Prices for cocaine and methamphetamine rose for the fourth quarter in a row, a trend law enforcement officials say indicates supply has dropped, reports USA Today. The price for a pure gram of cocaine increased 47 percent since October 2006. The price of a pure gram of methamphetamine jumped 84 percent, says a report out today from the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Price increases don’t necessarily show government success, says Bill Piper of the Drug Policy Alliance, which supports legalizing drugs. “When gasoline prices go up, politicians instinctively know that oil companies are getting rich,” Piper says. “When drug prices go up, drug cartels are making money. The Justice Department’s annual National Drug Intelligence Estimate, issued yesterday, said cocaine is replacing methamphetamine as the “principal drug threat” in the U.S., based on a survey of law enforcement agencies. The assessment reports declines in domestic and smuggled Mexican meth, but increases in Canadian meth.
Link: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-11-07-cocaine_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip