Despite Drug War, Cocaine Purer, Cheaper

Drug's Prices Have Dropped From $600 Per Gram In 1981 To $135 Despite Nearly $5 Billion Spent By U.S.

(AP)  Cocaine prices in the United States have dropped and the drug's purity increased, despite years of effort and nearly $5 billion spent by the U.S. government to combat Colombia's drug industry, the White House drug czar acknowledged in a letter to a key senator.

The drug czar, John Walters, wrote Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, that retail cocaine prices fell by 11 percent from February 2005 to October 2006, to about $135 per gram of pure cocaine — hovering near the same levels since the early 1990s. In 1981, when the U.S. government began collecting data, a gram of pure cocaine fetched $600.

The purity of this cocaine, meanwhile, has “trended somewhat toward former levels,” as well, Walters said in the letter, citing data from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Colombia supplies 90 percent of the cocaine consumed in the United States. Declining prices and rising purity could also suggest weakening demand, but several household and school-based surveys show that America's cocaine consumption has barely budged since 2000, and demand in Europe has increased.

Colombia's president, Alvaro Uribe, is set to meet with President Bush at the White House on Wednesday to discuss U.S. support for Plan Colombia, the anti-narcotics and counterinsurgency program that has cost American taxpayers more than $4 billion since 2000.

Walters' letter to Grassley, the Republican co-chair of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, was sent in January in response to a request from the senator. It was made available to The Associated Press by the Washington Office on Latin America, a liberal lobby group.

U.S. officials have insisted repeatedly that Plan Colombia is reducing the quality and availability of to American users.

But Grassley, in an e-mailed statement to the AP, said the new data is “all the proof that anybody needs” that the White House drug office “has gotten quite good at spinning the numbers, but cooking the books doesn't help our efforts to curb cocaine and heroin production and consumption.”

Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said senior U.S. Embassy officials gave him older, more encouraging data during a visit to Bogota in March — two months after the drug czar quietly released his more downbeat appraisal.

“We've given this program a chance to work and clearly this is not producing the results we were promised,” McGovern said. “Cocaine is priced as low and purity is as high as it was before Plan Colombia began six years and $5 billion ago.”

Rafael Lemaitre, a spokesman for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, told the AP that Walters would not comment on the letter but Lemaitre described it as “an accurate reflection of our agency's thoughts on the issue.”

In November 2005, Walters announced that cocaine prices had risen by 19 percent and purity had dropped by about the same. He touted the development as a sign that the United States had turned the corner in the drug war. Drug policy experts rejected his assertions at the time, and Grassley called for his dismissal.

“When the data show a brief rise in cocaine prices, the drug czar holds a high-profile press conference,” said Adam Isacson, an analyst at the Washington-based Center for International Policy. “But when the trend goes back down again, the drug czar sends it in a letter to one senator. Why is that?”

[feelfree1]

And as a result of the War against Afghanistan, global opium production has rebounded to record levels.

If we are truly fighting a "war on drugs", then this is yet another clear defeat for the U.S.

How many ways can the Bush regime attack the American people and the people of the world at the same time? There seems to be no limit.

[kindrox]

You have to appreciate the beauty of the system we have going. I guess we are smoking so much dope we think we are winning the drug war.

[zootallures2]

So, you are winning, then. As long as the CIA and government officials can make extra cash from drugs, it will never end. The only answer is to make drugs free...LOL!

[condumism]

US GOVERNMENT DRUG WAR = DISSINFORMATION

Corporate Fascism = drug testing in the work
place

America = a land of FOOLS!

Never has cocaine cost $600 per gram in the USA. This story is the usual dissinformation by the corporate fascist's that run our once free press.

[incog-nito]

If the war on drugs keeps up, Maybe we'll have cheap, 100% pure cocaine soon.

[frankly6]

This is exactly where the war on terror will be in ten years thanks to the idiot GOP.

[lastdance2]

Re :.. zootallures2

Remember ! ! !

Air America - - A small air freight company. That smuggled illegal drugs into the United States, during the Viet-Nam war.

Remember :
During the Reagan - Bush, Administrations.
When Air America was caught, smuggling illegal drugs into the United States.

Air America stated : We wre ordered to smuggle drugs, by the "White House"

Today V.P. Cheney, owns a small air freight company, in northern Idaho

What does a big "Oil Boss" like : V.P. Cheney want with a small air freight company.

Have you noticed : When - there is big cocaine bust, on the high seas. -
"Gasoline, prices go up."

The Washington State, : State Attorney Generals Office.
Claims : There is no priority on :: illegal drugs.
Which means : There are no active investigations.

All attorneys assigned to the Washington State, :
State Attorney Generals Office.
Are loyal Republician Party members.

