By Jason Eligh

The purpose of this report is to examine the existing retail markets for meth across several countries in eastern and southern Africa. This will be achieved through an analysis of meth availability, retail meth prices, distribution systems and domestic marketplaces. The report provides an analytical summary of meth markets that is grounded in data collected in 10 countries across the region with details of specific retail price points, commentary on domestic meth distribution systems and structures, and discussion of common structural characteristics across the region that enable and sustain these markets. Furthermore, the data generated from research undertaken for this report is intended to contribute to the broader regional objective of constructing an open-source database of time-series, country-specific illicit commodity price data, where applicable and practicable.

Geneva: Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, 2020. 104p.

By Jason Eligh

The implications of the coronavirus pandemic for governance and law enforcement will be profound and, from the perspective of illicit drug markets, the global disruption caused by COVID-19 can be seen as both a crisis and an opportunity. World drug markets have already weathered a number of historical market crises. In each of these situations, illicit drug organizations and their markets suffered significant short-term disruptions to demand or supply, or both. Also, in each of these situations, a majority of the affected organizations and markets adapted and evolved their business models to accommodate the new operating environments. Today, many domestic drug markets are reasonably stable, embedded in their economic landscapes. They are significant components of regional and national gross domestic product and, in many places, a significant or sole livelihood source. Key factors that have shaped drug markets in the past, and continue to shape them today, are exploitation of opportunity amid crisis and rapid adaptation to environmental change.

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  COVID-19 will generate longer-term implications for drug-market dynamics, law-enforcement tactics and drug policy. This policy brief offers observations on the current and likely future drug market impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, with discussion of policy-response measures as we draw closer to the inevitable post-pandemic recovery period of stock taking and reflection.

Geneva: Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, 2020. 37p.

By Gianmarco Daniele, Marco Le Moglie, Federico Masera

The opioid epidemic and migration along the US–Mexico border are two of the most-debated policy issues in recent US politics. We show how these two topics are interlinked: the US opioid epidemic generated large Mexican migration flows. We exploit the fact that in 2010, a series of reforms to the US health care system resulted in a shift in demand from legal opiates to heroin. This demand shock had considerable effects on Mexico, the main supplier of heroin consumed in the US. Violence and conflicts increased in Mexican municipalities suitable for opium production, as they became highly valuable to drug cartels. People migrated out of these municipalities to escape this violence, mostly to areas close to the US border and into the US. The rise in US demand for heroin increased internal migration by an estimated 90,000 individuals and migration across the border at least by 12,000

BAFFI CAREFIN Centre Research Paper No. 2020-141, 2020. 60p.

By Harvey Slade

Drug-related deaths fell after the reform of Portugal’s drug policy, and have remained below the EU average since 2001 The proportion of the prison population sentenced for drug offences has fallen from over 40% to 15% Rates of drug use have remained consistently below the EU average Portugal has gone from accounting for over 50% of yearly HIV diagnoses linked to injecting drug use in the EU to 1.7%

London: Transform Drug Policy Foundation, 2021. 10p.

By Lucas Marín Llanes and Hernando Zuleta

There is scarce empirical evidence on the impacts of drug consumption decriminalization, especially, on problematic drug use and violence. In 2001, Portugal decriminalized the consumption of all illicit drugs. In this paper, we focus on determining the short, medium, and long-term impact of Portuguese decriminalization on mortality due to drug use and homicides, from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. We model drug consumption using an intertemporal consumption model and the decisions of trafficking firms to gain market share employing an optimization model. Our results suggest a non-linear effect of decriminalization on drug consumption risk and increasing incentives for firms to expand their market share employing violence after decriminalization. Empirically, we estimate a negative short-run effect on drug-related deaths and null long-run impacts of this legal reform. In terms of homicides, we find a positive effect in a range of 28.7%-34.2% in the medium- and long-term.

Colombia: Universidad de los Andes, 2022. 38p.

By Geoff Ramsey and David Smilde

While corruption and organized crime are thriving amid Venezuela’s political and economic crisis, previously unpublished U.S. government drug trade monitoring data suggests that Venezuela is not a primary transit country for U.S.-bound cocaine. In “Beyond the Narcostate Narrative,” the authors assess the implications of official U.S. drug control data for prospects at advancing a peaceful, negotiated return to democracy in Venezuela.  When U.S. policymakers talk about Venezuela’s crisis, the flow of cocaine through the country is a frequent talking point. And there is no question that organized crime and corruption have flourished in the midst of Venezuela’s crisis. Yet the true extent of drug trafficking is often magnified by actors who suggest that a negotiated, democratic solution in Venezuela is impossible. The authors have heard some version of “you can’t negotiate with a narcostate” countless times in recent years.

