The illicit drug trade generates billions of dollars and sustains transnational criminal organisations. Drug markets can destabilise governance and undermine development. Data indicate increasing drug use in South Africa. However, information on the size and value of the drug market is limited....

This article reassesses the book Africa and the War on Drugs (2012) and a related special journal issue (2016) in the light of drug market and policy developments since 2012. As part of this reassessment, we question some of the assumptions made in the book and special issue. More specifically,...

In this response to the UNODC's World Drug Report 2008, the IDPC continues to support the concept of the Office acting in a capacity as a 'centre of expertise' that collates data, analysis and information on best practices, objectively facilitates policy debates between member states and civil...

Mindful of a number of issues, it looked as if the 54th CND would be an intriguing event. Held in Vienna between 21-25 March, the Commission would be the first for the new Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Mr. Yury Fedotov. It was also the first meeting...

2012 marks the centenary of the international drug control system and the first instance of a state being moved to denounce formally any of the UN drug control treaties. The 55th session of the Commission on Narcotics Drugs (CND), held in Vienna between 12th and 16th March, therefore looked set...

The gateway hypothesis proposes that cannabis use increases the risk of starting to consume hard drugs. We test this controversial, but influential, hypothesis on a sample of cannabis users employing a unique set of drug prices. A flexible approach is developed to identify the causal gateway...

Using the case of the cocaine trade in Mexico as a relevant and salient example, this paper shows that scarcity leads to violence in markets without third party enforcement. We construct a model in which supply shortages increase total revenue when demand is inelastic. If property rights over...

This paper explores if scarcity increases violence in markets without a centralized authority. We construct a model in which, by raising prices and revenues, temporal supply shortages foster violence. Guided by our model, we examine empirically the link between scarcity and violence in the...

This study examined drug trafficking phenomenon from the global perspective. The study employed a desk review research approach with the reports and evaluations obtained from secondary sources of data analyzed through content analysis. The study found that globalization is posing an entirely new...