The others, were fired - Remember ???

You will be, mildly suprised, at the number of
former CIA operatives.

Who are now running around with credentials.
Identifying them-selves as FBI investigators.

Al of this - approved of, and supported by the :
Director of the FBI.

Excellent demonstration of :
The moral code of ethics by : The FBI.

Lastdance

[themooniac]

If you are paying over $100 a G for coke you are getting ripped big time. I never, ever in my life have heard of coke being $135 a G. Never-ever. This is some kind of government BS to inflate the value of drugs they receive in a bust. Lets make the civilians think this is a big drug bust - we'll just tell people the street value is $600 a G and they will believe it. No one is paying $135 a G on the street and certainly not ever, never, ever in any Columbians wildest dreams would a person get $600 a G. What horse$hit. Purely for public consumption in the war on drugs...

[nothappyatall]

"The drug czar, John Walters, wrote Sen. Charles Grassley,"

Giving the guy a communist title like "drug CZAR" says a lot doesn't it?

"war on drugs"

The "war" has totally FAILED, another stupid right wing concept that making something illegal is going to make it go away, newsflash: it DOESN'T it just creates a nice underground crime cartel.
Laws don't stop people from getting what they WANT.

[nothappyatall]

"Street value" is a joke, there is no set price for this krap, the Govt inflates the figures yes.

The Govt wont even legalize MEDICAL marijuana because they'd have to ADMIT the billions wasted on drug enforcement and idiotic mandatory sentences was a failure.

[gunownerdan]

Let's see, marijuana has been illegal in America for over 70 years yet today it is America's #1 cash crop outselling even corn, wheat, apples, oranges, you name it! This means BILLIONS of dollars goes right into the hands of drug gangs and drug dealers which funds a huge percentage of the crime and violence we have today.
How much longer will it take for "dumb America" to realize the simple fact that PROHIBITION DOES MORE HARM THAN GOOD??????

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
http://www.leap.cc

Marijuana Policy Project
http://www.mpp.org

[crater7]

WOW! This has to be a first for this administration. Prices have dropped. Thats news in itself. At least when you buy your drugs, you can be sure that you are not paying to much , and they are better for you now. This Administration cant controll the saftey of our food supply, but can assure us that our illegal drugs are safe.

[gunownerdan]

If the "WAR ON TERROR" goes as good as the "WAR ON DRUGS", we are in BIG TROUBLE.













Terrorists and other homicidal maniacs prefer unarmed victims!

[mcvet]

How much longer will it take for "dumb America" to realize the simple fact that PROHIBITION DOES MORE HARM THAN GOOD??????

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
http://www.leap.cc

Marijuana Policy Project
http://www.mpp.org
Posted by GunOwnerDan at 06:42 AM : Apr 28, 2007

I'd say it will end when we STOP allowing a Politician to bribe us into voting for him with FEAR. When something has failed this badly we need to look and look very closely at what we're doing. The US Tax Payer can no longer afford the MILLIONS of users who are presently housed in our prisons where they can find it better than outside. We need those prisons for Violent Criminals and we need to stop prohibition regardless of how good the intentions.

[mcvet]

If you are paying over $100 a G for coke you are getting ripped big time. I never, ever in my life have heard of coke being $135 a G. Never-ever. This is some kind of government BS to inflate the value of drugs they receive in a bust. Lets make the civilians think this is a big drug bust - we'll just tell people the street value is $600 a G and they will believe it. No one is paying $135 a G on the street and certainly not ever, never, ever in any Columbians wildest dreams would a person get $600 a G. What horse$hit. Purely for public consumption in the war on drugs...
Posted by themooniac at 01:39 AM : Apr 28, 2007
+ report abuse

Pay ATTENTION!! The Gram of Coke referred to in the Article is NOT street grade Coke, which may sell for between $75 - $95. Usually those Grams are cut by HALF or better over the Gram referred to in the Article.

[mcvet]

This is absolutely NUTS. We have a Social Security System facing Deficits. We have Schools falling down. We have so many needs and problems and we're flushing BILLIONS down the drain every month trying to do what? Control people's actions against themselves. Drugs like Coke can best be controlled by stopping the DEMAND for the Drug. As long as people are willing to pay for it, there'll be someone who will supply it. Instead of sending people to prison for abuse of Drugs, an Illness, thus taking up space in our prisons, we need to treat them so they no longer need the drug. That would be a far better and cheaper way of dealing with the problem it would seem to me.

[omega39-2009]

Maybe we should put the oil companies in charge of cocaine and the drug cartels in charge of gasoline.

[sandy19731]

Maybe if we had a war on legal drugs they would get purer and cheaper, too.

