questionnaire. Twice a year, detainees are also asked to provide a voluntary urine sample, which is analysed for the presence of illicit drugs. These data allow monitoring of the availability of illicit substances, including methamphetamine, and examinations of crime and drug usage behaviours. Using DUMA data, an analysis is presented of retrospective self-reports from methamphetamine users (police detainees) on the impact that periods of reduced methamphetamine supply had on reported consumption of methamphetamine, alcohol and other illicit drugs. In order to collect more detailed data, in quarter three of 2013, detainees who had indicated methamphetamine use in the previous 12 months were presented with additional questions to assess whether they had previously experienced a period when methamphetamine was hard to get and if they had, how this had affected the quantity of methamphetamine, alcohol and other illicit drugs used at that time. The findings should be considered in the context of Australian drug markets where methamphetamine is currently readily available, with some localised differences in availability (LRDCPC 2014). Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2015. 5p. Source: Internet Resource: Research in Practice No. 36: Accessed January 25, 2016 at: http://www.aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/rip/rip36/rip36.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Australia URL: http://www.aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/rip/rip36/rip36.pdf Shelf Number: 137649 Keywords: Alcohol AbuseDrug Abuse and AddictionDrug MarketsIllegal DrugsMethamphetamine |
Author: Mounteney, Jane Title: The internet and drug markets Summary: The last decade has seen the emergence of new internet technologies that have acted as important facilitators of online drug markets. The internet now hosts a range of virtual marketplaces (both on the surface and deep web) for selling and buying illicit substances, as well as representing a new arena for health and law enforcement interventions. This first EMCDDA investigation into the world of online drug markets brings together state-of-the-art input from over 20 experts - from academia, journalism and frontline practice - and contributes to the knowledge base on this part of the supply chain. Details: Lisbon: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, 2016. 136p. Source: Internet Resource: Insights no. 21: Accessed February 11, 2016 at: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/2155/TDXD16001ENN.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Europe URL: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/2155/TDXD16001ENN.pdf Shelf Number: 137844 Keywords: Computer CrimesDrug MarketsIllegal MarketsInternet Crimes |
Author: Gannoni, Alexandra Title: Methamphetamine in Brisbane: Perspectives from DUMA police detainees Summary: Methamphetamine is of national concern (ACC 2014), but what does this statement mean to frontline police officers? In real terms it means that frontline police are required, on an increasingly frequent basis, to engage with methamphetamine users. This presents a number of challenges to police. First, methamphetamine intoxication and withdrawal can impede an individual's ability to follow police directions. Second, use is associated with behavioural and psychological disturbances, including aggression, which can increase the risk of harm for the police and members of the community. Third, the user is at increased risk of serious physical harms when in custody due to the effects of intoxication or withdrawal. Risks to the user may be exacerbated by physical exertion during interactions with police or due to use of restraint by police. Being armed with information about what methamphetamine is, the nature and extent of use of methamphetamine among Brisbane police detainees, and details of the Brisbane methamphetamine market can assist police to identify risks to themselves and others. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2015. 6p. Source: Internet Resource: Research in practice no. 45: Accessed March 2, 2016 at: http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/rip/rip45/rip45.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Australia URL: http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/rip/rip45/rip45.pdf Shelf Number: 138008 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug MarketsDrug OffendersMethamphetamine |
Author: Lenton, Simon Title: The social supply of cannabis among young people in Australia Summary: Cannabis is the most prolifically used illicit drug in Australia, however, there is a gap in our understanding concerning the social interactions and friendships formed around its supply and use. The authors recruited cannabis users aged between 18 and 30 years throughout Australia, to explore the impact of supply routes on young users and their perceived notions of drug dealing in order to provide valuable insight into the influence that reciprocal relationships have on young peoples access to cannabis. Findings reveal that the supply of cannabis revolves around pre-existing connections and relationships formed through associates known to be able to readily source cannabis. It was found that motivations for proffering cannabis in a shared environment were related more to developing social capital than to generating financial gain. Given this, often those involved in supply do not perceive that they are breaking the law or that they are 'dealers'. This social supply market appears to be built on trust and social interactions and, as such, presents several challenges to law enforcement. It is suggested that there would be benefit in providing targeted education campaigns to combat social supply dealing among young adults. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, December 2015. 6p. Source: Internet Resource: Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 503: Accessed March 2, 2016 at: http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/tandi_pdf/tandi503.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Australia URL: http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/tandi_pdf/tandi503.pdf Shelf Number: 138010 Keywords: CannabisDrug Abuse and AddictionDrug DealingDrug MarketsIllicit DrugsMarijuana |
Author: Saunders, Jessica Title: A Community-Based, Focused-Deterrence Approach to Closing Overt Drug Markets: A Process and Fidelity Evaluation of Seven Sites Summary: Overt drug markets are often associated with violence and property crime, as well as lower quality of life for nearby residents. Despite the considerable strain these markets can place on communities, efforts to close them can disrupt the delicate relationship between those who live in these communities and the criminal justice agencies charged with protecting them. In 2010, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) funded Michigan State University (MSU) to train a cohort of seven jurisdictions to implement a community-based strategy that uses focused deterrence, community engagement, and incapacitation to reduce the crime and disorder associated with overt drug markets. The strategy was inspired by the High Point Drug Market Intervention and RAND was selected by the National Institute of Justice to evaluate these efforts. This process evaluation describes how well the seven sites adhered to the BJA model they were exposed to during the trainings, the barriers they encountered, and lessons learned from their experiences. Key Findings Successful Implementation Requires Strong Support from Law Enforcement and Prosecutors - Three sites did not make it to the call-in phase, with the common theme a lack of support at the highest levels of police departments or prosecutor's offices or the loss of initial support from leaders at these key agencies over time. - An initial commitment that is not sustained, or lack of strong commitment from one of these entities, may impede full implementation of the strategy. Team Members Should Have a Good Understanding of the Strategy Before Beginning the Process - A full understanding of the strategy from the outset will prevent avoidable missteps and will likely improve fidelity to the model. Team Turnover Should Be Expected and Addressed in Advance - Most of the teams experienced some turnover in the core membership, and in some cases, this put an end to the intervention. - Several team members mentioned that it was important to have multiple people from each sector familiar with the project in case someone changes positions. If Sites Plan to Track Dealers, an Action Plan Should Be Developed Prior to the Call-In - Some sites did not develop specific systems for tracking A-listers and B-listers, either from the outset or at all. This information is important for understanding the causal mechanisms underlying observed changes, keeping track of program costs, and successfully delivering on the deterrence message. - Some sites were not able to keep careful track of whether B-listers were complying with the terms of program, and some lacked specific requirements for B-lister participation. Details: Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2016. 113p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed march 8, 2016 at: http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1000/RR1001/RAND_RR1001.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1000/RR1001/RAND_RR1001.pdf Shelf Number: 138129 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug Abuse and CrimeDrug ControlDrug EnforcementDrug Markets |
Author: Queensland Organised Crime Commission of Inquiry Title: Report Summary: The Commission commenced on 1 May 2015, by Commissions of Inquiry Order (No. 1) 2015, to make inquiry into the extent and nature of organised crime in Queensland and its economic and societal impacts. The otherwise very broad nature of such an inquiry was somewhat narrowed by the Terms of Reference within the Order in Council, which focused the Commission on four key areas: - the major illicit drug and/or precursor markets - online child sex offending, including the child exploitation material market - financial crimes, primarily investment/financial market fraud and financial data theft - the relationship between organised crime and corruption in Queensland. The Commission was also required to investigate the extent to which organised crime groups use various enabling mechanisms or services: in particular, money laundering, cyber and technology-enabled crime, identity crime, professional facilitators, violence and extortion. In carrying out the Inquiry, the Commission was to examine the adequacy and appropriateness of current responses to organised crime by law enforcement, intelligence, and prosecution agencies, as well as the adequacy of legislation and of the resources available to such agencies. The six-month timeframe given for the Inquiry was limited, given the areas required to be examined. Details: Sydney: The Commission, 2015. 578p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 30, 2016 at: https://www.organisedcrimeinquiry.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/935/QOCCI15287-ORGANISED-CRIME-INQUIRY_Final_Report.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Australia URL: https://www.organisedcrimeinquiry.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/935/QOCCI15287-ORGANISED-CRIME-INQUIRY_Final_Report.pdf Shelf Number: 138491 Keywords: Child Sexual ExploitationCorruptionCybercrimeDrug MarketsDrug TraffickingFinancial CrimesIdentity TheftMoney LaunderingMotorcycle GangsOrganized Crime |
