By Daisy Ayliffe - 23rd November 2006
The price of illegal drugs, including heroin and cocaine, has plummeted across Europe a new study finds.
A report published by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) warns that the price of heroin has gone down by 45 per cent and cocaine is down 22 per cent on five years ago.
The report says the fall in heroin prices comes as drug production in Afghanistan has soared after the fall of the Taliban.
“Afghanistan is the key player in global heroin production and developments in the country have the potential to impact on the kind of drug problem we will face in Europe in the future,” Wolfgang Gotz, head of the EMCDDA said in a statement.
“We cannot ignore the dangers posed by a growing surplus of heroin on the global illicit market,” he added.
The five-year review of the cost of drugs in Europe finds that the price of many other illegal drugs also dropped between 1999 and 2004.
“Average prices were falling in most countries and for most substances, in some cases by almost half,” the report reads.
It notes that cocaine and ecstasy are both cheaper today than they were in the late 1980s.
The EMCDDA urges European leaders to tackle the issue by taking united action.
“We have learned that working together not only works but is also indispensable if we are to develop effective responses to the challenges presented to us by the use of illicit drugs,” the report reads.
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