The so-called war on drugs is failing to curb supply despite the increasing amounts of funding for law enforcement, medical researchers have warned.
Street prices of illegal drugs have fallen in real terms since 1990 while the purity of the substances has generally increased.
That is according to research by the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy, published in the online journal BMJ Open.
Most national drug control strategies have focused on law enforcement to curb supply despite calls to explore other approaches, such as decriminalisation and strict legal regulation, the report said.
The study looked at data from seven international government-funded drug surveillance systems which had at least ten years of information on the price and purity of cannabis, cocaine and opiates, including heroin.
The report said "the global supply of illicit drugs has likely not been reduced in the previous two decades".
It added "the data presented in this study suggest that the supply of opiates and cannabis have increased, given the increasing potency and decreasing prices of these illegal commodities".
It concluded: "These findings suggest that expanding efforts at controlling the global illegal drug market through law enforcement are failing."
Co-author Dr Evan Wood, scientific chair of the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy, said: "These findings add to the growing body of evidence that the war on drugs has failed.
Source: rte.ie, 01/10/13
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