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  This paper uses the U.S. government’s own best estimates of transnational illegal cocaine shipments to gauge the scale and relative importance of Venezuela’s role as a transit country. In particular, we draw on recent data from the U.S. interagency Consolidated Counterdrug Database (CCDB), a multi-source collection of global illegal drug trafficking events that is gathered from intelligence data such as detection and surveillance, as well as interdiction and law enforcement data. According to the Department of Defense, “The CCDB event-based estimates are the best available authoritative source for estimating known illicit drug flow through the Transit Zone. All the event data contained in the CCDB is deemed to be high confidence (accurate, complete and unbiased in presentation and substance as possible).” We have supplemented CCDB estimates with public statements and presentations made by officials at the Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Defense, and Department of State regarding drug trafficking trends in the Americas. 

Washington, DC: Washington Office on Latin America, 2020. 20p.

By Walter Kemp, Kristina Amerhauser and Ruggero Scaturro

The Western Balkans is a crossroads for the trafficking of many illicit commodities, and a geographical hub for the smuggling of migrants who are trying to enter Western Europe. While these facts are well known, information on the size of the markets and the potential profits is less evident. And while the Western Balkans has a bad reputation for laundering illicit proceeds, there is not much information on cities or sectors where it is a problem. This report sheds light on the dark numbers of mixed migrant flows through the Western Balkans, the prices that they pay to be smuggled, as well as the cost of drugs in the region. To do this, it uses an approach pioneered in two previous Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) reports on organized crime in the Western Balkans, namely pinpointing and looking at what is going on in selected hotspots, especially high-volume entry and exit routes through which migrants are smuggled, and key drug trafficking nodes. Focusing on illicit activity in these hotspots provides a close-up look at the drivers and enablers of organized crime. At the same time, an analysis of these hotspots in a regional context gives an indication of the volume of illicit trade and the potential profits being made.

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  After looking at the amounts of money being made in these hotspots and showing where and how the smuggling of migrants and drugs is taking place, the report looks at a third flow – money. The third section of the report explains how money laundering works in the region both in terms of cleaning small amounts in the informal economy as well as bigger volumes generated by serious organized crime and large-scale corruption. It identifies sectors and industries as well as particular hotpots in the Western Balkans that are particularly vulnerable to money laundering. This report contains a wealth of information that was gathered in the fourth quarter of 2020 – despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings are based on field research and interviews carried out with current and former law enforcement officials; investigative journalists; researchers; local officials; asylum seekers and migrants; drug users; humanitarian agencies; international organizations; and representatives of civil society in the hotspots. It also draws on secondary sources, such as analytical and media reports, and official government information. To make this information more user-friendly, a number of maps and graphics have been specially produced for this report.

Geneva: Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. 2021. 88p.

By The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)

The Trends and Developments report presents the EMCDDA’s latest analysis of the drug situation in Europe. Focusing on illicit drug use, related harms and drug supply, the report contains a comprehensive set of national data across these themes and key harm-reduction interventions.

Lisbon: EMCDDA, 2022. 60p.

By Anne T. Gallagher and Fiona David

Whether forced into relocation by fear of persecution, civil war, or humanitarian crisis, or pulled toward the prospect of better economic opportunities, more people are on the move than ever before. Opportunities for lawful entry into preferred destinations are decreasing rapidly, creating demand for a range of services that is increasingly being met by migrant smugglers: individuals or criminal groups who facilitate unauthorized entry into in another country for profit. This book, a companion volume to the award-winning The International Law of Human Trafficking, presents the first-ever comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the international law of migrant smuggling. The authors call on their direct experience of working with the United Nations to chart the development of new international laws and to link these specialist rules to other relevant areas of international law, including law of the sea, human rights law, and international refugee law. Through this analysis, the authors identify and explain the major legal obligations of States with respect to migrant smuggling, including those related to criminalization, interdiction and rescue at sea, protection, prevention, detention, and return.

Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2014. 840p.

By Jens Beckert and Matías Dewey

From illegal drugs, stolen artwork, and forged trademarks, to fraud in financial markets - the phenomenon of illegality in market exchanges is pervasive. Illegal markets have great economic significance, have relevant social and political consequences, and shape economic and political structures.Despite the importance of illegality in the economy, the field of economic sociology unquestioningly accepts the premise that the institutional structures and exchanges taking place in markets are law-abiding in nature. This volume makes a contribution to changing this. Questions that stand at the centre of the chapters are: What are the interfaces between legal and illegal markets? How do demand and supply in illegal markets interact? What role do criminal organizations play in illegal markets? What is the relationship between illegality and governments? Is illegality a phenomenon central to capitalism? Anchored in economic sociology, this book contributes to the analysis and understanding of market exchanges in conditions of illegality from a perspective that focuses on the social organization of markets. Offering both theoretical reflections and case studies, the chapters assembled in the volume address the consequences of the illegal production, distribution, and consumption of products for the architecture of markets. It also focuses on the underlying causes and the political and social concerns stemming from the infringement of the law.

Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2017. 315p.

By Petrus C. van Duyne and Michael Levi

The phenomenon of psycho-active drugs, and our reactions to them, is one of the most fascinating topics of the social history of mankind. Starting with an analysis of the 'policy of fear' in which law enforcement is 'haunted' by drug money, Drugs and Money offers a radical reconsideration of this highly contentious issue.In this intriguing book, Petrus C. van Duyne and Michael Levi expose an ever-unfolding series of problems: the proliferation of mind-influencing substances the complications of international drug regulation the interaction between markets and economic actors, with the consequent amassing of huge amounts of crime-money. The social, cultural and economic aspects of this crime-money are explored, alongside the ongoing threat it poses to the legitimate economy and the state.

Abingdon, Oxon, UK: Routledge, 2005.219p.

By Christopher Harding

This is a study of agency in the field of criminal liability, considering the respective roles of individuals and organisations and the allocation of criminal responsibility to these different kinds of actor. The issue of criminal responsibility, which is informed by both the sociological analysis of conduct and by ethical considerations of responsibility, provides an important and revealing focus for discussion. Criminal Enterprise analyses criminal responsibility through three main types of organisation: corporate actors in the field of business activity, states and governments, and delinque. Read more... Cover; Copyright Page; Contents; Preface; 1 Introduction: searching for the responsible criminal actor; Part I; 2 The organisation in contemporary society; 3 Agency: the philosophy of the collective; 4 Legal routes to responsibility; 5 Models of responsibility; Part II; 6 Human or corporate? Allocating responsibility for business conspiracy; 7 Delinquency within structures of governance; 8 The legal control of criminal organisations; Part III; 9 The organisation as an autonomous criminal actor; 10 The criminal enterprise as a facilitating framework.

Collumpton, Devon, UK: Willan Publishing, 2007. 284p.

By The United Nations Office on drugs and Crime (UNODC)

The unique socioeconomic context in Palestine, characterized by political and economic tensions, has created conditions that facilitate the spread of illicit drug use among Palestinians. Data are lacking on the extent of high-risk drug use (HRDU) in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip but are a prerequisite to inform policy-making. HRDU is defined as ‘recurrent drug use that causes actual harm (negative consequences) to the person (including dependence, but also other health, psychological or social problems) or places the person at a high probability/risk of such harm’. The overall objective of this study was to provide insight into the extent of male HRDU in Palestine. This survey sampled only male participants based on findings from formative research indicating that females are not connected socially to males and/or to other females who use drugs. The study had four sites representing the Gaza Strip and the three regions in the West Bank: north, middle, and south. The study found that drug use is not confined to specific areas or localities within Palestine, but is widely distributed across the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Based on the data, it is estimated that there are 26,500 high risk drug users (HRDU) in Palestine, comprising 1.8% of the male population aged 15 and above.

Vienna: United Nations Offce on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). 2017. 77p.

By Mark Micallef

This report provides an assessment of drug smuggling routes and dynamics in Libya and aims to establish areas for further in-depth research. It draws on a mixed-methods approach, which includes the analysis of relevant open-source data alongside data from interviews with a variety of key stakeholders in the region. Libya’s smuggling and trafficking economies have been in a tumultuous state of flux since the 2011 revolution, and drug trafficking is no exception. The initial post-revolution period was characterised by changes that opened the door to new players, and even new markets, and led to a huge increase in the country’s internal consumption of illicit drugs, as well as to an expansion in its role as a transit point for drugs heading to Europe and countries neighbouring Libya. The disruption caused by the revolution also reordered the control of this profitable criminal activity, in some cases resulting in wars between criminal actors, including several tribes. Much of this reorganisation was related to the involvement of armed groups in drug trafficking. Two concurrent and conflicting developments in drug trafficking have taken place in the past few years.

Geneva: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), 2019. 29p.

By Fiona Mangan

This report explores how illicit drug trafficking and drug use in Libya has shaped and been shaped by the country’s ongoing conflict. Drawing on hundreds of interviews and dedicated research, it examines Libya’s pre-2011 illicit economy, delves into the social impact of drugs, and focuses on drug use on the frontlines of Libya’s ongoing conflict, the corrosive impact of drug trafficking and use on the justice and security sector, and how trafficking and organized crime undercut peacebuilding and state consolidation.

Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace, 2020. 36p.