Author: Kruithof, Kristy Title: Internet-facilitated Drugs Trade: An Analysis of the size, scope and the role of the Netherlands Summary: The potential role of the Internet in facilitating drugs trade first gained mass attention with the rise and fall of Silk Road; the first major online market place for illegal goods on the hidden web. After Silk Road was taken down by the FBI in October 2013, it was only a matter of weeks before copycats filled the void. Today, there are around 50 so-called cryptomarkets and vendor shops where anonymous sellers and buyers find each other to trade illegal drugs, new psychoactive substances, prescription drugs and other goods and services. But it is not just the obscure parts of the Internet where drugs are on offer. There are numerous web shops, easily found by search engines, which offer new psychoactive substances, often labelled as 'research chemicals'. The Netherlands occupies a crucial position in European illicit drug markets. Data from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction suggested it is the main producer of MDMA, ecstasy and herbal cannabis and a key distribution hub for cannabis resin and cocaine. Whether the pivotal role of the Netherlands also extends online, has yet been unclear. The Netherlands Ministry of Security and Justice commissioned RAND Europe to provide a firmer evidence base to this phenomenon and, in particular, the role of the Netherlands. This report analyses the size and scope of Internet-facilitated drugs trade both on the so-called clear and hidden web, paying special attention to the Netherlands, and delineates potential avenues for law enforcement for detection and intervention. Key Findings Monthly revenues from drugs on cryptomarkets are in the double-digit million dollars Of all products and services on offer, this study found that 57 per cent of listings across the eight analysed cryptomarkets offered drugs. The results indicate that these cryptomarkets generated a total monthly revenue of $14.2m (L12.6m) in January 2016, $12.0m (L10.5m) when prescription drugs and alcohol and tobacco are excluded (lower-boundary estimate). An upper-boundary estimate for monthly drug revenues via visible listings on all cryptomarkets would be $25.0m (L22.1m) and $21.1m (L18.5m) when prescription drugs and alcohol and tobacco are excluded. Cannabis, stimulants and ecstasy were responsible for 70 per cent of all revenues on the analysed cryptomarkets. No information was identified on revenues on the clear net. The values are based on EUR/USD exchange rate of 1.14 as of April 2016. Cryptomarkets are not just an 'eBay for Drugs' Large 'wholesale' level transactions (those greater than $1,000) are important for cryptomarkets, generating nearly one quarter of overall revenue both in September 2013 and in January 2016. Based on these findings it is likely that many cryptomarket customers are drug dealers sourcing stock intended for offline distribution. Most revenues are generated by vendors who indicate they are operating from Anglo-Saxon countries or Western Europe Most vendors appeared to be operating from the United States (890), followed by the United Kingdom (338), and Germany (225). Vendors indicating they ship from the United States generated 36% per cent of all drug revenues within our sample. Other Anglo-Saxon (Canada and the United Kingdom) as well as Western European countries (the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, France) also generate substantial proportions of revenues. Revenues from vendors operating from the Netherlands are by far the largest on a per capita basis Revenues to vendors reporting to operate from the Netherlands on cryptomarkets accounted for 8 per cent of total drug revenues. On a per capita basis, revenues to vendors operating from the Netherlands were 2.4 times higher than those from the United Kingdom and 4.5 higher than those from the United States. Vendors and buyers on online markets seem to have similar characteristics Traditional investigation techniques applied in the drug chain, postal detection and interception, online detection and online disruption are potential law enforcement strategies in the detection and intervention of Internet-facilitated drugs trade. In addition, international cooperation and coordination (and the accompanying legal challenges), capacity and resources and (technical) capabilities could play a facilitating role in deploying the different strategies to tackle Internet-facilitated drugs trade. There are four broad categories of modes of detection and intervention Traditional investigation techniques applied in the drug chain, postal detection and interception, online detection and online disruption are potential law enforcement strategies in the detection and intervention of Internet-facilitated drugs trade. In addition, international cooperation and coordination (and the accompanying legal challenges), capacity and resources and (technical) capabilities could play a facilitating role in deploying the different strategies to tackle Internet-facilitated drugs trade. Details: Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2016. 203p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 25, 2016 at: http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1600/RR1607/RAND_RR1607.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Netherlands URL: http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1600/RR1607/RAND_RR1607.pdf Shelf Number: 140034 Keywords: Computer CrimesDrug MarketsIllegal Drug TradeIllegal DrugsInternet Crime |
Author: Moyle, Leah Title: An Exploration of how the Social Supply and User-Dealer Supply of Illicit Drugs Differs to Conventional Notions of Drug Dealing and Consideration of the Consequences of this for Sentencing Policy Summary: The concept of 'social supply' has emerged as a term used both in the UK, and internationally, to describe drug distribution that is non-commercially motivated and almost exclusively found between friends and acquaintances. Social suppliers have increasingly been presented as actors who are qualitatively different to drug dealers (proper), in relation to their motivation and their activity. As a result, they have increasingly become identified as a group who should be distinguished as such legally (Police Foundation, 2000; Release, 2009). While social supply behaviours can be identified in wider research literature relating to recreational drug use, there is a relative gap in regard to in-depth accounts of social supply activity, and in regard to a social supply definition. In a similar way, heroin and crack cocaine user-dealers - a group who are also perhaps not best understood as profit motivated suppliers - have received insufficient academic attention, with the majority of research references failing to go beyond typologies that recognise them simply as suppliers who also use. With research indicating that social supply permeates a meaningful section of adolescent and adult drug markets, along with evidence to suggest that drug supply embodies one of limited options for addicted drug users to fund their habit, this thesis explores how far we can understand these behaviours as drug dealing (proper). Using qualitative in-depth interviews and case studies, this interpretivist research design develops existing ideas, as well as highlighting emergent social supply and user-dealing themes. Findings from this research indicate that social supply behaviours are usefully understood through a theoretical application of 'normalisation' (Parker et al., 1998) and 'drift' (Matza, 1964) and are wider in scope than those currently recognised by the literature base. The research findings also indicate the importance of the notion of 'economies of scale' - an incentive for drug users to obtain a larger quantity of substance for a cheaper price. Notions of reciprocity also feature, with group obligation providing a rationale for involvement in social supply. The findings are also suggestive of the idea that user-dealing - understood through the theoretical gaze of Bourdieu's 'Theory of Practice' (1990) - is characterised by limited distribution, minimal profit and explicated as a less harmful option than other crimes undertaken to fund drug dependence. This thesis concludes with the proposal that a conceptual shift towards 'minimally commercial supply' offers a more realistic and inclusive means of conceptualising both social supply and user-dealing activity. Possible ways forward therefore include the implementation of this term as a distinct offence that focuses on intent, thereby presenting a more proportionate approach than current policy responses for these groups allow. Details: Plymouth, UK: Plymouth University, 2013. 314p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed August 30, 2016 at: https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/handle/10026.1/3007 Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/handle/10026.1/3007 Shelf Number: 140080 Keywords: Drug DealingDrug MarketsIllegal DRugsIllicit Drugs |
Author: Hughes, Caitlin Title: Trafficking in Multiple Commodities: Exposing Australia's poly-drug and poly-criminal networks Summary: International law enforcement agencies have increasingly pointed to an apparent rise in poly-drug traffickers: high level drug traffickers who choose to trade in multiple illicit drugs. This project provided the first detailed examination of poly-drug and poly-crime trafficking in Australia. It used three different types of Australian Federal Police data (border seizures, cases and linked-cases) and court sentencing data to estimate the scale of and trends in poly-drug commercial importation at the Australian border from 1999-2012; generate and compare criminal profiles of 20 poly-drug and 20 mono-drug traffickers; and conduct social network analysis of three Australian poly-drug networks. The analysis showed that over the 14 year period, from 1999 to 2012, between 5% and 35% of commercial importations at the Australian border involved poly-drug trafficking. Poly-drug trafficking occurred in almost every year of analysis: and increased only slightly over time. Finally, poly-drug traffickers were associated with more serious and potentially harmful behaviour. For example, compared to mono-drug traffickers, poly-drug traffickers were associated with larger quantities of drug seized, larger networks, longer periods of operation, and greater involvement in other types of serious crime. The project concluded that some fears about poly-drug traffickers may have been overstated particularly about the inherent escalation of this form of trafficking, but that poly-drug traffickers are likely to pose added risks to governments and law enforcement than mono-drug traffickers. Two key implications are that first, poly-drug traffickers warrant increased attention in Australia; and second, regulatory or law enforcement responses aimed at one drug may increase the problems associated with another drug. This demands a new way of thinking about Australian illicit drug markets that can better respond to drug traffickers operating in an inter-connected marketplace. Details: Canberra: National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund, 2016. 133p. Source: Internet Resource: Monograph Series No. 62: Accessed September 2, 2016 at: http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/sites/default/files/publication-documents/monographs/monograph-62.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/sites/default/files/publication-documents/monographs/monograph-62.pdf Shelf Number: 140130 Keywords: Criminal NetworksDrug MarketsDrug TraffickingIllicit DrugsOrganized Crime |
Author: Garat, Guillermo Title: Paraguay: The cannabis breadbasket of the Southern Cone: A focus on the largest cannabis producer in South America Summary: Key Points - Paraguay is the principal producer of cannabis in South America. Despite its importance as a supplier of cannabis in South America, there has been a surprising absence of serious studies of its impact on its own society, and on the play of offer and demand in neighbouring countries. - After 40 years of an intense "war on drugs", there are now eight departments involved in the business, with spiralling homicide rates, an absence of state policy intervention, drug traffickers infiltrated into local political structures, and millions of dollars which are shared out by terrorist organizations, a new chain of services connected to the illicit trade, and - to a much lesser extent - small farmers suffocated by repeated crises. - Contradictions in productive structures, the lack of agrarian policies, poverty and the absence of perspectives for the rural population led to a gradual, and progressively more blatant, adoption of cannabis cultivation by young. Over time, growing cannabis became one of the few viable economic prospects for large sectors of the population. - Intermediaries who manage contacts with the buyers on the border with Brazil, employ young people to grow, protect, harvest, dry, press, package and even transport the cannabis - not just within Paraguay, but even into nearby countries, using the limited means at their disposal, such as their shoulders, bicycles and motorbikes. - The use of cannabis is looked down on by the general population, particularly in rural areas, and even in the communities where it is grown, it is commonly referred to as the "demon weed" (hierba maldita). Lifetime use of cannabis in Paraguay is the second lowest in all Latin America, only 0.4% admitting to having tried it. - Some politicians, government officials, civil society organisations and farmers' organisations see the benefit of the regulation of the cannabis market in Paraguay, but the debate is still incipient. Details: Bonn, Germany: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, 2016. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: Drug Policy Briefing, no. 46: Accessed November 2, 2016 at: https://www.tni.org/files/publication-downloads/drug_policy_briefing_46.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Paraguay URL: https://www.tni.org/files/publication-downloads/drug_policy_briefing_46.pdf Shelf Number: 145004 Keywords: CannabisDrug MarketsDrug PolicyDrug TraffickingIllicit TradeMarijuanaWar on Drugs |
