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Does tougher enforcement make drugs more expensive?
Harold A Pollack1, Peter Reuter
1School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Addiction (Abingdon, England)
|March 14, 2014
Summary
Despite high costs, increased drug law enforcement shows little evidence of raising illicit drug prices. This questions the effectiveness of stringent supply-side policies in nations with high enforcement levels.
Area of Science:
- Criminology
- Public Policy
- Economics
Background:
- Illicit drug markets operate under prohibition, leading to prices significantly higher than legal markets.
- Enforcement strategies aim to disrupt drug supply chains and influence market dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review empirical research examining the relationship between increased enforcement against illicit drug supply and changes in drug prices.
- To assess the impact of enforcement at various levels of the drug supply system.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of empirical studies.
- Analysis of research investigating the effects of arrest, incarceration, and seizure risks on drug prices.
Main Results:
- Limited evidence suggests that increased enforcement (arrest, incarceration, seizure) effectively raises drug prices at targeted supply levels or retail.
- The available studies are few, employ diverse measures, and face significant methodological challenges.
Conclusions:
- Stringent supply-side enforcement policies, particularly those involving incarceration, incur substantial human and economic costs.
- The lack of demonstrated price increases questions the marginal value of such policies in high-enforcement countries.
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