2014
Opium production in the Golden Triangle continues at high levels, threatening regional integration (December 2014)
Opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar and Lao PDR rose to 63,800 hectares (ha) in 2014 compared to 61,200 ha in 2013, increasing for the eighth consecutive year and nearly tripling the amount harvested in 2006, according to the Southeast Asia Opium Survey 2014 (UNODC)
Supply-side reduction policy and drug-related harm (December 2014)
The aim of this study was to examine the question of whether seizures of heroin, cocaine or amphetamine type substances (ATS) or supplier arrests for heroin, cocaine or ATS trafficking have any effect on the ED admissions related to or arrests for use and possession of these drugs (BOSCAR)
New psychoactive substances (November 2014)
A toolkit for substance misuse commissioners (Public Health England)
Afghanistan Opium Survey 2014 (November 2014)
The total area under opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan was estimated at 224,000 hectares in 2014, a 7% increase from the previous year (UNODC)
Precursor chemical licensing (October 2014)
Licence and registration application information for companies that deal in precursor chemicals (Home Office)
Illicit drug markets in Ireland (October 2014)
Through in-depth research with people involved in the illicit drug market in Ireland, as drug users or sellers, as professionals responding to it or as residents affected by it, this research fills a significant knowledge gap in this important area of Irish drug policy (NACDA)
Why Are Colombian Groups Trafficking Cocaine Paste to Europe? (October 2014)
Officials in Colombia say drug traffickers have begun moving large quantities of unrefined cocaine paste to Europe, but with little processing infrastructure and no established market for the smokeable paste, why they would do so remains unclear (InSight Crime)
Legal thresholds for serious drug offences (October 2014)
Expert advice to the ACT on determining amounts for trafficable, commercial and large commercial drug offences (NDARC)
Cannabis regulation: the need to develop guidelines on use (September 2014)
Potential benefits range from breaking the dominance of drug cartels and redistributing law enforcement budgets to taxation, consumer choice, quality control, and reducing criminalisation of mostly young and otherwise law abiding citizens. But we mustn’t end up with a net public health loss (BMJ)
New trends and regional differences in the manufacturing of methamphetamine (September 2014)
The latest UNODC’s Global SMART Update study shows that it has recently spread to other countries such as Guatemala, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa (UNODC)
Major Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries for Fiscal Year 2015 (September 2014)
Presidential Determination (White House)
Global SMART Update (September 2014)
Special SegmentMethamphetamine manufacture: Global Patterns and Regional Differences (UNODC)
Not just in transit (August 2014)
Drugs, the State and Society in West Africa (WACD)
Trafficking for Forced Labour in Cannabis Production (July 2014)
The Case of Ireland (MRCI)
EMCDDA–Europol Joint Report on a new psychoactive substance: 4,4′-DMAR (July 2014)
In February 2014, the EMCDDA and Europol examined the available information on a new psychoactive substance, 4-methyl-5-(4-methylphenyl)-4,5-dihydrooxazol-2-amine (commonly known by the abbreviation 4,4′-DMAR). The two organisations concluded that sufficient information had been accumulated to merit the production of a Joint Report on 4,4′-DMAR as stipulated by Article 5.1 of the Council Decision (EMCDDA)
All you need to know about Polish Drug routes (July 2014)
Polish drug market analysis (Drug Reporter)
Addressing and Mitigating Violence (June 2014)
Getting Real About an Illicit ‘External Stressor’: Transnational Cocaine Trafficking through West Africa (Institute of Development Studies)
Marked decline in coca plant cultivation in Peru, according to 2013 UNODC survey (June 2014)
The cultivation of coca bushes, which provide the raw material for cocaine production, is down some 17.5 per cent in Peru, according to the 2013 national coca crop monitoring survey (UNODC)
Opium cultivation bounces back (June 2014)
TNI report shows dramatic failure of ASEAN’s ‘Drug Free’ strategy
Rates of methamphetamine seizures are higher than ever across the world, largely driven by the rise in seizures in East and South-East Asia as well as in North America, according to the 2014 Global Synthetic Drugs Assessment (UNODC)
Relapse in the Golden Triangle (June 2014)
TNI’s indepth examination of the illegal drug market in the Golden Triangle, which has a witnessed a doubling of opium production, growing prison populations and repression of small-scale farmers. This report details the failure of ASEAN’s ‘drug free’ strategy and the need for a new approach (TNI)
Global Synthetic Drugs Assessment (May 2014)
Amphetamine-type sti mulants and new psychoacti ve substances (UNODC)
Not an ‘Ebay for Drugs’ (May 2014)
The Cryptomarket ‘Silk Road’ as a Paradigm Shifting Criminal Innovation
Ending the Drug Wars (May 2014)
Report of the LSE Expert Group on the Economics of Drug Policy (LSE)
The Australian Crime Commission Illicit Drug Data Report 2012–13 (April 2014)
Provides a snapshot of the Australian illicit drug market (ACC)
The illicit drug trade through South-Eastern Europe (March 2014)
UNODC
The Rise and Decline of Cannabis Prohibition (March 2014)
The History of Cannabis in the UN Drug Control System and Options For Reform. Download the full report (TNI)
Supporting legal livelihoods for illicit crop farmers (Feb 2014)
The cultivation of illicit drug crops goes hand in hand with poverty and food insecurity. Weaning poor farmers off illicit crop cultivation requires sustainable alternative livelihoods, without which they will fall back on lucrative cash crops – coca leaf, opium poppy or cannabis – to survive (UNODC )
Amphetamine-Type Stimulants in Latin America 2014 (Feb 2014)
UNODC report
RAND Europe Report on ‘Multinational overview of cannabis production regimes’ (Feb 2014)
Because GDPO has been following developments in cannabis policy across the world, particularly in the US, we decided it would be worthwhile to summarise some of the key points made in this important piece of research. The report focuses on four key case studies: Spain, Belgium, the USA and Uruguay (Global Drug Policy Observatory)
Multinational overview of cannabis production regimes (Jan 2014)
Our approach was to conduct detailed case studies for a small number of countries deemed to be most relevant, based on the formal statements available, and provide shorter summaries for other jurisdictions. The four case studies are Spain, Belgium, the United States of America and Uruguay (RAND)
2013
Southeast Asia Opium Survey 2013 (Dec 2013)
Poppy cultivation in Myanmar rose 13% from the previous year to 57,800 hectares, more than doubling since 2006. In Lao cultivation levelled off but remains a concern (UNODC)
Golden Triangle opium production rises 22 per cent in 2013, says UNODC (Dec 2013)
Led by a 13 per cent increase in Myanmar opium cultivation to 57,800 hectares (from 51,000 ha in 2012), opium poppy cultivation in Southeast Asia’s Golden Triangle of Myanmar, Lao PDR and Thailand rose for the seventh consecutive year, according to a new UNODC report
Drug supply reduction and internal security policies in the European Union: an overview (Dec 2013)
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. 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. Download (EMCDDA)
Council conclusions on improving the monitoring of drug supply in the European Union (Nov 2013)
A set of Council conclusions on improving the monitoring of drug supply in the European Union was adopted by the Economic and Financial Affairs Council
Afghanistan opium crop cultivation rises 36 per cent, production up 49 per cent (Nov 2013)
Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan rose 36 per cent in 2013, a record high, according to the 2013 Afghanistan Opium Survey released today in Kabul by the Ministry of Counter Narcotics and UNODC
The temporal relationship between drug supply indicators (Oct 2013)
An audit of international government surveillance systems (BMJ)
With few exceptions and despite increasing investments in enforcement-based supply reduction efforts aimed at disrupting global drug supply, illegal drug prices have generally decreased while drug purity has generally increased since 1990. These findings suggest that expanding efforts at controlling the global illegal drug market through law enforcement are failing (BMJ)
Inquiry into Supply and Use of Methamphetamines (Oct 2013)
ReGen submission on their experience in developing treatment and education responses to problematic methamphetamine use (ReGen, Australia)
The World Drug Report (Sept 2013)
A comprehensive overview of the latest developments in drug markets. It covers production, trafficking, consumption and the related health consequences – Full report (UNODC)
Afghanistan (Sept 2013)
Survey of Commercial Cannabis Cultivation and Production 2012 (UNODC)
UNODC 2012 Coca Monitoring Survey (August 2013)
Coca crop cultivation and yield continue to decline in Bolivia for second straight year (UNODC)
2012
2012 Patterns and Trends of Amphetamine-Type Stimulants and Other Drugs Asia and the Pacific December 2012
A series of slides (UNODC)
2011 Colombia coca crop survey shows stable overall situation July 2012
The area under coca crop cultivation in Colombia rose 3 per cent in 2011 to 64,000 hectares (ha), up by 2,000 ha compared with 2010. Overall, the picture, therefore, remained stable for the raw material used in the production of the illegal drug cocaine. 2011 survey | UNODC
ACT Trends in Ecstasy and Related Drug Markets 2011 May 2012
Findings from the Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS) – Download | NDARC, Australia
NSW Drug Trends 2011 May 2012
Findings from the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS) – Download | NDARC, Australia
More Drug Trends Jurisdictional Reports May 2012
Full list of reports from | NDARC, Australia
Opiate flows through northern Afghanistan and central Asia May 2012
A threat assessment | UNODC
Afghanistan Opium Survey 2012 April 2012
Opium Risk Assessment for all Regions | UNODC
A war against people who use drugs April 2012
The costs | Eurasian Harm Reduction Network
Providing guidance to policy makers for developing coherent policies for licit and illicit drugs April 2012
This policy paper aims to provide decision makers and policy managers with an overview of the basic principles, instruments and tools that will support them in developing, reviewing and implementing drug policies, strategies and action plans | Pompidou Group, Europe
New Report: Cocaine Smuggling in 2010 March 2012
Over the past year, we have worked with the intelligence community to compile a picture of the latest cocaine trafficking trends based on the data we have available. The most recent report – Cocaine Smuggling in 2010 | ONDCP, USA
Drug Crime and the Narcotics Market in Tajikistan February 2012
This report is a short summary of the following book chapter published in the Russian language: Latypov, A. (2011). Drug dealers, drug lords and drug warriors-cum-traffickers: Drug crime and the narcotics market in Tajikistan | Eurasian Harm Reduction Network
Afghanistan – Opium survey 2011 January 2012
According to the Survey, a joint project between the Ministry of Counter Narcotics (MCN) and UNODC, cultivation in 2011 has reached 131,000 hectares compared to 123,000 hectares of the previous two years. The amount of opium produced has risen from 3,600 metric tons in 2010 to 5,800 metric tons in 2011 | UNODC
Drug markets and corruption in Tajikistan January 2012
This report is a short summary of a book chapter published in the Russian language | Eurasian Harm Reduction Network
2011
Amphetamine: a European Union perspective in the global context December 2011
This joint publication with the European Police Agency, Europol, is an in-depth study on the illicit market in amphetamine – Download – Press release | EMCDDA
Responding to new psychoactive substances December 2011
This briefing paper describes some of the practical and legal obstacles facing Member States when responding to such new substances. It underlines the importance of national early-warning systems in detecting and identifying new substances as the first step towards assessing the risks of, and ultimately controlling, potentially dangerous new drugs. English download | EMCDDA
Feasibility of Using Mycoherbicides to Control Illicit Drug Crops Is Uncertain December 2011
The effectiveness of using specific fungi as mycoherbicides to combat illicit drug crops remains questionable due to the lack of quality, in-depth research. Download report | National Acadamies, USA
Online sales of new psychoactive substances / ‘legal highs’ November 2011
A summary of results from the 2011 multilingual snapshots | EMCDDA
Patterns and Trends of Amphetamine-Type Stimulants and Other Drugs – Asia and the Pacific – 2011 November 2011
A Report from the Global SMART Programme | UNODC
The Challenge of Violent Drug-Trafficking Organizations November 2011
An Assessment of Mexican Security Based on Existing RAND Research on Urban Unrest, Insurgency, and Defense-Sector Reform | RAND, USA
Estimating illicit financial flows resulting from drug trafficking October 2011