Author: Munoz-Herrera, Manual Title: Drug Dealing In Bucaramanga: Case Study In A Drug Producing Country Summary: We present a case study of the market of drug dealing in the context of a drug producing country. A main characteristic of a drug producing country is that illegal drugs are more accessible and have dramatically lower prices in the street market compared to countries that do not produce drugs. We locate our study to the city of Bucaramanga, Colombia; the country with the largest production of cocaine in the world. We make use of two sources of primary information (i) direct interviews to drug dealers, and (ii) media analysis of the local newspaper. Our main finding is that individual dealers exchange drugs, without any incentives to integrate and take control of the distribution in the city. That is, the low prices of drugs reduce profit and deter dealers to fight for monopoly, leading to a decentralized market of multiple uni-personal firms who use no violence. Details: Munich: Munich Personal RePEc Archive, 2014. 33p. Source: Internet Resource: MPRA Paper No. 58523: Accessed December 7, 2016 at: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/58523/1/MPRA_paper_58523.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Colombia URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/58523/1/MPRA_paper_58523.pdf Shelf Number: 147951 Keywords: CocaineDrug DealersDrug MarketsDrug TraffickingDrug-Related Violence |
Author: European Parliament. Directorate-General for Internal Policies. Policy Department C Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs Title: A Review and Assessment of EU Drug Policy Summary: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The challenges facing Europe in the field of drugs are still significant and have increased in complexity in recent years. In addition to the key issue of mortality and morbidity as a result of opioid use, new and emerging problems are being experienced across the EU. These include the creation of new psychoactive substances and the increasing dynamism of illicit drug markets. This study aims to provide evidence on international and EU approaches to drug policy, including these challenges and focusing on several case study countries. This evidence has been used to identify and develop policy proposals. Drug policy at the UN and EU levels The main tenets of the UN's approach to drugs are the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances and the 1988 UN Convention against illicit traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. A key UN policy document is the 2009 'Political Declaration and Plan of Action on International Cooperation towards an Integrated and Balanced Strategy to Counter the World Drug Problem'. This document details a set of goals to be achieved by 2019, including significant and measurable progress in eliminating the illicit cultivation of opium poppy, coca bush and cannabis plant, as well as actions to be implemented by countries across three main pillars. In April 2016, the UNGASS on the World Drug Problem was convened; a UN General Assembly special session seen as an important milestone in achieving the goals set out in the 2009 policy document. The UNGASS resulted in the adoption of the outcome document 'Our joint commitment to effectively addressing and countering the world drug problem. This document provided a range of operational recommendations and broadened the original pillar structure to 7 pillars (see chapter 2). Several new themes were added including drugs and health, drugs and human rights, new drug related challenges such as NPS and use of the internet, and international and development related cooperation. At the EU level, although the primary onus for developing drug policy and legislation remains with the Member States, there are a several legal bases for EU action, as stipulated in the Treaty of Lisbon. These cover the context of adopting minimum rules on the definition of criminal offences and sanctions on serious organised crime (Article 83 TFEU), public health (Article 168 TFEU), the internal market (Article 114 TFEU) and judicial cooperation in criminal matters (Articles 82-86 TFEU). In terms of EU policy, the most prominent current instrument is the EU Drugs Strategy 2013-2020. The Strategy provides the overarching political framework and priorities for EU drug policy. The EU Drugs Strategy has 5 main objectives, namely to reduce demand and harm, disrupt the drugs market, discourse and analysis, cooperation, and research and monitoring. The implementation of the Strategy's long-term objectives have been operationalised in 4- year Action Plans. In November 2015, the Commission adopted a report on the progress of the implementation of the EU Drugs Strategy and Action Plan. The mid-term evaluation of the first Action Plan (2013-2016) is due to be completed by the end of 2016 or, at the latest, early 2017. The findings from the mid-term evaluation and the Public Consultation, which was launched by the European Commission in March 2016, will inform the Commission's decision to propose a new Action Plan for 2017-2020. Recent EU legislative developments relate to a package of two proposals regarding new psychoactive substances. These proposals were put forward by the European Commission is 2013. As Member States expressed doubts in the Council concerning the choice of Article 114 TFEU as the legal basis for the proposed Regulation, inter-institutional negotiations of this legislative package were ongoing for more than two years. As a result, the Commission withdrew its proposal on 29 August 2016 and tabled a proposal amending the founding Regulation of the EMCDDA (Regulation (EC) No 1920/2006 on the EMCDDA). Under this proposal, deadlines for decision-making on NPS will be significantly reduced and Europol will take on a more active role in the risk assessment procedure and the Early Warning System (EWS), with a view to quicker identification and assessment of the involvement of criminal groups. The new proposal was welcomed by all Member States and was backed by the European Parliament's LIBE Committee on 17 November 2016. Details: Brussels: European Parliament, 2016. 224p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 8, 2017 at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/571400/IPOL_STU(2016)571400_EN.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Europe URL: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/571400/IPOL_STU(2016)571400_EN.pdf Shelf Number: 144946 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug Control PolicyDrug EnforcementDrug marketsDrug PolicyIllicit DrugsOrganized Crime |
Author: Ramsey, Geoff Title: Uruguay: Marijuana, Organized Crime and the Politics of Drugs Summary: Uruguay is poised to become the first country on the planet to regulate the production, sale, distribution, and consumption of marijuana. This report looks at the political, economic, and criminal challenges to Uruguay's new marijuana regulations. Details: s.l.: Insight Crime, 2013. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 15, 2017 at: http://www.insightcrime.org/images/PDFs/2016/uruguay_legalization.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Uruguay URL: http://www.insightcrime.org/images/PDFs/2016/uruguay_legalization.pdf Shelf Number: 145101 Keywords: Drug Control PolicyDrug MarketsMarijuanaOrganized Crime |
Author: Taheri-Keramati, Yashar Title: Drugs, Police Inefficiencies, and Gangsterism in Violently Impoverished Communities like Overcome Summary: This research establishes an understanding of the relationship between gangsterism, the drug commodity and inefficiencies in the state's policing institution, as well as the consequences of this relationship, in the context of Overcome squatter area in Cape Town. Overcome is representative of other violently impoverished Cape Town communities with its high rate of unemployment, low quality of education, domestic abuse, stagnant housing crisis, lack of access to intellectual and material resources or opportunities for personal growth, gangsterism, inefficient policing, substance-dependency, and violence. This research demonstrates that the current relationship between the gangs, drugs and the police fosters an unpredictable, violent environment, leaving residents in a constant state of vulnerability. The argument is developed around three key historical junctures in the development of organized crime in South Africa, starting with the growth of the mining industry in the Witwatersrand after 1886, followed by forced removals and prohibition like policies in Cape Town circa 1970, and finally the upheaval created around transition away from apartheid in 1994. Research for this paper was both quantitative and qualitative in nature, and included expert interviews on the subjects of police criminality, narcotic sales, and gangsterism. Newspapers articles, crime statistics, books, census figures, and a host of journals were also utilized. Upon reviewing a host of police inefficiencies and criminal collusions, the research concludes that public criminals related to the state, such as police, and private criminals, such as gangsters, work together in a multitude of ways in a bid to acquire wealth, most notably through an illicit drug market today dominated by 'tik'. It is shown that this violent narcotics market binds police and gangsters together at the expense of creating a state of insecurity for those living in poor drug markets. Details: Cape Town: University of Cape Town, 2013. 73p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed March 6, 2017 at: https://open.uct.ac.za/bitstream/item/3536/thesis_hsf_2013_taheri-keramati_y.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2013 Country: South Africa URL: https://open.uct.ac.za/bitstream/item/3536/thesis_hsf_2013_taheri-keramati_y.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 141342 Keywords: Drug marketsDrug-Related ViolenceGangsOrganized CrimePovertySocioeconomic Conditions and CrimeViolent Crime |
Author: Blickman, Tom Title: Morocco and Cannabis: Reduction, containment or acceptance Summary: This policy briefing discusses whether or not the aim of reducing cannabis cultivation is realistic or beneficial for Morocco, what it would actually mean for the major production area the Rif - one of the poorest, most densely populated and environmentally fragile regions in the country - and what that could imply for meaningful sustainable development. The briefing will give some historical background, discuss developments in the cannabis market, and highlight environmental and social consequences as well as the recent debate about regulation in Morocco and about European policies. KEY POINTS - Morocco continues to be the world's largest producer of cannabis resin (hashish). Over the past 50 years, the Moroccan cannabis growers shown a remarkable resilience to government attempts to eradicate or reduce cannabis cultivation as well as a noteworthy ability to adapt to changing international market conditions. - Since Morocco's independence the government has practiced a policy of containment regarding cannabis cultivation, allowing no new areas but tacitly allowing those already in production to be maintained. - The rapid increase in illicit cannabis cultivation in the Rif during the last decades, as well as poor soil conservation practices, have taken a heavy toll on the Rif's already threatened forests and fragile ecosystems. - The unregulated cannabis market in Morocco has negative social consequences. Some 48,000 growers have arrest warrants hanging over their heads, which is a source of corruption and repression. An amnesty and decriminalization could be effective measures to diminish negative social consequences and open the debate about regulation. - Cannabis farmers in Morocco should have access to emerging legally regulated cannabis markets that are gaining ground worldwide. The challenge is to find a sustainable development model that includes cannabis cultivation in Morocco, instead of excluding cannabis and ignoring the realities of more than 50 years of failed attempts to eradicate the only viable economic option in the region. Details: Amsterdam: Transnational Institute, 2017. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Drug Policy Briefing, no. 49: Accessed April 6, 2017 at: https://www.tni.org/files/publication-downloads/dpb_49_eng_web.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Morocco URL: https://www.tni.org/files/publication-downloads/dpb_49_eng_web.pdf Shelf Number: 144730 Keywords: CannabisDrug Abuse and Addiction Drug MarketsDrug Offenders Drug Policy Drug ReformMarijuana |
