As far as controlling supply is concerned, it is better to intervene in the chain of creation of cocaine’s added value only when the price of the drug is high enough for the shortage to have an effect on that price –far from the producing countries and close to the final consumer–.įor traffickers, the risk of getting caught increases with the amount of levels of control they must dodge. Because of this exponential increase in value, potential situations of a shortage of coca leaves or cocaine in the Andean region would not have visible effects on the final price in Europe or on consumption levels. However, the coca-growing farmer gets no more than €250 for the coca leaves needed to produce that kilo of the drug. The same kilo in Colombia is worth about €1,200. For instance, a kilo of high-purity cocaine has a street value of nearly €80,000 in Spain, and that is a conservative estimate. Embracing this logic has imminent implications for drug control policy: all measures to control supply, be they repressive, penal or linked to development policy, must be evaluated in light of the effect they have on the final price of cocaine.Ĭocaine’s production and marketing chain follows an exponential price curve: the further the cocaine is from the producing country in the commercial chain, the higher its market price will be. Therefore, any intervention in the chain of creation of added value must be evaluated in terms of the impact it has on prices. At the same time, the control regime involves frequent drug seizures, which makes the product more scarce and that also contributes to raising prices. This system poses high risks for those working in this illegal market, who make up for this through charging high prices. What keeps prices high are penalisation of trafficking in and consumption of drugs and the control of supply. Cocaine’s price is high even though its production costs are very low. The establishment of the illegal drug market in those weak States goes hand in hand with a rise in instability, growing levels of corruption, possible financing of non-governmental armed groups and high incidence of cocaine use.ĭrug consumption follows the market laws of supply and demand: the higher the price of the drug, the lower the demand, and consumption drops. The fragile States of West Africa are not in a position to take on Latin American organised crime gangs, which are much stronger in terms of resources. After a significant rise in recent years, it is now estimated that nearly 50 tonnes of cocaine pass through West Africa each year before reaching European soil in other words, one fifth of the cocaine that makes its way into Europe. There is a new dimension to the cocaine trafficking bound for Europe, and this requires more attention. This group accounts for about 20% of all those in Europe who use the drug. In Spain, 3% of the population regularly consumes cocaine. In 2007, in Europe there were 3.5 million young and adolescent consumers. Twelve million Europeans have consumed cocaine at least once in their lifetime. In 2006, in Spain alone, the authorities seized 50 tonnes of this drug. Nearly 250 tonnes were exported to Europe that year. In 2007, according to UN estimates, in the Andean region approximately 180,000 hectares of coca were grown, and nearly 1,000 tons of pure cocaine were produced. Today, drug trafficking is the most lucrative branch of organised crime, and within in it cocaine yields the most profits. The declaration of 2009 called for a significant reduction in the growing of opium and coca over the next 10 years. At the same time, they assessed the results and implementation of the agreements adopted at the 20th United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the drug problem (UNGASS) in 1998. The experts who took part agreed on the future pillars of international drug control policy for the next decade. The 52nd session of UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) ended on 20 March 2009 in Vienna.
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