The purpose of this study was to examine the magnitude of illicit funds generated by drug trafficking and organized crime, and the extent to which they are laundered | UNODC
The Challenge of Violent Drug-Trafficking Organizations October 2011
An Assessment of Mexican Security Based on Existing RAND Research on Urban Unrest, Insurgency, and Defense-Sector Reform. Full document | RAND, USA
Opium Production in Afghanistan Shows Increase, Prices set to Rise October 2011
Opium poppy-crop cultivation in Afghanistan reached 131,000 hectares in 2011, 7 per cent higher than in 2010, due to insecurity and high prices, said the summary findings of the 2011 Afghan Opium Survey released today (11 October)by the Ministry of Counter Narcotics (MCN) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
Regulating Medical Marijuana Dispensaries September 2011
An Overview with Preliminary Evidence of Their Impact on Crime. Full Document | RAND, USA
Presidential Memorandum – Major Illicit Drug Transit September 2011
Presidential Determination on Major Illicit Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries for Fiscal Year 2012 | White House, USA
2011 Global ATS Assessment September 2011
It ranks amphetamine-type stimulants such as ecstasy and methamphetamine as the world’s second most widely used type of drug after cannabis | United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
DEA Moves to Emergency Control Synthetic Stimulants September 2011
Agency Will Study Whether To Permanently Control Three Substances | DEA, USA
Managing concurrent and repeated risks July 2011
Explaining reductions in opium production in Central Helmand (Afghanistan) in 2008-2011 PDF | IDPC
Afghanistan Cannabis Survey 2010 June 2011
The 2010 survey – based on data from yield studies, satellite imagery and village level interviews with farmers and headmen – found indications of both stability and change relative to the 2009 survey | UNODC
World Development Report June 2011
Trafficking on pages 220 – 225 | World Bank
The Transatlantic Cocaine Market June 2011
While almost all of the cocaine produced globally comes from the Andean region (Colombia, Peru and the Plurinational State of Bolivia), the location of demand has shifted drastically in the last decade | UNODC
The Latin American Drug Trade June 2011
Scope, Dimensions, Impact, and Response | RAND Corporation, USA
Coverage of Drug Trafficking and Organized Crime in Latin America and the Caribbean May 2011
This report provides a summary of the discussions of nearly 50 journalists and academics from Latin America and the Caribbean on media coverage of organized crime and drug trafficking in the continent. Download | Open Society Foundations,
Taking Drugs Seriously May 2011
A Demos and UK Drug Policy Commission report on legal highs. Full report and background paper | UKDPC
Global Status report on alcohol and health 2011 February 2011
The Global status report on alcohol and health (2011) presents a comprehensive perspective on the global, regional and country consumption of alcohol, patterns of drinking, health consequences and policy responses in Member States[World Health Organization]
Afghanistan Opium Winter Rapid Assessment for the Central, Eastern, Southern and Western Regions 2011 February 2011
2010
Jump in South-East Asian opium poppy cultivation December 2010
The 2010 South-East Asia Opium Survey was released today and shows a surge in opium cultivation in the region over the past year [UNODC]
Afghanistan opium survey 2010 September 2010
Summary of findings – Download [UNODC]
Sharp drop in Afghan opium production, says UNODC September 2010
Cultivation stable, production falls and prices rise UNODC Executive Director warns that higher prices may drive farmers to cultivate more opium [UNODC]
This document will be of interest to policymakers from the European Commission, as well as other governmental bodies which are concerned with measuring the effectiveness of their drug supply-reduction strategies [RAND]
Colombia – Coca cultivation survey 2009 July 2010
[UNODC]
Cocaine: a European Union perspective in the global context April 2010
This report provides an overview of what is known about how cocaine is produced and trafficked into the European Union PDF [EMCDDA]
Afghanistan cannabis survey 2009 April 2010
This report is dedicated to the memory Late Amanullah, who was tragically killed in Kandahar in October 2009 while undertaking work for this cannabis survey [UNODC]
2009
Afghanistan Opium Survey 2009 December 2009
The Afghanistan Opium Survey 2009 confirms that market forces are moving against the Afghan drugs trade as prices, revenues and excess production have put a damper on supply. 147-page PDF [UNODC]
Cocaine Trafficking to Europe October 2009
Options of Supply Control. 37-page PDF [German Institute for International and Security Affairs]
FEAD (Film Exchange on Alcohol and Drugs) August 2009
A resource that brings short video presentations from leading figures in the alcohol and drugs field direct to your screen. The contributors cover a range of topics honestly and directly – including: achievements, problem areas, and reflections on the field’s history. Many people have found the website useful in helping discussions and expanding on practice and theory. Please feel free to use the material to enrich your events, seminars, groups, teaching etc
Report on Global Illicit Drug Markets 1998-2007 March 2009
This report on the world’s illicit drugs markets has been produced by an international team of experts on behalf of the European Commission. 74-page PDF [Europa]
On the synthetic drugs trail March 2009
UNODC has just launched an innovative online report highlighting developments in the global synthetic drugs scene [UNODC]
Afghanistan February 2009
Opium Winter Assessment. 48-page PDF [UNODC]
Home Office cannabis potency study January 2009
In 2006, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) reviewed the classification of cannabis (Reference 1). One of the recommendations was that a further study should be carried out to determine the market share of different types of cannabis and their potencies. In view of current scientific interest in the role of CBD, it was decided that this should also be measured. 20-page PDF [Home Office, UK]
Withdrawal Symptoms January 2009
Withdrawal Symptoms in the Golden Triangle: A Drugs Market in Disarray. 100-page PDF [TNI]
New Report on Cocaine Smuggling January 2009
The counterdrug community estimates that between 545 and 707 metric tons of cocaine departed South America toward the United States in 2007. 9-page PDF [ONDCP, USA]
Crops for illicit use and ecocide January 2009
Are illicit crops really the main cause of damage to the ecosystem in Colombia? 20-page PDF [TNI, Netherlands]
2008
The Precursor Chemical Trade Environment in Oceania December 2008
The manufacture and use of, and trade in, chemicals that can be used to produce illicit drugs. 125-page PDF [Australian Institute of Criminology]
Monitoring the supply of cocaine to Europe October 2008
This datasheet provides a short review of key issues relating to how cocaine is manufactured in Latin America and transported to European consumers via the Atlantic, Caribbean and west Africa. It also looks at the destabilising effect of the cocaine trade on producer and transshipment countries. 29-page PDF [EMCDDA]
Drug trafficking as a security threat in West Africa October 2008
According to a new 54-page PDF report, a declining US cocaine market and a rising European one appear to have prompted South American cocaine traffickers to make use of low-governance areas in West Africa as transit zones [UNODC]
New Survey Reveals Steep Drops in Opium Production and Cultivation in Afghanistan October 2008
Official U.S. Government Estimate Shows Potential Opium Production Declines by Almost One-Third; Poppy Cultivation Down 22 Percent since Last Year [ONDCP, USA]
New markets for synthetic drugs [September 2008]
UNODC’s new Global Amphetamine-Type Stimulants Assessment Report warns that synthetic drugs such as ecstasy, amphetamine and methamphetamine – the drugs of modern times – are becoming more popular in developing countries. 128-page PDF [UNODC]
Afghanistan Opium Survey 2008 [August 2008]
Executive Summary. 42-page PDF [UNODC]
Withdrawal Symptoms [August 2008]
Changes in the Southeast Asian drugs market. Drugs & Conflict Debate Papers Nr. 16 [TNI, Netherlands]
Drug Control [August 2008]
Cooperation with Many Major Drug Transit Countries Has Improved, but Better Performance Reporting and Sustainability Plans Are Needed. 59-PDF [GAO, USA]
Indian Country Drug Threat Assessment 2008 [July 2008]
The report focuses on Native American reservations in the contiguous 48 states of the United States [National Drug Intelligence Center, USA]
World Drug Report 2008 [June 2008]
As in previous years, the present Report is based on data obtained primarily from the annual reports questionnaire (ARQ) sent by Governments to UNODC in 2007, supplemented by other sources when necessary and where available Full 8.85 MB PDF [UNODC]
Illicit Drug Data Report 2006-2007 [June 2008]
This report is recognised as one of the most valuable tools for law enforcement agencies, policy and decision makers, research bodies and other stakeholders in combating illicit drugs [Australian Crime Commission]
Coca cultivation in the Andean region
A survey of Bolivia, Colombia and Peru. 134-page PDF [UNODC] [June 2008]
Drugs and Conflict [May 2008]
How the mutual impact of illicit drug economies and violent conflict influences sustainable development, peace and stability [GTZ]
Chemical Reactions [May 2008]
Fumigation: Spreading Coca and Threatening Colombia’s Ecological and Cultural Diversity. 32-page PDF [WOLA]
Beckley report 14 Understanding drug markets and how to influence them [April 2008]
This latest report in the Beckley series looks at the operation of middle-level drug dealers, and how their behaviour is influenced by the activities of the law enforcement agencies. 13-page PDF [IDPC]
Latin American Drugs I: Losing the Fight [March 2008]
Crisis Group’s detailed study is divided into two complementary reports published simultaneously. This report principally examines the scope of the problem, including a detailed examination of cultivation and trafficking. 42-page PDF [International Crisis Group]
Afghanistan – Opium Winter Rapid Assessment Survey [February 2008]
These are order of magnitude figures – the actual harvest will depend on the effectiveness of eradication. The volume of opium production (and eventually heroin) will further depend on the yield, which last year was at a record level. Based on this evidence there is a good chance that the high-water mark reached in 2007 will begin to recede. 46-page PDF [UNODC]
Afghanistan economic incentives and development initiatives tp reduce opium productiomn [February 2008]
This report is about how to progressively reduce over time Afghanistan’s dependence on opium – currently the country’s leading economic activity – by development initiatives and shifting economic incentives toward sustainable legal livelihoods. 126-page PDF [Department for International Development, UK and the World Bank]
Pre 2008
2008 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report – Volume I: Drug and Chemical Control [2007]
The INCSR is an annual report by the Department of State to Congress prepared in accordance with the Foreign Assistance Act. It describes the efforts of key countries to attack all aspects of the international drug trade in Calendar Year 2007 [U.S. Department of State]
Executive Summary. 38-page PDF [UNODC]
The world’s leading drug producer. 169-page PDF [UNODC]
The INCSR is an annual report by the Department of State to Congress prepared in accordance with the Foreign Assistance Act. It describes the efforts of key countries to attack all aspects of the international drug trade in Calendar Year 2007 [U.S. Department of State]
Drug precursors: internal aspects
Effective control of the chemicals used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances is one of the best ways of combating drug trafficking [Europa]
Drug precursors: external aspects
This Regulation lays down the rules governing the thorough monitoring of the trade in precursor drugs between the European Union (EU) and third countries [Europa]
Monograph # 11 SimDrug: Exploring the complexity of heroin use in Melbourne [December 2005]
This monograph (No. 11) reports on the work of the complex systems scientists at ANU. Complexity Theory is a loose cluster of theories and methodologies aiming at understanding the properties of complex adaptive systems. Complex adaptive systems (CAS) are ones characterized by: emergence; path dependency: non state equilibrium; and adaptation. The heroin drug market fits these characteristics nicely. The features of the agent-based model, called SimDrug, include the spatial environment, time scale, and social agents. SimDrug includes different types of social agents: users, dealers, wholesalers, police constables, and outreach workers. Each type represents a minimum set of characteristics and dynamics that allow the whole artificial population to display most of the properties observed in real societies. The model has proved robust and stable. SimDrug has demonstrated the plausibility of using a multi-agent system model to describe the relationships between heroin users, dealers, their surroundings and the two interventions modelled (outreach workers and police). In future developments, we hope that policy makers will be able to use the model to determine potential scenario’s as a result of their intervention.