Author: Camero, Mildred Title: El tráfico de drogas Ilícitas en Venezuela (Illicit drug trafficking in Venezuela) (In Spanish) Summary: We have that the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, due to its geographic location to the north of South America and being a country bordering the Republic of Colombia (2219 Km2), one of the largest producers of drugs and mainly narcotics (marijuana, cocaine and Heroin), indisputably is in a situation of permanent risk. This geographical situation allows a greater approach to the drug markets and also to the transfer of the drug by sea, air and land. Currently, Venezuela is the main transit point for drugs in South America. Approximately more than 300 metric tons of the drug called cocaine are transported from our country to Central America, the United States, Europe and recently to West Africa, for distribution in Eastern Europe. The central objective of these lines is to try to articulate in a generic way what is the cornerstone of the problem of illicit drug trafficking in Venezuela, on the understanding that it is such a complex problem that it can not be addressed unilaterally, but collectively; Before which it is worth questioning Is Venezuela fulfilling the commitments assumed and foreseen in the International Treaties? What are the characteristics, causes, effects and consequences of drug trafficking in our country? At what point is it? Details: Caracas: OBSERVATORIO DE DELITO ORGANIZADO, 2016. 77p. Source: Internet Resource: Organized Crime Manual 8: Accessed April 7, 2017 at: http://observatoriodot.org.ve/cms/index.php/item/196-trafico-de-drogas Year: 2016 Country: Venezuela URL: http://observatoriodot.org.ve/cms/index.php/item/196-trafico-de-drogas Shelf Number: 144748 Keywords: Drug marketsDrug Trafficking Organized Crime |
Author: Raffo Lopez, Leonardo Title: Law enforcement and drug trafficking networks: a simple model Summary: This article presents a theoretical model to explain the performance of illicit drug markets. The analytical framework is based on the oligopoly model of Poret and Tejedo (2006), but the latter is extended in a crucial respect: the influence of drug trafficking networks in the illicit drug markets is considered. The proposed model indicates that Poret and Tejedo were correct: the aggregate quantity of drugs sold is negatively affected by the intensity of the law enforcement policies applied and positively affected by the number of traffickers in the market. We also determined that the individual and aggregate sales in the market are positively affected by the network's average density. Our model is useful for explaining the failure of the war against drugs to halt the reproduction and expansion of illegal activities at a global level during the three past decades. Details: Cali, Colombia: Universidad del Valle, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Economicas, 2015. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper no. 162: Accessed April 8, 2017 at: http://lacer.lacea.org/bitstream/handle/123456789/53019/lacea2015_drug_trafficking_networks.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2015 Country: International URL: http://lacer.lacea.org/bitstream/handle/123456789/53019/lacea2015_drug_trafficking_networks.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 144749 Keywords: Drug EnforcementDrug MarketsDrug TraffickingIllegal Markets |
Author: Espach, Ralph Title: The Dilemma of Lawlessness: Organized Crime, Violence, Prosperity, and Security along Guatemala's Borders Summary: For centuries, the Central American region has been among the world's most important transit zones. The Spanish shuttled the gold, silver, and other valuables from Southeast Asia and from South America across the Panamanian isthmus. Later, the French and the Americans competed to control and improve that route with a water canal, either in Panama or Nicaragua. Since the emergence of the United States as a major economy and consumer market, the region has been a key zone for the northward flow of all kinds of products - legal and illegal. Economically, the countries of Central America, particularly northern Central America (including Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador), have traditionally been among the most unequal in the Americas. Throughout most of these countries' histories, political power and state resources were controlled by the same families and networks that owned most of the land and industries. Relatively few resources and little state attention were dedicated to improving the lives of the poor, especially in isolated rural areas. Except during infrequent instances of insurgency, civil war, or interstate conflict, border control or even preserving a state presence in rural areas in these regions was not an important concern. In practical terms, national territorial borders were unmarked and did not exist. What is today considered smuggling was a normal, everyday practice. Many border communities had closer economic ties to cities, agricultural zones, or economic infrastructure such as railroads or ports in countries across the border than they did to those within their own country. Moreover, most of the residents of these rural areas were indigenous and largely disconnected from the country in which they lived and the government that notionally had authority over them. In this way, most border zones in these countries have traditionally been "ungoverned," or "undergoverned," in terms of their relations with the national and provincial or departmental governments. Over the decades, numerous groups have taken advantage of the porousness of these borders, and the general lawlessness of these remote areas (many of which are heavily forested and/or mountainous), to elude governments or armed forces. In addition to the ever-present smugglers, armed insurgent groups from both the left and the right, as well as paramilitaries of all stripes, crossed borders to conduct their operations during the Cold War. The most recent, and by some accounts the most dangerous, type of actors to exploit these weakly governed, porous borders in northern Central America have been narcotics trafficking networks. Illegal drugs have been smuggled from the world's foremost coca production zone - the northern Andean foothills - to the world's richest and largest drug consumption market - the United States - since at least the 1980s. Beginning in the 1990s, however, an international crackdown on drug smuggling through the Caribbean region led Colombian cartels to favor overland routes through Central America and Mexico. The Colombians moved product through the region largely by buying the services of local trafficking networks. These networks were particularly well developed in Guatemala as a result of the intelligence and transport networks the military created during that country's civil war from the 1960s to the 1990s. Over time, Mexican trafficking networks grew into competitive cartels themselves and began to fight each other for control over valuable transport and smuggling routes. Mexico's largest cartels-including the Sinaloa Federation, the Gulf Cartel, and the Zeta-grew their operations from merely trafficking the product of others to buying the product upstream and controlling its transit in Central America. Traditionally, Colombian- or Mexican-run trafficking cartels operated in Guatemala by buying the services of local trafficking networks, but around 2008 they began to seek to control routes themselves. Many of these routes lie along the Guatemalan coast, where drugs are brought in by boat and then transferred onto land for transit into Mexico. Other routes enter from Honduras, with the drugs being flown in from Venezuela or brought in via boat. Recently, there has been evidence not only of a broad presence of Mexican drug-trafficking networks across Guatemala but also of the expansion of their operations there, particularly into drug processing. They also sell more of their product in local markets, rather than shipping it onward, fueling local gang activity and urban violence. Details: Arlington, CA: CNA; Quantico, VA: Marine Corps University Press, 2016. 102p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 17, 2017 at: https://www.cna.org/CNA_Files/PDF/TheDilemmaOfLawlessness.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Guatemala URL: https://www.cna.org/CNA_Files/PDF/TheDilemmaOfLawlessness.pdf Shelf Number: 144948 Keywords: Border SecurityCriminal CartelsDrug MarketsDrug TraffickingGang-Related ViolenceOrganized CrimeSmugglingViolenceViolent Crime |
Author: Power, Mike Title: The Green Screen Summary: Could an online only, legal cannabis market in the UK be the way to disrupt the illicit black market? In the music industry, Spotify is making its mark on music piracy. Their platform is malware free, easy to use and has an ever expanding range of content. Currently, the two main options for cannabis consumers in the UK are street or dark web dealers, who supply cannabis of varying qualities, along with other illegal drugs- and they don't ask for ID. Could digital innovation in the legal cannabis sphere be an effective way to tackle the prominence of the black market, and the associated harms that come with such an unregulated marketplace? Details: London: Volteface, 2017. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 12, 2017 at: http://volteface.me/app/uploads/2017/04/Green-Screen-web-version.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://volteface.me/app/uploads/2017/04/Green-Screen-web-version.pdf Shelf Number: 145458 Keywords: Black Markets Cannabis Drug Legalization Drug MarketsDrug Policy Illicit Markets Marijuana |
Author: Aziani, Alberto Title: Shrinking businesses and expanding graveyards: how fluctuations in the value of cocaine markets influence the recourse to lethal violence Summary: Many scholars have investigated the escalation of violence associated with drug trafficking. Despite the plethora of literature, limited attention has been paid to the consequences of fluctuations in the value of markets. This study addresses this lacuna in extant research by proposing an original estimate of the gross value added of cocaine markets in 151 countries between the period 1998-2013, taking into consideration both national and international dimensions of cocaine trafficking through recourse to a flow/network approach. In conjunction with this, the fluctuation of the gross value added of the cocaine market is examined in terms of an etiological factor in the upsurge of interpersonal lethal violence. The analysis demonstrates how expansions and contractions of the gross value added in cocaine markets are significant determinants of the level of violence within the respective countries that constitute the global cocaine network. Finally, through mobilising innovative methods for estimating drug law enforcement actions, the study problematizes extant methods for disrupting drug trafficking on the basis that they may, paradoxically, engender cycles of violence. Details: Milan: UNIVERSITA CATTOLICA DEL SACRO CUORE, 2016. 287p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed May 13, 2017 at: https://tesionline.unicatt.it/bitstream/10280/17473/1/Alberto%20Aziani%20_%20PhD%20Thesis.pdf Year: 2016 Country: International URL: https://tesionline.unicatt.it/bitstream/10280/17473/1/Alberto%20Aziani%20_%20PhD%20Thesis.pdf Shelf Number: 145472 Keywords: CocaineDrug MarketsDrug TraffickingDrug-Related ViolenceEconomics of Crime |
