Illegal drugs cheaper, more potent despite decades of the war on drugs: study

VANCOUVER – A new study say the cost of illegal drugs has declined over the past two decades and their potency has increased, despite the so-called war on drugs.

Researchers from British Columbia and California looked at statistics gathered by law enforcement and health agencies in North America, Europe and Australia over the past two decades.

Those numbers showed that while the number of drug seizures by police has increased, the price of cocaine, cannabis and opiates like heroin has dropped.

At the same time, the purity and potency of these street drugs has increased the study found.

The report, published in the British Medical Journal “Open,” says that the war on drugs has failed.

The authors, including Dr. Evan Wood of the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, say they hope the study prompts authorities to re-examine drug control strategies that focus on supply reduction, over prevention and treatment.