Monograph # 9 Heroin markets in Australia: Current understandings and future possibilities[December 2005]
This monograph (No. 09) approaches drug markets from an economic perspective. It outlines central economic concepts in an accessible form for the non-economist, then reviews four key aspects of the Australian heroin drug market. These are: measuring the size of the heroin market; heroin prices; the heroin distribution network (using a risk and prices framework); and the relationship bteween heroin price and harm (in this case overdose). The monograph sets out to summarise the existing information and data, and identify what we don’t know about the heroin drug market. The authors conclude with a number of insights about the heroin market in Australia. We have much information to inform our understanding but it appears to be underutilised. The amount of heroin consumed may be substantially less than is commonly thought (potentially attributable to the heroin ‘shortage’). Price is responsive to market changes – large increases in heroin price occurred with the decreased availability of heroin. The authors also demonstrate a strong relationship between heroin price and non-fatal heroin overdose – as price increases, overdoses decrease. Future research into heroin markets in Australia could provide more detailed examination of causal relationships (and move away from descriptive research).
Monograph #8 A review of approaches to studying illicit drug markets [December 2005]
This Monograph (No. 08) provides a reflective account of the different disciplinary approaches to studying illicit drug markets. The term ‘drug market’ is used widely in illicit drug research, and means different things to different researchers. An economist may have a very specific view of what is meant by a drug market, and that will differ from one held by an ethnographer. The monograph endeavours to describe and explain five different disciplinary approaches to studying drug markets – ethnographic and qualitative approaches; economic approaches; behavioural and psychological research; population-based and survey research; and criminology and law enforcement evaluation. Each discipline has strengths and limitations. I do not argue for the supremacy of one approach, but that we need to appreciate the different approaches and develop better multi-disciplinary models.
These intelligence bulletins examine the market dynamics and the trafficking, distribution, and abuse patterns associated with cocaine, heroin, marijuana, MDMA, methamphetamine, and other dangerous drugs within United States High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTAS) [NDIC, USA]
Domestic Drug Markets and Prohibition
17-page PDF [Australian Parliamentary Group for Drug Law Reform]
Low-level Heroin Markets – A Case Study Approach
As part of the Scottish Executive’s Drug Misuse Research Programme the Effective Interventions Unit ( EIU) worked with the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency (SDEA) to develop specific proposals that culminated in an initial research focus on low-level drug markets [Scottish Executive, UK]
Tackling drugs to reduce poverty
The United Nations Office of Drug Control claimed in 2006 that ‘Drug control is working and the world drug problem is being contained’. Yet the scale and diversity of the illicit global drug trade has increased in the last decade, as have rates of drug use in most countries [id21, UK]
U.S. Assistance Has Helped Mexican Counternarcotics Efforts
But Tons of Illicit Drugs Continue to Flow into the United States. 46-page PDF [GAO, USA]
The Chinese Connection: Cross-border Drug Trafficking between Myanmar and China
This report presents findings from a two-year field study of drug trafficking activities between Myanmar (formerly Burma) and China. 118-page PDF [U.S. Department of Justice]
This report provides an overview of the production and consumption of AOSD in Australia and discusses the extent to which organised crime is involved in manufacture and distribution. It examines the National Drug Strategy, reviews its main aims and effectiveness, and provides a brief overview of the key policy and research bodies that oversee and have input into the policy [Australian Policy Online]
Marijuana Production in the United States (2006)
According to US Government estimates domestic marijuana production has increased ten fold over the last 25 years from 1,000 metric tons (2.2 million pounds) in 1981 to 10,000 metric tons (22 million pounds) in 2006. The ongoing proliferation of marijuana cultivation places it beyond the scope of law enforcement capabilities to control and reduce the availability of marijuana to teenagers and young children under existing public policy [DrugScience, USA]
National Drug Threat Assessment 2006 released
The National Drug Threat Assessment 2006 addresses the status and outlook of the drug threat to the United States. It covers the trafficking and abuse patterns associated with cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana, heroin, MDMA, pharmaceutical drugs, and other dangerous drugs [NDIC, USA]
Despite 2006 witnessing the most intensive use of fumigation in the country’s history, some 157,200 hectares of cultivation areas were detected, 13,200 hectares more than in 2005. Is the fumigation strategy failing? [Transnational Institute]
Opium Rapid Assessment Survey AFGHANISTAN March 2005
Within the framework of its Global Illicit Crop Monitoring Programme (ICMP), UNODC has established an opium monitoring system and conducts annual opium surveys in Afghanistan, the largest centre of illicit opium production in the world. The monitoring system is implemented in cooperation with the Afghan government [United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime]
The Drug Situation Report — 2005 provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug trade in Canada. 32-page PDF [RCMP, Canada]
International Narcotics Control Strategy Report – 2005
Argentina is not a major drug producing country, but it is a transit country for cocaine flowing from neighboring Bolivia, Peru and Colombia primarily destined for Europe. Argentina is also a transit route for Colombian heroin en route to the U.S East Coast (primarily New York)
[Released by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs March 2005]
Coca Cultivation in the Andean Region in 2004
UNODC 2005
Colombia coca cultivation survey results: A question of methods
U.S. Assistance Has Helped Mexican Counternarcotics Efforts, but the Flow of Illicit Drugs into the United States Remains High. 29-page PDF [GAO, USA]
U.S. Counternarcotics Strategy for Afghanistan
Compiled by the Coordinator for Counternarcotics and Justice Reform in Afghanistan, Ambassador Thomas A. Schweich, U.S. Department of State
Opium Poppy Free Road Map and Provincial Profiles
This document has been prepared to provide a brief analysis of all Afghan provinces, both in terms of counter-narcotics efforts and rule of law indicators 7.62MB PDF [UNODC]
Cocaine trafficking in West Africa
