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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Cut-price drugs hit the streets Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor The Daily Telegraph Monday 12 Jan 2004 Street prices of illegal drugs have plummeted since 1997, suggesting that the Government is losing the battle to curb the supply despite record seizures. The price of cannabis dropped by 20 per cent in one year after the Government's "softly, softly" approach to its possession. The prices of hard drugs have also tumbled, with cocaine 29 per cent cheaper than in 1997 and a gramme of heroin 18 per cent lower. Ecstasy tablets can be bought for half the price of six years ago. The higher amounts being intercepted by Customs and the police appear to reflect unprecedented levels of smuggling and production rather than success in reducing the trade. The figures for the past two years, compiled by the National Criminal Intelligence Service, were obtained from the Home Office by Mark Oaten, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman. Mr Oaten said: "The fact that prices have fallen is a good indication that criminals are finding it easier to bring drugs into Britain. "If the efforts of law enforcement were making any impact on the streets, we would expect the prices to be rising." Cannabis resin and the herbal variety of the drug showed the biggest price falls, indicating that traffickers have stocked up before the drug is reclassified. On Jan 29 cannabis will be downgraded from a Class B controlled drug to Class C. It will still be an offence to possess, cultivate or supply it, but the maximum sentence for possession will fall from five years to two. Those with small amounts for their own use will not be prosecuted. This combination of reduced penalties, lower prices and apparent indifference on the part of the authorities has caused concern that the numbers using the drug will increase. Prof Robin Murray, of the Institute of Psychiatry, said last week that the use of cannabis was now the biggest problem facing the mental health services. He said new evidence had come to light since the Government decided to reclassify cannabis, showing that people who used the drug in their teens were up to seven times more likely to develop psychosis, delusional episodes or manic depression. It is clear from tumbling prices that the supply is growing rapidly. In September 1996 an ounce of cannabis resin cost £114, about £22 more than in 1990. Last August an ounce cost £66. Similar falls have been registered in the prices of Class A drugs. In 1997 cocaine cost £71 a gramme on the streets. By last September it had fallen to £55. Heroin, which cost £74 a gramme in 1997, was available at £61. Crack cocaine sells at £19 per rock compared with £20 six years ago. Ecstasy, the "clubbing drug", registered the biggest proportionate fall. In 1990 a tablet cost £19; now it costs £5. The fall in Class A drug prices seems to have slowed in the past two years, possibly because Customs and the police are focusing more on the trade in heroin and cocaine rather than on cannabis and amphetamines. Statistics on drug seizures in 2001 show that the amount of crack cocaine recovered doubled in a year and that all Class A interceptions were up by 10 per cent. But Mr Oaten said the Government should look afresh at plans to create a common frontier force comprising Customs, police and the immigration service to "provide a much better shield against the traffickers". One of Labour's early moves on law and order when it came to power was to appoint Keith Hellawell, a former chief constable of West Yorkshire, as its so-called drugs tsar. The creation of a drugs adviser at the heart of government was portrayed as a mark of the tough stance Labour was adopting to suppliers of illegal drugs, particularly hard drugs, while dealing with addicts in a sympathetic way. Ministers announced targets for reducing drug abuse, particularly by those under 25 on heroin and cocaine. Courts were encouraged to make greater use of treatment programmes as part of their sentences. At the same time, police and Customs were urged to crack down harder on traffickers. In recent years the Government has provided considerable help to the Jamaican authorities to try to stem the flow of cocaine, which has led to a great increase in gun crime in Britain. Legislation reached the statute book in the past year giving police and Customs greater powers to seize drugs cash. One of the central policies adopted by David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, has been to downgrade the status of cannabis to try to allow the police more time to tackle heroin and cocaine. Despite all these initiatives, tons of heroin and cocaine continue to flow into Britain.
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