By United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

This is a time for science and solidarity, as United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has said, highlighting the importance of trust in science and of working together to respond to the global COVID19 pandemic. The same holds true for our responses to the world drug problem. To be effective, balanced solutions to drug demand and supply must be rooted in evidence and shared responsibility. This is more important than ever, as illicit drug challenges become increasingly complex, and the COVID-19 crisis and economic downturn threaten to worsen their impacts, on the poor, marginalized and vulnerable most of all. Some 35.6 million people suffer from drug use disorders globally. While more people use drugs in developed countries than in developing countries, and wealthier segments of society have a higher prevalence of drug use, people who are socially and economically disadvantaged are more likely to develop drug use disorders. Only one out of eight people who need drug-related treatment receive it. While one out of three drug users is a woman, only one out of five people in treatment is a woman. People in prison settings, minorities, immigrants and displaced people also face barriers to treatment due to discrimination and stigma. Of the 11 million people who inject drugs, half of them are living with hepatitis C, and 1.4 million with HIV. Around 269 million people used drugs in 2018, up 30 per cent from 2009, with adolescents and young adults accounting for the largest share of users. More people are using drugs, and there are more drugs, and more types of drugs, than ever.

Vienna: UNODC, 2020. 64p.

By Ulrik Boesen

The crafting of tax policy can never be divorced from an understanding of the law of unintended consequences, but it is too often disregarded or misunderstood in political debate, and sometimes policies, however well-intentioned, have unintended consequences that outweigh their benefits. One notable example of this is the ever increasing tax rates on tobacco products. A consequence of high state cigarette excise tax rates has been increased smuggling as people procure discounted packs from low-tax states and sell them in high-tax states. Growing cigarette tax differentials have made cigarette smuggling both a national problem and, in some cases, a lucrative criminal enterprise. Each year, scholars at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a Michigan think tank, use a statistical analysis of available data to estimate smuggling rates for each state.1 Their most recent report uses 2019 data and finds that smuggling rates generally rise in states after they adopt cigarette tax increases. Smuggling rates have dropped in some states, often where neighboring states have higher cigarette tax rates. T

Washington, DC: Tax Foundation, 2021. 8p.

By The United Nations Office on drugs and Crime (UNODC)

The unique socioeconomic context in Palestine, characterized by political and economic tensions, has created conditions that facilitate the spread of illicit drug use among Palestinians. Data are lacking on the extent of high-risk drug use (HRDU) in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip but are a prerequisite to inform policy-making. HRDU is defined as ‘recurrent drug use that causes actual harm (negative consequences) to the person (including dependence, but also other health, psychological or social problems) or places the person at a high probability/risk of such harm’. The overall objective of this study was to provide insight into the extent of male HRDU in Palestine. This survey sampled only male participants based on findings from formative research indicating that females are not connected socially to males and/or to other females who use drugs. The study had four sites representing the Gaza Strip and the three regions in the West Bank: north, middle, and south. The study found that drug use is not confined to specific areas or localities within Palestine, but is widely distributed across the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Based on the data, it is estimated that there are 26,500 high risk drug users (HRDU) in Palestine, comprising 1.8% of the male population aged 15 and above.

Vienna: United Nations Offce on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). 2017. 77p.

By Mark Micallef

This report provides an assessment of drug smuggling routes and dynamics in Libya and aims to establish areas for further in-depth research. It draws on a mixed-methods approach, which includes the analysis of relevant open-source data alongside data from interviews with a variety of key stakeholders in the region. Libya’s smuggling and trafficking economies have been in a tumultuous state of flux since the 2011 revolution, and drug trafficking is no exception. The initial post-revolution period was characterised by changes that opened the door to new players, and even new markets, and led to a huge increase in the country’s internal consumption of illicit drugs, as well as to an expansion in its role as a transit point for drugs heading to Europe and countries neighbouring Libya. The disruption caused by the revolution also reordered the control of this profitable criminal activity, in some cases resulting in wars between criminal actors, including several tribes. Much of this reorganisation was related to the involvement of armed groups in drug trafficking. Two concurrent and conflicting developments in drug trafficking have taken place in the past few years.

Geneva: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), 2019. 29p.

By Fiona Mangan

This report explores how illicit drug trafficking and drug use in Libya has shaped and been shaped by the country’s ongoing conflict. Drawing on hundreds of interviews and dedicated research, it examines Libya’s pre-2011 illicit economy, delves into the social impact of drugs, and focuses on drug use on the frontlines of Libya’s ongoing conflict, the corrosive impact of drug trafficking and use on the justice and security sector, and how trafficking and organized crime undercut peacebuilding and state consolidation.

Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace, 2020. 36p.