The threat to stability and development (with special reference to Guinea-Bissau). 41-page PDF [UNODC]
Opium Poppy Free Road Map and Provincial Profiles
This document has been prepared to provide a brief analysis of all Afghan provinces, both in terms of counter-narcotics efforts and rule of law indicators 7.62MB PDF [UNODC]
Overcoming the Obstacles to Establishing a Democratic State in Afghanistan
This paper looks at several of the obstacles to democracy in Afghanistan, including … an endemic culture of corruption, a pervasive narcotics trade and drug trafficking problem. 28-page PDF [Strategic Studies Institute, USA]
Crop spraying: a déjà vu debate
The United States is putting strong pressure on the Afghan government to officially adopt the strategy of eradicating the opium poppy through aerial spraying of the crops with the herbicide glyphosate. 8-page PDF [Transnational Institute, Netherlands]
Coca, Petroleum and Conflict in Cofán Territory
Spraying, displacement and economic interests – Drug Policy Briefing [TNI, Netherlands]
Poppy for medicine project – Technical Dossier for Canada
The Technical Dossier offers the Canadian Government a way to change the course of counter-narcotics policy in Kandahar.. 112-page PDF [Senlis Council]
At a crossroads: Drug Trafficking, Violence and the Mexican State
In this joint WOLA-BFDPP policy brief, the authors provide an overview of current and past drug policies implemented by the Mexican government, with a focus on its law enforcement efforts. 12-page PDF [IDPC]
The Economic Impact of the Illicit Drug Industry
In December 2003 the TNI Crime & Globalisation project hosted a seminar on The Economic Impact of the Illicit Drug Industry. The goal of the seminar was to re-view the substance of the existing figures of the global business volume of the illegal drug industry and the notion of where the illegal proceeds of the industry are going. Issues discussed included: the size of the illicit drug economy, money laundering, the flows, investments and presence of drugs money in the legal economy and its alleged funding of international terrorism.
Transnational Institute
Licit and illicit cultivation statistics
[CentralBureau of narcotics, India]
Counter-Narcotics Law Enforcement Efforts in Afghanistan Need to Focus on Higher-End Actors of the Drug Industry [World Bank]
Coca cultivation in the Andean region
A survey of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. 141-page PDF [UNODC]
Opium Rapid Assessment Survey AFGHANISTAN March 2005
UNODC 2005
Downward Spiral Banning Opium in Afghanistan and Birma
Opium farmers in Afghanistan and Burma are coming under huge pressure as local authorities implement bans on the cultivation of poppy. Banning opium has an immediate and profound impact on the livelihoods of more than 4 million people
TNI Drugs & Conflict Debate Paper 12 June 2005 [Transnational Institute]
Efforts to combat opium have achieved only limited success and have lacked sustainability [World Bank]
Despite the progress made by the three nonmilitary assistance programs, Colombia and the United States continue to face long-standing management and financial challenges.
[U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO). July 2004]
Opium Licensing in Afghanistan: Its Desirability and Feasibility
A US policy paper assessing the viability of licensing opium for medical use in Afghanistan. 17-page PDF [Brookings Institution, USA]
Licensing poppy for the production of essential medicines: an integrated counter-narcotics, development, and counter-insurgency model for Afghanistan. 112-page PDF [Transnational Institute]
Increasing cannabis availability in rural and remote areas has extended a thriving illicit drug trade to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander settlements in some of Australia’s most isolated regions. 178-page PDF [National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund, Australia]
Interdiction Efforts in Central America Have Had Little Impact on the Flow of Drugs
The supply of illegal drugs reaching the United States via Central America continues virtually uninterrupted despite years of U.S. drug interdiction efforts. Letter Report, 08/02/94, GAO/NSIAD-94-233 [Global Security.Org]
Illicit Crop Monitoring Programme (ICMP)
Surveys listed for Andes, Bolivia, Colombia, Lao PDR, Morocco, Myanmar, and Peru [United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime]
The opium economy in Afghanistan
226-page PDF [UNODC]
Drugs and crime trends in Europe and beyond
Europe remains a destination of choice for international drug traffickers [UNODC]
Reforming Afghanistan’s Opium Industry. 13-page PDF [The Washington Quarterly, USA]
In the 1990s, the United States operated a program in Colombia and Peru called Air Bridge Denial (ABD). The ABD program targeted drug traffickers that transport illicit drugs through the air by forcing down suspicious aircraft, using lethal force if necessary. The program was suspended in April 2001 when a legitimate civilian aircraft was shot down in Peru and two U.S. citizens were killed. The program was restarted in Colombia in August 2003 after additional safeguards were established. To date, the United States has provided about $68 million in support and plans to provide about $26 million in fiscal year 2006. We examined whether the ABD program’s new safeguards were being implemented and its progress in attaining U.S. and Colombian objectives. [GAO, USA]
This Phase Two paper of the Feasibility Study On Opium Licensing in Afghanistan for the Production of Morphine and Other Essential Medicines assesses the impact of current and future eradication efforts in Afghanistan while drawing parallels with the impact of similar policies already carried out in South East Asian and Latin America [Senlis Council]
Afghanistan ‘ s opium drug economy, Vol. 1 of 1
In conditions of lawlessness and impoverishment, opium has become Afghanistan ‘ s leading economic activity, accounting for one third of (opium inclusive) GDP in 2003, and even more so in 2004. The opium boom has been stimulated by a decline in supply to the world market from other sources, as well as growing demand from new markets, by Afghanistan ‘ s comparative advantage as a producer, and by conditions arising from the war – the collapse of governance, rural pauperization, and the trade in drugs for arms
Christopher Ward, William Byrd Report No: 31149 World Bank 2004
Drugs and development in Afghanistan, Vol. 1 of 1
This paper analyzes the linkages between drugs and development in Afghanistan. It argues that the opium economy-including its nexus with insecurity, warlords, state weakness, and poor governance-constitutes a central development problem for the country
Christopher Ward, William Byrd Report No: 30903 World Bank 2004
Colombia: Coca Cultivation Survey
For the fifth time the Colombian Government and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, produced a joint annual survey on coca cultivation in Colombia, using remote sensing technology and ensuring a high level of reliability and transparency.