Author: Luong, Hai Thanh Title: Transnational Narcotics Trafficking and Law Enforcement: A Vietnam Perspective Summary: Close proximity to the major production zones, porous borderlands, mountainous frontiers and long coastlines offer advantageous conditions for trafficking narcotics. The illicit drug situation has become much more complex in Vietnam with the growth in amphetaminetype stimulants production and trade. Even so, empirical research and analysis of the organization and operation of transnational narcotics trafficking (TransNT) remains limited. The purpose of this thesis is to present the first detailed inquiry into the nature of TransNT across the border between Lao PDR and Vietnam using an exploratory approach which draws upon qualitative and quantitative methods. In particular, the thesis presents findings from case studies of cross-border trafficking between Vietnam and Lao PDR in the period of 2003-2013 combined with interview and survey data from criminal investigation police and drug-related crimes officers (CIPDRC) from six border provinces who are directly and indirectly involved in investigating these cases. The findings of this study indicate that drug markets in Vietnam are not controlled by monopolistic, hierarchical organizations or 'cartels'. The structures of TransNT entities operating across the Lao-Vietnam border are small, based on family ties and fellow-countrymen relations, are fluid and loosely organized. They are very adaptable and sophisticated with diverse modus operandi and multiple divisions of labour. This presents particular challenges to law enforcement agencies (LAEs). This thesis questions to capacity of Vietnam's police to enforce the government's zero-tolerance anti-narcotics policy. The study highlights practical problems and specific barriers in combating TransNT. LEAs in Vietnam and Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) operate without effective mechanisms to cooperate and share information. It is also the case that traffickers often have more sophisticated equipment at their disposal to help them avoid arrest. Police forces work within national structures and yet are faced with the task of combatting transnational crime. This reality affects law enforcement capacity at a national as well as regional level, but Association of the Southeast Asian Nations member states have yet to establish effective structures for dealing with this non-traditional security challenge. Based on these findings, therefore, the thesis proposes recommendations to enhancing the effectiveness of LEAs in dealing with TransNT across Vietnam's border with Lao PDR. Details: Melbourne, AUS: School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, College of Design and Social Context, RMIT University, 2017. 417p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed May 16, 2017 at: https://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/eserv/rmit:162002/Luong.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Vietnam URL: https://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/eserv/rmit:162002/Luong.pdf Shelf Number: 145478 Keywords: Border SecurityDrug EnforcementDrug marketsDrug TraffickingIllicit Drugs |
Author: Kruithof, Kristy Title: The role of the 'dark web' in the trade of illicit drugs Summary: The Internet has fundamentally changed ways of doing business, including the operations of illegal markets. RAND Europe was commissioned to investigate the role of the Internet in facilitating the drugs trade, particularly in the Netherlands. The Internet has fundamentally changed ways of doing business, including the operations and activities of illegal markets. There are now around 50 online marketplaces on the 'dark web' that trade illegal drugs, novel psychoactive substances (NPS), prescription drugs and other - often illegal - goods and services. These so-called cryptomarkets are accessible with a normal Internet connection, but require special anonymising software to access. The role of these cryptomarkets in facilitating the trade of illicit drugs was first highlighted by the success of Silk Road, an online marketplace for the sale of illegal goods. Silk Road was taken down by the FBI in October 2013; however, other very similar cryptomarkets filled the void within a matter of weeks. Details: Cambridge, UK: RAND Europe, 2016. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Brief: Accessed September 27, 2017 at: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9925.html Year: 2016 Country: Netherlands URL: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9925.html Shelf Number: 147473 Keywords: Dark WebDrug MarketsIllegal Drug TradeIllegal MarketsInternet Crime |
Author: Grigg, Jodie Title: Social supply of cannabis in Australia Summary: Australian retail markets for most illicit drugs, including cannabis, are based significantly upon friendships and occur in closed settings. This has been described as 'lounge room', as opposed to 'street', dealing (Nicholas 2008). Similar observations have been made in other countries, and in the UK the term 'social supply' was coined to describe this aspect of the drug market where a supplier who is not considered to be a 'drug dealer proper' brokers, facilitates or sells drugs, for little or no financial gain, to friends and acquaintances (Hough et al. 2003). In this qualitative and quantitative study, a convenience sample of 200 cannabis users aged between 18 and 30 years were interviewed in Perth (n=80), Melbourne (n=80) and Armidale (NSW; n=40). They were recruited online and through the mainstream street press, flyers, and snowballing. Participants mostly described a closed market characterised by high levels of trust between consumers and suppliers already known to each other at the level of adjacent pairs or small group networks, typically selling in private. Their qualitative accounts of what happened last time they scored or obtained cannabis provided rich descriptions of the process of obtaining cannabis for these young users. Although participants often described their main cannabis supplier as 'a friend', roughly three-fifths reported this relationship was a friendship first and two-fifths reported it was a supply relationship first. Overall, 94 percent of the sample had ever supplied cannabis and 78 percent had done so in the past six months. Although most people who engaged in supply understood that their activities would be regarded as such in law, most did not consider themselves to be a dealer. The findings have implications for the policing of social supply drug markets, the public education of participants in the social supply market and how social supply offences are dealt with in law. Details: Canberrra: National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund, 2015. 138p. Source: Internet Resource: Monograph no. 59: Accessed September 29, 2017 at: http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/sites/default/files/publication-documents/monographs/monograph-59.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Australia URL: http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/sites/default/files/publication-documents/monographs/monograph-59.pdf Shelf Number: 147490 Keywords: Cannabis Drug Abuse and Addiction Drug MarketsMarijuana |
Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Title: The Drug Problem and Organized Crime, Illicit Financial Flows, Corruption and Terrorism Summary: Organized crime groups have widened their portfolio of illicit activities. New crime areas such as cybercrime and environmental crime have emerged. Fewer groups are exclusively dedicated to drug trafficking, while more are also operating in other illicit sectors. Almost two thirds of drug trafficking groups operating in countries in the European Union are involved in more than one crime area, according to research by the European Police Office (Europol), and that figure has been rising for years. Drug trafficking groups in Europe are frequently also involved in the counterfeiting of goods, trafficking in human beings, smuggling of migrants and trafficking in weapons. Continued importance of drugs to organized crime groups In 2014, transnational organized crime groups across the globe were estimated to have generated between approximately one fifth and one third of their revenues from drug sales. Europol identified some 5,000 international organized crime groups operating in countries of the European Union in 2017, and estimated that more than one third were involved in drug trafficking. This makes drug trafficking more widespread across organized crime than organized property crime, smuggling of migrants, trafficking in human beings, excise fraud or any other illicit activity. Drug trafficking no longer the preserve of large criminal groups Groups with a strong hierarchical structure, such as those in Mexico and Japan, and to some extent in the Russian Federation, continue to be involved in the drug trade. Hierarchical, top-down organizations are still the most widespread type of organized crime group in Europe, according to Europol. However, there is evidence that looser, horizontal networks are becoming increasingly significant. In 2017, Europol estimated that such networks accounted for 30-40 per cent of organized crime groups operating in countries in the European Union. Technology's role in creating relatively low-risk drug markets The mobile communications revolution has offered new opportunities to traffickers. They no longer need personal contact with clients; instead, low-level "runners" can collect cash and dealers can let the customer know where to collect their drugs using messages sent over encrypted networks. The darknet allows users to buy drugs with a cryptocurrency, such as bitcoin, and have their purchases delivered to them in a concealed manner. Typical buyers are recreational users of cannabis, "ecstasy", cocaine, hallucinogens and NPS. They are less likely to order heroin or methamphetamine. Although the darknet accounts for only a small percentage of drug sales, the market has been growing rapidly in recent years. About 30 per cent of cocaine proceeds contributes to illicit financial flows About 30 per cent of the proceeds of cocaine sales at the global level was laundered abroad in 2009, according to a model developed by UNODC. A 2016 study based on interviews with drug crime convicts in Italy came to a similar conclusion, suggesting that roughly one third of the money spent by cocaine users was being laundered across borders. Drug money can make countries poorer In the short term, an inflow of drug money can boost investment and local gross domestic product. But the long-term effects tend to be negative, particularly when drug-related proceeds comprise a sizeable portion of the total economy of a community or a country. In this scenario, drug money has the potential to inflate property prices, distort export figures, create unfair competition, reinforce skewed income and wealth distributions and increase corruption. In the process, legitimate businesses, without access to illicit funds, may be squeezed out of the market and new legitimate investments may not take place. The rise of an illicit economy helps to weaken the rule of law and facilitates corruption, which in turn reinforces the illicit drug sector. Studies suggest that an injection of laundered money, including from illicit drug activities, is associated with reductions in overall annual economic growth rates, particularly in smaller and less developed countries. One estimate, based on a study of 17 countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, suggests that a $1 billion increase in money-laundering could reduce overall economic growth by between 0.03 and 0.06 percentage points. Details: UNODC, 2017. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 4, 2017 at: Year: 2017 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 147553 Keywords: Drug MarketsDrug Trafficking Money Laundering Organized Crime Terrorist Financing |
Author: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) Title: Drug squads: units specialised in drug law enforcement in Europe: Situation in the EU Member States, Norway and Turkey in 2015 Summary: In 2014, the EMCDDA took the decision to carry out a limited follow-up study of the EMCDDA Paper Drug squads: units specialised in drug law enforcement in Europe (EMCDDA, 2013), with the aim of monitoring possible changes and trends in drug supply reduction resulting from law enforcement activities. An abbreviated version of the data collection questionnaire employed in the original study was used for reporting by reference persons from the 28 EU Member States, Norway and Turkey. The reference persons were also given the opportunity to provide additional information and comments. The European drug law enforcement landscape in 2015 is broadly similar to the situation in 2012. The total number of drug squads in Europe has remained stable (1 187 squads in 2012 versus 1 133 in 2015), as has the number of staff allocated to drug squads. Although the number of law enforcement officers decreased by 10 % between 2012 and 2015 (from 17 720 to 15 870), the total number of staff employed in European drug squads increased slightly (from 19-490 to 20-515 staff members). Details: Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2017. 14p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 18, 2018 at: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/7143/Drug%20squads%202017.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Europe URL: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/7143/Drug%20squads%202017.pdf Shelf Number: 148857 Keywords: Drug Control Drug Enforcement Drug Markets Illicit DrugsLaw Enforcement |
Author: Hsu, Ko-Hsin Title: How are Street Drug Dealing Locations Selected? A Situational Analysis Summary: In Newark, NJ, drug dealing is common, but it is not evenly distributed in every part of the city. Between 2007 and 2009, most drug arrests were made on less than 20% of the streets. The dissertation seeks to explain how the locations for drug dealing are related to their surrounding situational features. It is hypothesized that these features produce criminal opportunities for drug dealing activities: lack of guardianship, accessibility, and crime generators. This dissertation focuses on drug arrests at the micro-level - street segments and intersections. Police arrest records from 2007 to 2009 provided by the Newark City Police Department are analyzed. A matched case-control design is used. Applying a threshold criterion of 5 or more arrests, 104 street segments and 31 intersections having frequent dealing activity per year in 2007 to 2009 are sampled to be the cases. Controls are individually matched with the cases, taking account of their distance from the cases, street length, and the intersecting thoroughfares. The sample size is 135 pairs. Situational data of local drug dealing settings are observed using Google Street View. Inter-rater reliability is assessed to affirm the quality of the data. McNemar's test is employed to examine the correlations between variables and the drug market. The dissertation also sets forth a conditional logistic regression model to analyze the causal relationships between variables and the drug market. Results show that drug dealing activity tends to occur on specific street segments characterized by abandoned buildings, bus stops, parking lots, vacant land, mailboxes, retail stores (near vacant lands), or the absence of a church. Drug dealing activity tends to occur on specific intersections characterized by parking lots, retail stores, and churches. The presence of a church as a crime generator to the occurrence of drug markets on intersections is one notable finding of this dissertation. The results signal that there are distinguishable situational factors affecting drug activity on streets and intersections, respectively. This dissertation demonstrates the feasibility of using Google Street View for future crime research. Policy implications are provided for making local drug markets more predictable and controllable to the police. Details: Newark, NJ: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 2014. 193p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed February 13, 2018 at: https://rucore.libraries.rutgers.edu/rutgers-lib/43986/ Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: https://rucore.libraries.rutgers.edu/rutgers-lib/43986/ Shelf Number: 149109 Keywords: Drug MarketsDrug Trafficking |
Author: Jelsma, Martin Title: Balancing Treaty Stability and Change: Inter se modification of the UN drug control conventions to facilitate cannabis regulation Summary: Key Points - Legal tensions are growing within the international drug control regime as increasing numbers of member states or jurisdictions therein move towards or seriously consider legal regulation of the cannabis market for non-medical purposes, a policy choice not permitted under the existing UN legal framework. - Reaching a new global consensus to revise or amend the UN drug control conventions to accommodate cannabis regulation, or that of other psychoactive plants and substances currently scheduled in these treaties, does not appear to be a viable political option in the foreseeable future. - The application of dubious or 'untidy' legal arguments to accommodate regulated cannabis markets does little for the integrity of the regime, undermines respect for international law more broadly and is not sustainable. - Appealing to human rights obligations can provide powerful arguments to question full compliance with certain drug control treaty provisions, but does not in itself resolve the arguable conflict between different treaty obligations. - States may wish to adopt a stance of respectful temporary non-compliance as they pursue legally valid and appropriate options for the re-alignment of international obligations with domestic policy. - The nature of the international drug control regime's internal mechanisms does much to limit avenues for modernisation and forces states to consider extraordinary measures, such as the rightful choice made by Bolivia in relation to coca to withdraw and re-adhere with a new reservation. - Amongst reform options not requiring consensus, inter se modification appears to be the most 'elegant' approach and one that provides a useful safety valve for collective action to adjust a treaty regime arguably frozen in time. - Inter se modification would require the like-minded agreement to include a clear commitment to the original treaty aim to promote the health and welfare of humankind and to the original treaty obligations vis-a-vis countries not party to the agreement. - A legally-grounded and coordinated collective response has many clear benefits compared to a chaotic scenario of a growing number of different unilateral reservations and questionable re-interpretations. - Among other things, inter se modification would provide opportunities to experiment and learn from different models of regulation as well as open the possibility of international trade enabling small cannabis farmers in traditional Southern producing countries to supply the emerging regulated licit spaces in the global market. - Inter se modification would facilitate the development of what, within an international policy environment characterized by faux consensus, is increasingly necessary: a 'multi-speed drug control system' operating within the boundaries of international law, rather than one that strains against them. Details: Swansea, UK: Global Drug Policy Observatory, Swansea University, 2018. 46p. Source: Internet Resource: Policy Report 7: Accessed April 5, 2018 at: https://www.wola.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Stability-Change-Inter-Se-Modification_GDPO-TNI-WOLA_March-2018.pdf Year: 2018 Country: International URL: https://www.wola.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Stability-Change-Inter-Se-Modification_GDPO-TNI-WOLA_March-2018.pdf Shelf Number: 149703 Keywords: CannabisDrug ControlDrug MarketsDrug PolicyIllegal DrugsMarijuana |
Author: Christin, Nicolas Title: An EU-focused analysis of drug supply on the AlphaBay marketplace Summary: Online anonymous marketplaces are a relatively recent technological development that enables sellers and buyers to transact online with far stronger anonymity guarantees than on traditional electronic commerce platforms. This has led certain individuals to engage in transactions of illicit or illegal goods. The AlphaBay marketplace, which was in operation between December 2014 and July 2017, reportedly became the leading marketplace during that time. In this report, we present an analysis of sales on AlphaBay, with a focus on drug supply coming from the European Union. Keeping in mind the limitations inherent to such data collection, we found that, for the period and the marketplaces considered: - AlphaBay did become a very large marketplace, with daily sales overall exceeding 600,000 euros at its peak in early 2017. By itself, it grossed at least as much revenue over 2014-2017 as all other marketplaces combined between 2011-2015. - EU-based suppliers represent approximately a quarter of all drug sales; this is down from 46% for marketplaces previously studied in the 2011-2015 interval. - EU-originating drugs primarily came from Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. - Cannabis, cocaine and other stimulants altogether represented a majority of all EU-based drug sales. - Supply of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) remained very modest with revenues below EUR 2,500 per day at market peak. - Marketplace vendors primarily catered in the retail space, but there was evidence of larger (bulk-level) sales. Volume-based discounting tended to occur, albeit at relatively modest levels. - Half of the vendors specialized in one type of drug; and half of the drug sellers tended to stick to a given weight echelon. - Save for the decreasing share of European sales, most of the trends observed in this report confirm what we had previously found for other marketplaces in the 2011-2015 interval. In other words, the ecosystem, as a whole, appears relatively stable over time. Details: Lisbon: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), 2017. 34p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 16, 2018 at: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/attachments/6622/AlphaBay-final-paper.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Europe URL: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/attachments/6622/AlphaBay-final-paper.pdf Shelf Number: 149803 Keywords: Black Markets Computer Crime CybercrimeDarknetDrug MarketsElectronic Commerce Online Transactions |
Author: Christin, Nicolas Title: An EU-focused analysis of drug supply on the online anonymous marketplace ecosystem Summary: Online anonymous marketplaces are a relatively recent technological development that enables sellers and buyers to transact online with far stronger anonymity guarantees than on traditional electronic commerce platforms. This has led certain individuals to engage in transactions of illicit or illegal goods. This reports presents an analysis of the online anonymous marketplace data collected by Soska and Christin [13] over late 2011-early 2015. In this report, we focus on drug supply coming from the European Union. Keeping in mind the limitations inherent to such data collection, we found that, for the period and the marketplaces considered: EU-based suppliers represented a significant share of all drug revenue-approximately 46% of all drug sales. EU-originating drugs primarily came from Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Cocaine and other stimulants altogether represented a majority of all EU-based drug sales. Supply of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) was heavily concentrated in the United Kingdom, and remained very modest with revenues in the order of EUR 3,000 per day at market peak. Marketplace vendors primarily catered in the retail space, but there was evidence of larger (bulk-level) sales. Volume-based discounting tended to occur, albeit at relatively modest levels. Half of the vendors specialized in one type of drug; and half of the drug sellers tended to stick to a given weight echelon. Details: Lisbon: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), 2017. 25p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 16, 2018 at: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/attachments/6624/EU-focused-analysis-of-drug-supply-on-the-anomymous-online-marketplace.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Europe URL: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/attachments/6624/EU-focused-analysis-of-drug-supply-on-the-anomymous-online-marketplace.pdf Shelf Number: 149804 Keywords: Black Markets Computer Crime Cybercrime Darknet Drug Markets Electronic Commerce Online Transactions |
Author: Patterson, Eileen Title: The cannabis market: police detainee perspectives Summary: The data in this report were collected as part of the Australian Institute of Criminology's Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) program, which is a quarterly collection of criminal justice and drug use information from police detainees at multiple sites across Australia. From January 2015 to December 2016, 4,400 adult police detainees were interviewed in Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Sydney (Bankstown and Surry Hills), most of them male (83%; n=3,647). Recent users reported consuming cannabis on average 15 out of the last 30 days before detention and rated the availability of cannabis at an average eight out of 10, while quality was given an average rating of seven out of 10. The price of cannabis was reported to be approximately $25 per bag. Recent users reported that the price of cannabis had remained the same compared to the three months prior to interview. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2018. 6p. Source: Internet Resource: Statistical Bulletin no. 07: Accessed April 16, 2018 at: https://aic.gov.au/publications/sb/sb07 Year: 2018 Country: Australia URL: https://aic.gov.au/publications/sb/sb07 Shelf Number: 149817 Keywords: Cannabis Drug Abuse and Addiction Drug MarketsDrug Offenders Illicit Drugs Marijuana |