I'm just sayin....

The war on drugs is incredibly expensive. The biggest expense is putting and keeping people in jail during the otherwise most productive times of their lives.

[peach652]

If some idiot wants to snort poison up his nose, I don't have a problem with it. Let's put those billions of dollars elsewhere... like Social Security and Medicare -- and take care of people who led decent, hard-working, productive lives.

[shingles1]

This is GREAT news for lars008!

[condumism]

Posted by MCVet

Pay ATTENTION!! The Gram of Coke referred to in the Article is NOT street grade Coke, which may sell for between $75 - $95.

Florible has the purest and cheapest blow by far. 100% pure runs $50 a gram. Florible not a good state to live if you can't resist the nose candy.........

[momconcerned]

It amazes me how there is so much concern about what our kids are eatting in the schools and their weight to the point of these kids not even wanting to eat at school anymore because the food is horrible and we are not aloud to send any products for school functions if the first ingredient contains sugar but at school these kids are able to purchase any type of drugs from classmates and the concern is first ingredient containing sugar please people sugar is the last of our worries why not put the concern where it belongs I don't know about anyone elses school but i do know at ours 1 out of 5 students are not on drugs where is the concern for the 4 students that are on drugs that they purchased at school and what that first ingredient might contain so where is all this money going for this war on drugs it sure isn't making a difference in our schools for our kids. They take out the coke machines because it contains to much sugar and that is not healthy for our school kids and leave the cocaine.

[bm6005]

I believe that everyone here has heard of "prohibition"? It was a ten year social experiment that proved people will support what they want. Why do these people refuse to learn from History? Every new politician thinks they've got it all figured out, but in the end people like to get high. DOH!!!!!

[johnkuhn2]

Maybe we should put the oil companies in charge of cocaine and the drug cartels in charge of gasoline.
Posted by omega39 at 08:26 AM : Apr 28, 2007


LOVED IT...

SO TRUE..

I REALLY DON'T HAVE A STRONG OPINION ON THE DRUG WAR. I'M SURE IT IS KEEPING PEOPLE EMPLOYED HERE IN THE USA INSTEAD OF OFFSHORING. AND LOOK AT THE BEAUTIFUL LOCALES THEY GET TO WORK AT... TROPICAL PARADISE

[ajmystic]

The government needs to take over distributing the drugs. Hand out a prepackaged amount for a price and charge a tax on it like they do cigarettes and alcohol. They might make enough money to balance the budget and have lots left over. We might even benefit in that the personal income tax could be abolished. If people are going to use drugs anyway, they might as well help the rest of us out. Some of the tax money could go to pull Social Security out of the hole that everyone in the government says it is in. C'mon Congress - lets get moving on this!

[bildooreilly]

The government, the CIA, and the DEA run the drug trade, and their operatives distribute almost all of the cocaine and heroin that comes into this country. There's countless documentation on this, they kicked into high gear with the Iran Contra drug and gun running ***. Ollie North and the boys are still in big business, there's countless books, movies, and god knows what else that documents the whole operation. Wake up fools, and if you're using this stuff, you really are funding terrorists, terrorists like the bush crime family and ollie north, and the clinton crime family.

[billpl-2009]

the billions spent on the "war on drugs" is peanuts next to the money we spend on "locking up" the drug users.

....America will ever learn.

[incog-nito]

Just think: another $5 billion more dollars into the war on drugs, and U.S. drug users will have the cheapest, purest cocaine anywhere.

[toldyouso21]

WAr on drugs. War on poverty. War on illiteracy. War on terrorism. All of them waged for decades and none even close to being won. Because all are behavior and that is something that cannot be stamped out, or killed. it is a choice. Social wars are just slogans the government uses to pretend to fight a certain element, all the while profiting by tweaking some parts and repudiating others.

Drugs are still prevalent in America, with meth and ecstasy now added to the other designer drugs and old standbys such as heroin, coke and marijuana. Now, journalists can't spell and often borrow phrases and slang from ethnic cultures to describe the news. (like Bush's mojo and nappy headed hos) Still got lots of poor with the middle class steadily losing ground. And then we have the war on terror. Being instigated and fought in a country that had nothing to do with 9/11, Al Qaeda or the Taliban--but hey--all these things divert attention from the fact that our government is corrupt, out of control and not listening to us anymore.

[toldyouso21]

Billions upon billions waisted for 40 years now?

Drugs are more widely available and of greater purity than ever its time to legalize and regulate narcotics now THE WAR IS LOST!!!

