Can Production and Trafficking of Illicit Drugs be Reduced or Merely Shifted?
The production of cocaine and heroin, the two most important drugs economically, has been concentrated in a small number of poor nations for 25 years. A slightly larger number of developing nations have been affected by large-scale trafficking in t...
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| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/03/9087385/can-production-trafficking-illicit-drugs-reduced-or-merely-shifted http://hdl.handle.net/10986/6531 |
| Summary: | The production of cocaine and heroin,
the two most important drugs economically, has been
concentrated in a small number of poor nations for 25 years.
A slightly larger number of developing nations have been
affected by large-scale trafficking in these two drugs.
This paper reviews what is known about drug control programs
and considers non-traditional options. The usual array of
programs for suppressing drug problems, enforcement,
treatment, harm reduction and prevention have been assessed
almost exclusively in wealthy nations. Although treatment
has been shown to be cost-effective, it is of minimal
relevance for reducing the drug problems of nations such as
Afghanistan, Colombia, Mexico or Tajikistan, which are
primarily harmed by production and trafficking rather than
consumption. Efforts to reduce drug production and
trafficking have not been subject to systematic evaluation
but the best interpretation of the available evidence is
that they have had minimal effect on the quantities produced
or trafficked. It is reasonable to conclude that
international drug control efforts can do more to affect
where these drugs are produced rather than the quantity. If
that is the case, and given that spreading a specific level
of production or trafficking to more rather than fewer
nations probably decreases global welfare, it may be
appropriate to consider a less aggressive stance to current
producers and to make strategic decisions about the location
of an industry producing a global bad. |
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