Author: Pulido Moreno, Rodrigo Title: Cannabis in Uruguay. A case study of the regulated cannabis market in Uruguay Summary: This study deals with the impact of the legislative bill that enabled the creation of a regulated cannabis market in Uruguay as a means to combat organized crime in the country. This study will also explore the hypothesis that this legislative bill changed the legal character of criminality as well as reformulating narcotic issues from being a criminal issue into a public health issue. Analyzing the very specific case of Uruguay's current narcotic policies becomes a means to explore the ideas that constitute Law Nr 19.172 "Marijuana and its derivatives" which might be indicative of the attitudes in society regarding criminality. This ties into the new iteration of the dichotomy between law and democracy as a result of this legislative reform in Uruguay and the possible new role of legal theory in a democratic country which is discussed in this article. Details: Stockholm: Department of Romance Studies and Classics Institute of Latin American Studies, University of Stockholm, 2017. 31p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed April 17, 2018 at: http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1069404/FULLTEXT01.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Uruguay URL: http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1069404/FULLTEXT01.pdf Shelf Number: 149841 Keywords: CannabisDrug EnforcementDrug MarketsDrug PolicyMarijuana |
Author: McGuffog, Ingrid Title: Drug Use and Drug Control Policy: Evaluating the Impact of Precursor Regulation on Drug Use Behaviour Summary: Controlling the availability of illicit drugs and their use is an exemplar of a wicked problem. Reducing the scale of the illicit drugs market through suppressing supply has proven extremely difficult. A recent systematic review of studies by Cunningham and colleagues who have produced a series of research papers examining the impact of precursor regulations on various methamphetamine outcomes in North America, argue this research represents the most compelling evidence to date that 'precursor regulations, or indeed any supply control strategy, can have significant impacts on the retail market for illicit drugs'. The review of this work concludes that the question for future research is 'not so much whether precursor regulations work, but which regulations work best and in what context'; this is the starting point for my research. The market for methamphetamine is entrenched, broad and dynamic and represents an important criminological and public health problem in Australia. Within Australia the production of methamphetamine has been concentrated in Queensland and that state government has responded by developing a coercive regulatory framework which co-opts pharmacies into a partnership with drug law enforcement that is aimed at preventing the diversion of licit precursor chemicals to the illicit market for manufacture into methamphetamine. In 2005, the Queensland Pharmacy Guild in partnership with the Queensland Police Service developed an electronic medication recording system Project STOP, - which is a real-time web based database used by police to track and apprehend 'pseudo runners' - to facilitate adherence to the compulsory requirements of recording and reporting sales of pseudoephedrine placed upon them by both health regulations and the criminal law. In my thesis, I refer to the family of innovations (legislative, policy and technological interventions) underpinning the police-pharmacy partnership as Third Party Policing (TPP). Details: Brisbane: Griffith University, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 2012. 270p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed May 7, 2018 at: https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/bitstream/handle/10072/366750/McGuffog_2013_02Thesis.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2012 Country: Australia URL: https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/bitstream/handle/10072/366750/McGuffog_2013_02Thesis.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 150096 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug Control PolicyDrug MarketsIllicit DrugsMethamphetamines |
Author: Troyano Sanchez, Dora Lucila Title: Coca Industrialization: A Path to Innovation, Development, and Peace in Colombia Summary: For decades, Colombia has faced the challenge of promoting economic development and peace in its coca growing regions while quelling the flow of coca for unlawful purposes. During this time, the country has rarely considered promoting economic development with coca, partly because the national and international conversation has written off coca growers as one of the main drivers of the drug trade. Coca Industrialization: A Path to Innovation, Development, and Peace in Colombia seeks to challenge this perspective, primarily by conceiving of coca as an agricultural product with ample industrialization opportunities that fit within the existing national and international legal arrangements. This report explores coca's diverse potential in applications as varied as nutrition, natural medicine, personal care, and agro-industry-as well as coca's historical cultural uses. The report addresses the following questions regarding this controversial plant and its use in economic ventures: What are the benefits of coca leaf for nutrition? What examples are there in Colombia of initiatives that advance coca industrialization? Is there a legal framework for developing enterprises in Colombia based on coca? What would need to be true to expand the horizons for coca industrialization? The report suggests seeing the coca plant (Erythroxylum spp) as an agricultural product. It proposes building a coca leaf industry that, firstly, guarantees a sound income for farmers; secondly, provides good quality, sustainable raw materials for manufacturers; and, thirdly, ensures traceability, and control across the supply chain, with adherence to international laws. The report is divided into four sections. The first chapter, "What Does the Coca Leaf Offer," considers the coca leaf 's value and uses. It describes the results of a recent bromatological study that explores coca's nutritional value, applying the national regulator's standards for food products. This chapter concludes that coca indeed appears to have significant nutritional potential and offers a research agenda to help fully confirm this hypothesis. The second chapter, "Coca Industrialization Experiences," describes Colombian entrepreneurship surrounding coca leaf. It maps the business initiatives that have sprung up in the gray area of the current normative framework. This chapter briefly reviews Bolivia and Peru's coca leaf markets, and examines how these countries facilitated the development of new products across coca's traditional and modern uses. The third chapter, "The Normative Framework for Colombia," outlines and analyzes the laws and regulations relating to coca. Despite Colombia's political changes, industrializing coca leaf for non-drug uses remains challenging. The current policy framework tolerates a gray area where small businesses can operate, but has failed to define norms that would promote industry growth from farmer to end user. We scan the laws passed since colonial times right up to the State Council ruling issued in the first half of 2015, which widened the narrow legal window that allows coca manufacturing and distribution. The final chapter, "Horizons for Coca Industrialization," offers approaches for building a coca leaf industry around non-narcotic uses. We describe the experience of the National Training Service (SENA) partnership with the southern Cauca village of Lerma. This state-community partnership (which we call the Lerma Model) offers a process to incrementally build the coca leaf industry and gradually reform Colombia's coca control framework. The Lerma Model focuses on advancing community well-being via technological innovations that benefit the entire supply chain. Drawing from experiences in Lerma and the Andean region, we conclude with a proposal that reinforces the Colombian state's rural development policy stemming from the 2016 Peace Agreement framework. This proposal scales the Lerma Model into a social and technology innovation program based on sectoral pilots that accelerate coca industrialization while building a system of local social control. This strategy contributes to a more legitimate and effective drug and rural development policy via a process based on science, innovation, and mutual benefit, which invites all social and political sectors of a polarized country. Details: New York: Open Society Foundations, 2018. 70p. Source: Internet Resource: Lessons for Drug Policy Series: Accessed May 25, 2018 at: https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/path-to-innovation-evelopment-and-peace-in-colombia-en-20180521.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Colombia URL: https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/path-to-innovation-evelopment-and-peace-in-colombia-en-20180521.pdf Shelf Number: 150368 Keywords: CocaineDrug MarketsDrug Policy ReformDrug TraffickingEconomic DevelopmentIllicit Drugs |
Author: Haysom, Simone Title: The heroin coast: A political economy along the eastern African seaboard Summary: This report examines the characteristics of the heroin trade off the East African coast and highlights the criminal governance systems that facilitate drug trafficking along these routes. In recent years, the volume of heroin shipped from Afghanistan along a network of maritime routes in East and southern Africa appears to have increased considerably. Most of this heroin is destined for Western markets, but there is a spin-off trade for local consumption. An integrated regional criminal market has developed, both shaping and shaped by political developments in the region. Africa is now experiencing the sharpest increase in heroin use worldwide and a spectrum of criminal networks and political elites in East and southern Africa are substantially enmeshed in the trade. This report focuses on the characteristics of the heroin trade in the region and how it has become embedded in the societies along this route. It also highlights the features of the criminal governance systems that facilitate drug trafficking along this coastal route. Details: s.l.: ENACT, 2018. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Paper, Issue 04 : Accessed July 5, 2018 at: https://enact-africa.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/2018-07-02-research-paper-heroin-coast.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Africa URL: https://enact-africa.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/2018-07-02-research-paper-heroin-coast.pdf Shelf Number: 150768 Keywords: Criminal NetworksDrug MarketsDrug TraffickingHeroinIllicit DrugsOrganized Crime |
