The global “war on drugs” has been such a failure that illegal substances are now cheaper and purer than at any period over the past two decades, warns a new report.
The Vancouver-based International Centre for Science in Drug Policy surveyed data from seven international government-funded drug surveillance systems and concluded that drug use should be considered a public health rather than a criminal justice issue.
The report found there had been a significant rise in the quantity of cocaine, heroin and cannabis seized in most parts of the world since 1990. Nevertheless, the average price of opiates and cocaine in Europe, for example, when adjusted for inflation and purity, decreased by 74% and 51% respectively from 1990 to 2010.
[BBC]