Posted by didntinhale at 03:04 PM : Apr 28, 2007


we hope this does not mean, we have to spend billions upon billions in Iraq and then put our soldiers and Iraqis through hell for 40 years--before you realize that one is lost also. Sometimes--you just have to bite the bullet--not for prides sake, or because terrorists will follow us home (so, what if they do?) but because no one deserves their country turned into a battle ground over a war started by outsiders. If we want a war, we should fight it on our own turf and if we want to win wars on anything social--we better remember that force never changed any social system--but time and better choices do. TV, the internet and goods will do more to change Iraq than bombs and guns ever will and it will do it in less than 40 years.

[crater7]

Panel Recommends Lighter Crack Sentences;

Despite Drug War, Cocaine purer, cheepe;

WOW! Sounds like good news for the DRUG SMUGGLERS AND USERS?
Sounds like the Bush administration is taking care of their supporters?

[gunownerdan]

We must protect our children:
Cops Say LEGALIZE AND REGULATE DRUGS!

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
http://www.leap.cc

[keithtwrnch]

in the drug world coke doenot sell for 135 a gram.at wholesale prices it goes between 25-35 a gram. this is why there is such a big market.the war on drugs was allways a scam.for every big bust 10 are let through.

[dustfullman]

We need to put Haliburton in charge of The Drug War.

[dustfullman]

We need to put Haliburton in charge of The Drug War.

[dustfullman]

We need to put Haliburton in charge of The Drug War.

[dustfullman]

We need to put Haliburton in charge of The Drug War.

[dustfullman]

We need to put Haliburton in charge of The Drug War.

[toolmangler-2009]

Having had a crackhead in the family (by marriage)I am in favor of the medical people making crack legal and free to all. Do not interfere with anybody using it, give them all they want. This is known as survival of the fittest. Those that are predisposed to drug abuse will O.D. and remove themselves from the system. This will remove the motive to make and sell this crud. By the time the demand reaches "0"m the supply will also. Cold blooded? Yes! Effectiveness.... who knows.

[harp1963]

Another lost war. The money is so big, I believe most cops from the local to the Federal level are afraid to really take on the mafias that are selling it in every town and city in America. Anyone who would really stand up to this scourage would be in constant danger. It doesn't seem like there are any heros left in America.

[gunownerdan]

Marijuana has been illegal for over 70 years and today it is America's #1 cash crop.
The MADNESS OF PROHIBITION MUST END!

http://www.leap.cc
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

http://www.mpp.org
Marijuana Policy Project

[pawsglo]

My boyfriend soon to be ex has been on crack from the time I met him 2 yrs ago he has stolen my car not one but 2 and loaned them out even giving one away for the crack. I finally got tired today and put him in jail for Grand Auto Theft their should be some means of him being forced to get help. But I doubt the courts will do that so we the victims continue to suffer in silence. I think if they legalize it it will stop some of problems but most certainly not fix the problem when they loos jobs, because they most certainly can't perform under the influence. Not to mention the violent behavior it may cause from their usage so I feel prayer just has to take control of the situation and putting your trust in God. I finally had the courage to say enough is enough. He may get deported back to Belize even.

[delfmast]

Prohibition enriches criminals, note our failed prohibition of alcohol. A 17,000 percent profit is enough to tempt any hoodlum to build a submarine and import drugs to any rich market. It is enough to corrupt any level of government, police or military, and it is enough to destroy any prohibitor nation, with the costs of jails, treatment, and clean up of damage and waste, including collateral damage to those stolen from to support the habits of those enslaved by the drug lords. If addicts could surrender their driver's licenses, and get their fix for the price of a good cough medicine, what hoodlum would enter the business. We would lose some addicts, and we would have to find productive employment for hundreds of thousands of police, jailors, counselers, and all the other folks who have made the hoodlums rich with their failed punishment and prohibition efforts. Good Riddance! Perhaps they could drive those identified addicts around, in taxi cabs, since we would not have drug addicts with driving licenses.

[condumism]

Let's make this "war on drugs" a huge campaign issue in 2008. This war on the people of America must end NOW! Time to rid America of the neocon scum that come up with these worthless "war on" projects that have proven to be losers everytime. Even the US Military industrial Welfare program has done NOTHING good for America since it was develpoped by a Fascist/Extremist GOP Congress in the late 1940's.

[inventagod2]

Is the purity a result of the Bu$h White House drug purity testing???

[nottellin1]

Marijuana has been illegal for over 70 years and today it is America's #1 cash crop.
The MADNESS OF PROHIBITION MUST END!

Stop this idea in its tracks. Please do not take away my extra tax free income.

The government, the CIA, and the DEA run the drug trade, and their operatives distribute almost all of the cocaine and heroin that comes into this country.

Oh, pleeease. If this were true the govenment would be in a lot better financial shape.