[United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Government of Colombia (GOC) June 2004]
Rural finance in Afghanistan and the challenge of the opium economy, Vol. 1 of 1
The workshop was intended to explore and address the issue of opium credit and indebtedness as well as the development of rural finance more generally and the role of national development programs in this regard. The objective was to identify what longer-term developments in rural finance are needed, what specific steps can be taken in the immediate future, and how synergies with other national development programs can be developed Byrd, William Goeldner, Karri A. Kloeppinger-Todd, Renate Maimbo, Samuel Mansfield, David Pearce, Douglas Radcliffe, David Rasmussen, Stephen Ward, Christopher Zeballos, Erick Zia, Mohammad Ehsan Report No: 33275 World Bank 2004
Afghanistan Farmers Intention Survey 2003/2004
Farmers’ Intentions Survey 2003/2004 AFGHANISTAN [United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime]
“Afghanistan – Continuing Challenges”
Last year in Afghanistan, according to the UN Office of Drugs and Crime, (UNODC), 1.7 million people were directly engaged in producing more than 3,600 metric tons of opium three quarters of the world’s illicit opium production. In a UNODC survey, 69% of last year’s poppy farmers stated that they intend to increase their production, and 43% of those who have not been growing will start cultivating in 2004. Afghanistan is in clear and present danger of descending from a narco-economy into a narco-state
International Crisis Group.12 May 2004
Coca or Death? Cocalero Movements in Peru and Bolivia
Following Bolivia’s 2002 parliamentary elections, the success of the political party headed by cocalero leader Evo Morales, rekindled debate regarding cocaleroorganisations in the Andes and their vindications. Disinformation around these organisations has contributed to a rise in terms like narcoguerrilleros and narcoterroristas, etc. being applied to the various cocalero peasant movements
TNI Drugs & Conflict Debate Papers 10, April 2004 [Transnational Institute]
The Economic Impact of the Illicit Drug Industry
Goal of the seminar was to assess the global business volume of the illegal drug industry and to look where the illegal proceeds of the industry are going. Issues discussed included: the size of the illicit drug economy and the flows, investments and collusion of drugs money in the legal economy and its alleged funding of international terrorism
Report TNI Seminar 5-6 December 2003 [Transnational Institute]
World Trends in the Production, Trafficking and Consumption of Illicit Drug
This paper attempts to examine how world drug trends have changed since the last of the UN Conventions was agreed in 1988 and, at this mid-point between 1998 and the target year of 2008, examines whether trends in cultivation, trafficking and consumption are going down as envisaged
Cindy Fazey Forward Thinking on Drugs 2003
Cross Purposes Alternative Development and Conflict in Colombia
One of the greatest challenges in Colombia today is how to meet alternative development objectives in the midst of war. “Alternative development” refers in this context to the creation of alternative livelihoods for illicit crop farmers
Drugs & Conflict Debate Paper 7, June 2003 [Transnational Institute]
Drugs and Conflict in Burma (Myanmar) Dilemmas for Policy Responses
Burma is on the brink of yet another humanitarian crisis. In the Kokang region, an opium ban was enforced last year, and by mid-2005 no more poppy growing will be allowed in the Wa region. Banning opium from these regions in Shan State adds another chapter to the long and dramatic history of drugs, conflict and human suffering in the country
Drugs & Conflict Debate Paper 9, December 2003 [Transnational Institute]
The Opium Economy in Afghanistan: An International Problem
UNODC 2003 ISBN 92-1-148157-0
A Model of Chaotic Drug Markets and Their Control
Drug markets are often described informally as being chaotic, and there is a tendency to believe that control efforts can make things worse, not better, at least in some circumstances. This paper explores the idea that such statements might be literally true in a mathematical sense by considering a discrete-time model of populations of drug users and drug sellers for which initiation into either population is a function of relative numbers of both populations
Doris A. Behrens, Jonathan P. Caulkins, Gustav Feichtinger Carnegie Mellon, Heinz School 2002-8, Jul 2002
Illicit drugs and economic development
INCB 2002
NDIC’s annual National Drug Threat Assessment gives policymakers and counterdrug executives a timely, predictive report on the threat of drugs, gangs, and violence. We synthesize the views of local, state, regional, and federal agencies to produce a comprehensive picture of this threat. U S Department of Justice
The Sydney methamphetamine market
Patterns of supply, use, personal harms and social consequences (PDF) [NDLERF, Australia]
A Failed Balance Alternative Development and Eradication
In 1961, the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs prohibited planting crops having no medical or scientific purpose, fixing a period of 15 years –for opium– and 25 years – for coca– as deadlines for their ultimate extinction. Those targets were clearly not met. In 1998, ignoring decades of lack of success in addressing the issue of illicit crops, the UN set the year 2008 as yet another deadline by which to eliminate coca and opium. At the UN Special Session on drugs, AD was identified as a key instrument to be used in fulfilling this objective, as part of an integral anti-drugs strategy
Drugs & Conflict Debate Paper 4, March 2002
Drugs and Insurgents in Colombia
A Regional Conundrum