Author: Felbab-Brown, Vanda Title: Mexico's Out-of-Control Criminal Market Summary: This paper explores the trends, characteristics, and changes in the Mexican criminal market, in response to internal changes, government policies, and external factors. It explores the nature of violence and criminality, the behavior of criminal groups, and the effects of government responses. Over the past two decades, criminal violence in Mexico has become highly intense, diversified, and popularized, while the deterrence capacity of Mexican law enforcement remains critically low. The outcome is an ever more complex, multi-polar, and out-of-control criminal market that generates deleterious effects on Mexican society and makes it highly challenging for the Mexican state to respond effectively. Successive Mexican administrations have failed to sustainably reduce homicides and other violent crimes. Critically, the Mexican government has failed to rebalance power in the triangular relationship between the state, criminal groups, and society, while the Mexican population has soured on the anti-cartel project. Since 2000, Mexico has experienced extraordinarily high drug- and crime-related violence, with the murder rate in 2017 and again in 2018 breaking previous records. The fragmentation of Mexican criminal groups is both a purposeful and inadvertent effect of high-value targeting, which is a problematic strategy because criminal groups can replace fallen leaders more easily than insurgent or terrorist groups. The policy also disrupts leadership succession, giving rise to intense internal competition and increasingly younger leaders who lack leadership skills and feel the need to prove themselves through violence. Focusing on the middle layer of criminal groups prevents such an easy and violent regeneration of the leadership. But the Mexican government remains deeply challenged in middle-layer targeting due to a lack of tactical and strategic intelligence arising from corruption among Mexican law enforcement and political pressures that makes it difficult to invest the necessary time to conduct thorough investigations. In the absence of more effective state presence and rule of law, the fragmentation of Mexican criminal groups turned a multi-polar criminal market of 2006 into an ever more complex multi-polar criminal market. Criminal groups lack clarity about the balance of power among them, tempting them to take over one another's territory and engage in internecine warfare. The Mexican crime market's proclivity toward violence is exacerbated by the government's inability to weed out the most violent criminal groups and send a strong message that they will be prioritized in targeting. The message has not yet sunk in that violence and aggressiveness do not pay. For example, the destruction of the Zetas has been followed by the empowerment of the equally aggressive Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG). Like the Zetas, the Jalisco group centers its rule on brutality, brazenness, and aggressiveness. Like the Zetas and unlike the Sinaloa Cartel, the CJNG does not invest in and provide socio- economic goods and governance in order to build up political capital. Equally, the internal re-balancing among criminal groups has failed to weed out the most violent groups and the policy measures of the Mexican governments have failed to reduce the criminal groups' proclivity toward aggression and violence. The emergence of the CJNG has engulfed Mexico and other supply-chain countries, such as Colombia,in its war with the Sinaloa Cartel. The war between the Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG provides space for local criminal upstarts, compounds instability by shifting local alliances, and sets off new splintering within the two large cartels and among their local proxies. To the extent that violence has abated in particular locales, the de-escalation has primarily reflected a "narco-peace," with one criminal group able to establish control over a particular territory and its corruption networks. It is thus vulnerable to criminal groups' actions as well as to high-value targeting of top drug traffickers. In places such as Ciudad Juarez, Tijuana, and Monterrey, local law enforcement and anti-crime socio-economic policies helped in various degrees to reduce violence. When the narco-peace was undermined, the policies proved insufficient. At other times, the reduction of violence that accompanied a local narco-peace gave rise to policy complacency and diminished resources. Socio-economic policies to combat crime have spread resources too thinly across Mexico to be effective. Violence in Mexico has become diversified over the past decade, with drug trafficking groups becoming involved in widespread extortion of legal businesses, kidnapping, illegal logging, illegal fishing, and smuggling of migrants. That is partially a consequence of the fragmentation, as smaller groups are compelled to branch out into a variety of criminal enterprises. But for larger groups, extortion of large segments of society is not merely a source of money, but also of authority. Violence and criminality have also become "popularized," both in terms of the sheer number of actors and also the types of actors involved, such as "anti-crime" militias. Widespread criminality increases the coercive credibility of individual criminals and small groups, while hiding their identities. Low effective prosecution rates and widespread impunity tempt many individuals who would otherwise be law-abiding citizens to participate in crime. Anti-crime militias that have emerged in Mexico have rarely reduced violence in a sustained way. Often, they engage in various forms of criminality, including homicides, extortion, and human rights abuses against local residents, and they undermine the authority of the state. Government responses to the militias-including acquiescence, arrests, and efforts to roll them into state paramilitary forces-have not had a significant impact. In fact, the strength and emergence of militia groups in places such as Michoacan and Guerrero reflect a long-standing absence of the government, underdevelopment, militarization, and abuse of political power. In places such as Guerrero, criminality and militia formation has become intertwined with the U.S. opioid epidemic that has stimulated the expansion of poppy cultivation in Mexico. The over-prescription of opioids in the United States created a major addiction epidemic, with users turning to illegal alternatives when they were eventually cut off from prescription drugs. Predictably, poppy cultivation shot up in Mexico, reaching some 30,000 hectares in 2017. Areas of poppy cultivation are hotly contested among Mexican drug trafficking groups, with their infighting intensely exacerbating the insecurity of poor and marginalized poppy farmers. Efforts to eradicate poppy cultivation have often failed to sustainably reduce illicit crop cultivation and complicated policies to pacify these areas, often thrusting poppy farmers deeper into the hands of criminal groups that sponsor and protect the cultivation. Eradication is easier than providing poppy farmers with alternative livelihoods. Combined with the Trump administration's demands for eradication, the Enrique Peea Nieto administration, and Mexico historically, showed little interest in seriously pursuing a different path. Poppy eradication in Mexico does not shrink the supply of illegal opioids destined for the U.S. market, since farmers replant poppies after eradication and can always shift areas of production. The rise of fentanyl abuse in the United States, however, has suppressed opium prices in Mexico. Drug trafficking organizations and dealers prefer to traffic and sell fentanyl, mostly supplied to the United States from China, because of its bulk-potency-profit ratio. The CJNG became a pioneer in fentanyl smuggling through Mexico into the United States, but the Sinaloa Cartel rapidly developed its own fentanyl supply chain. Although the drug is deadly, the Sinaloa Cartel's means of distribution remain non- violent in the United States. Fentanyl enters the United States from Mexico through legal ports of entry. In the short term, fentanyl has not altered the dynamics of Mexico's criminal market, but in the long term, fentanyl can significantly upend global drug markets and the prioritization of drug control in U.S. agendas with other countries. If many users switch to synthetic drugs, the United States may lose interest in promoting eradication of drug crops. Such a switch would also weaken the power of criminal and insurgent groups who sponsor illicit crop cultivation. Even if they switch to the production of synthetic drugs, they will only have the capacity to sponsor the livelihoods of many fewer people, thus diminishing their political capital with local populations and making it less costly for the government to conduct counter-narcotics operations. Mexico's violence can decline in two ways. First, a criminal group can temporarily win enough turf and establish enough deterrence capacity to create a narco-peace, as has been the case so far. Alternatively, violence can decline when the state at last systematically builds up enough deterrence capacity against the criminals and realigns local populations with the state, from which they are now often alienated. Mexico must strive to achieve this objective. Details: Washington, DC: Foreign Policy at Brookings Institute, 2019. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 27, 2019 at: https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/FP_20190322_mexico_crime-2.pdf Year: 2019 Country: Mexico URL: https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/FP_20190322_mexico_crime-2.pdf Shelf Number: 155192 Keywords: Criminal CartelsDrug MarketsDrug TraffickingFentanylHomicidesNarcoticsOpioidsOrganized CrimeSocioeconomic Conditions and CrimeViolence |
Author: Jelsma, Martin Title: Fair(er) Trade Options for the Cannabis Market Summary: Policy changes over the past five years or so have dramatically reshaped the global cannabis market. Not only has there been an unprecedented boom in medical markets, but following policy shifts in several jurisdictions a growing number of countries are also preparing for legal regulation of non-medical use. Such moves look set to bring a clear range of benefits in terms of health and human rights. As this groundbreaking Report, highlights, however, there are also serious concerns about the unfolding market dynamics. Many for-profit cannabis companies from the Global North are aggressively competing to capture the licit spaces now rapidly opening in the multi-billion-dollar global cannabis market. This threatens to push small-scale and marginalized traditional farmers from many countries in the Global South out of the emerging legal market. It is argued here by Martin Jelsma, Sylvia Kay and David Bewley-Taylor that there should be no reason why, using carefully designed regulatory frameworks, small-scale farmers cannot work in mutually beneficial partnership with or alongside large companies. This might be achieved through a fair(er) trade cannabis model built around a rights-based, inclusive and environmentally sustainable approach to market engagement. Mindful of the intricate, cross-cutting and complex nature of the commercial and legal environment, Fair(er) Trade Options for the Cannabis Market proposes a set of interconnecting frameworks through which to better understand the issue and concludes with a set of guiding principles upon which a fair(er) trade cannabis model might be built. Details: s.l.: Cannabis Innovate, 2019. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 4, 2019 at: https://cannabisinnovate.org/ Year: 2019 Country: International URL: https://cannabisinnovate.org/ Shelf Number: 155334 Keywords: Cannabis MarketsDrug MarketsDrug PolicyMarijuana Markets |
Author: Haysom, Simone Title: Hiding in plain sight: Heroin's stealthy takeover of South Africa Summary: The heroin route that crosses South Africa has created a regional heroin economy, with severe social and political repercussions. Heroin use has developed in both major cities and small towns - an important shift in local drug markets that is taking a toll on thousands of people. This policy brief sheds light on the domestic heroin economy, analyses its implications and proposes responses to its drivers and consequences. An effective response will need to consider political factors and must be regionally coordinated. Market dynamics and harm-reduction approaches should also be included. The most sustainable strategies address root causes, disrupt markets and tackle corruption. Key points ∙ Problematic heroin use is widespread in major metros - and in small and medium-sized towns. Local and provincial governments are bearing the brunt of the resultant costs. ∙ A regional political response is needed to address the corruption that facilitates the trade. ∙ Domestically, the heroin economy needs a focussed strategy from the state, despite resource constraints. ∙ The police and other state elements should develop evidence-based analysis of the heroin economy and of the broader societal costs of punitive approaches to drug users. ∙ The state response must tackle the drivers of problematic drug use and gang recruitment, which are rooted in developmental issues. Details: s.l.: ENACT, 2019. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Issue 07: Accessed April 16, 2019 at: https://enact-africa.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/2019-04-09-heroin-south-africa-policy-brief.pdf Year: 2019 Country: South Africa URL: https://enact-africa.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/2019-04-09-heroin-south-africa-policy-brief.pdf Shelf Number: 155429 Keywords: Drug Abuse and Addiction Drug MarketsDrug Trafficking Heroin |