Authorities and people familiar with the drug trade say violence in Mexico and increased enforcement -- symbolized by the Flores case -- are having a dramatic effect on Chicago street sales, at least for now. The wholesale price for a kilo of cocaine -- about 2.2 pounds -- has spiked over the past 18 months, from $18,000 to $29,000 and often more, according to authorities.I wonder if the unnamed "authorities" in question are being deliberately misleading, or if they simply lack the sense to notice what they just said. The increase in the wholesale price of cocaine ends up, as such increases normally do, in the pockets of the people selling it.
What they have just said is that increased enforcement has increased profits for drug lords dramatically.
December 31 2009, 17:06:36 UTC 5 years ago
And if they were having that impact, that is so significant a result that it would be one of the talking points. It's not, ergo, they're not.
December 31 2009, 20:10:42 UTC 5 years ago
Messing around with supply via law enforcement is by all accounts largely a waste of time and resources, but it's politically easy. All serious, credible reviews I've ever seen have all pointed to fundamentals (education, employment, and frankly, therapy) as the real solution. But that's work, takes time, and isn't glamorous
So, you attack the supply curve and point out that you are moving the needle there by talking about how much more expensive it is.
As an aside, Freakanomics has a really good analysis of gang finances due to an unusual capture of the books of a gang. Interesting reading.