Research brief RB-69, 2001 RAND
Colombian Labyrinth: The Synergy of Drugs and Insurgency and Its Implications for Regional Stability NGO
Argues that U.S. policy toward Colombia has been driven to a large extent by counter-narcotics considerations, but the evolving situation in that South American country confronts the United States with as much of a national security as a drug policy problem
Angel Rabasa, Peter ChalkAngelRabasa, Peter Chalk MR-1339-AF, 2001 RAND
Merging Wars Afghanistan, Drugs and Terrorism
Today, the two major producers of opium poppy and coca, Afghanistan and Colombia, are in the midst of shifting counterdrug strategies. In this issue we will look at the case of Afghanistan, analysing the UN International Drug Control Programme’s (UNDCP) ill fated interventions. And while international attention is focused on Afghanistan, the linkage of drugs and terrorism is endangering the troubled peace talks between the government and the FARC guerrilla in Colombia
Drugs & Conflict Debate Paper 3, November 2001 [Transnational Institute]
Fumigation and Conflict in Colombia In the Heat of the Debate
Colombia began an intensive campaign of massive aerial spraying in December 2000, under the aegis of Plan Colombia. The programme has set in motion strong opposition by the peasant and indigenous communities involved and national and international organisations from civil society. The number of voices speaking out against using chemical herbicides to eradicate illicit crops has grown spectacularly this year, fostering an even broader debate about this Latin American country’s entire drug policy
Drugs & Conflict Debate Paper 2, September 2001 [Transnational Institute]
This first issue is devoted to the controversies that have arisen around Plan Colombia. It is released at this particular moment to inform discussions on supporting the peace process in Colombia around the third round of the international donor conference in Brussels
Drugs & Conflict Debate Paper 1, April 2001 [Transnational Institute]
Vicious Circle The Chemical and Biological “War on Drugs”
Aerial fumigations with herbicides of drug crops in Colomba set in motion a vicious circle of human, social and environmental destruction. In Vicious Circle – The Chemical and Biological ‘War on Drugs’, TNI-fellow Martin Jelsma describes how in the course of the cycle human rights are violated, the legitimacy of the state is eroded, alternative development is aborted, peasant support for the guerrilla increases, the war extends to new areas, and the War on Drugs is entangled with counterinsurgency objectives
Transnational Institute, Amsterdam, March 2001
Middle market drug distribution
This report attempts to describe how drugs are moved from importation to street level in the UK, by whom and for what profit. It represents the first effort to map out the ‘middle levelsof the UK’s drug markets
Geoffrey Pearson (Goldsmiths College, University of London) and Dick Hobbs (University of Durham) Home Office Research Study 227 2001
Sizing the UK market for illicit drugs 2001
This report proposes a methodology for estimating the size of the market for drugs in the UK, which is based upon using available data sources on prevalence and consumption patterns of different types of drug user
Edward Bramley-Harker (National Economic Research Associates) Home Office RDS Occasional Paper No 74 ISBN 1 84082 695 9
Alternative Development in the Andean Area – The UNDCP experience
UNDCP Vienna, August 2001
Alternative Development: Sharing Good Practices, Facing Common Problems
UNDCP Regional Centre for East Asia and the Pacific, July 2001
The Australian heroin drought and its implications for drug policy
The extent to which individuals who are detained by police are drug users is a matter of policy significance, since drug using offenders commit disproportionately more crime than their non-drug using colleagues. In this study the level and type of drug use among a sample of detainees from two local area commands in Sydney are examined. The study validates self reported drug use with urinalysis results
Don Weatherburn, Craig Jones, Karen Freeman and Toni Makkai Australian Institute of Criminology 2001 ISBN 0 7313 2633 4; ISSN 1030-1046
The Drug War in the Skies. The US “Air Bridge Denial” Strategy. The Success of a Failure
The purpose of this report is to evaluate the effectiveness and impacts of one of the key US supply side-interdiction programs in the War on Drugs in Latin America. This strategy, known as “Air Bridge Denial”, seeks to reduce the amount of cocaine entering the US and its domestic consumption by blocking the transport of cocaine and its precursors in the Andean-Amazonic r
Edited by Theo Roncken TNI/AcciónAndina, May 1999 [Transnational Institute]
Reluctant Recruits The US Military and the War on Drugs
Among the vast array of US government agencies involved in drug control efforts, the Department of Defense (DOD) is on the front line of the war on drugs in Latin America, a role mandated by the 1989 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The act designated DOD as the “single lead agency” for the detection and monitoring of illicit drug shipments into the United States. Congress backed this directive with dollars, quadrupling DOD’s counter-drug budget between Fiscal Year (FY)1988 and FY1992, when it peaked at $1.22 billion. Billions more have been spent since then
Peter Zirnite WOLA (Washington Office on Latin America), Washington DC, August 1997 [Transnational Institute]
What Price Data Tell Us About Drug Markets
This paper reviews empirical evidence on drug prices and discusses implications for understanding of drug markets and for policy
Jonathan P. Caulkins, Peter Reuter Carnegie Mellon, Heinz School 1998-7, Mar 1998