Federal authorities say big cities across the U.S. are seeing a cocaine shortage that
has caused street prices to soar. But many local police officials say
they're not convinced.
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) said in November that the price of cocaine shot up 44 percent from January to September 2007, and the purity of it dropped 15 percent.
The DEA reports:
- From January through June 2007, the average price per pure gram of all domestic cocaine purchases increased 24 per cent, from $95.89 to $118.70, while purity fell 11 per cent, from 67 per cent to 59 percent.
- From January through June 2007, the retail (involving amounts up to 10 grams) price per pure gram of cocaine increased 15 percent, from $145.42 to $166.90.
- From January through June 2007, the mid-level wholesale (involving amounts between one and ten ounces) price per pure gram of cocaine increased 33 per cent, from $53.09 to $70.39.
- From January through June 2007, the wholesale (involving amounts of one kilogram or more) price per pure gram of cocaine increased 11 percent, from $20.85 to $23.04.
National Republic Radio went beyond popular wisdom to see if there is evidence to support the claims.
NPR correspondent John Burnett reported that the feds may be exaggerating their claims. He found that price spikes and spotty shortages may have been temporary. In some cities like St Louis, New York and San Francisco, police say there is no doubt that the price of cocaine is up by a third and that there is less powder on the street. But police in Pittsburgh, San Diego, Dallas and Detroit say there is no shortage -- none.
Other cities said even if there was a summer-long scarcity in the summer of 2007, the shortage is over, and drug runners have found new sources.
The DEA Web site says:
Since 2000, Quest Diagnostics drug test positives for cocaine have hovered consistently in the 0.70 to 0.75 per cent range until 2007, when positives fell to 0.58 per cent during the first six months, a 15.9 per cent decrease from CY 2006. The same company saw a jump in positive results for meth tests.
But NPR's Burnett says that is not the whole story. While positive cocaine tests fell, positive tests for meth use rose. In other words, when addicts can't get one drug for the price they can afford, they turn to other drugs -- they don't just throw up their hands and get clean.
...for doing some critical journalism on the claims of ONDCP...
