Controlling narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances

The strategy to drive up the price of drugs beyond the possibility of purchase by limiting supply simply does not work. Increasing prices has actually attracted new producers and distributors to the market, eventually driving prices back down again. The U.S. government has already spent more than $25 billion on interdiction programmes and efforts to disrupt drug production in "source countries," but prices for a pure gram of both heroin and cocaine (as measured in 1994 dollars) have declined markedly in the last 15 years.