New research reveals decline in price of cannabis, methamphetamine – expert explains why
The change in Aotearoa’s drug enforcement strategy could be behind the decline in the price of cannabis and new research shows it’s not the only drug that’s becoming cheaper.
The New Zealand Drug Trends Survey has revealed methamphetamine and cannabis are among the illicit drugs that have become more cheaper and readily available over the past four years.
The survey’s key findings show the price of cannabis dropped by $35 an ounce, going from $368 in 2017 to $336 this year. While the price for a gram of methamphetamine dropped by $157, from $563 per gram to $406 per gram over the past four years.
The survey also found Kiwis are finding it harder to source ecstasy, while cocaine use had increased in urban centres.
Ecstasy has climbed in price between 2020 and 2023, and become more difficult to source.
Oh come on! Don’t even be surprised by this, you can’t be surprised by this?
How stupid are you all?
Of course the price of meth was going to plummet!
The 501 syndicates are a force unseen in the NZ criminal underworld.
They use a level of violence well beyond the domestic gangs and through their South American Cartel links employ counter intelligence tactics for more sophisticated than the NZ Police force can muster.
The 501 syndicates have used their South American Drug Cartel contacts to import a cheaper, purer meth while creating their own supply chains inside NZ and by simply taking over existing domestic criminal organisations.
The Alpha Gangs of the Headhunters, Hells Angels and King Cobras built their power by controlling the airports and ports to bring in cheap Triad Meth made overseas.
The 501s are fighting to take over those entry points while utilising South American Cartel meth.
The price of cannabis has dropped because medicinal cannabis is now so prevalent in the middle class cannabis market meaning local growers are competing against high strain THC medicinal cannabis and are being forced to lower their prices in direct competition with these new pharmaceutical grade high THC strains.
Ecstasy leaving the market is terrible news. As one of the safest party drugs to use (you have more chance of having an allergic reaction to aspirin than MDMA), we want people who are going out to party to use relatively safe drugs like Ecstasy, but due to the concentrated nature of the manufacture of MDMA, many of those high density producers shut down over Covid have struggled to rebuild supply chains meaning people will be driven to harder drugs.
Cocaine use is up, but it’s only used by the very wealthy.
This tsunami of cheaper more pure Meth has also seen an ocean of guns entering the market via the same entry points of criminality as Gangs buy weapons for protection.
The only solution to the ever increasing pointless war on drugs is to be adults here.
Legalise cannabis and make it a taxable market!
A point of meth sells for $100 NZ, the same amount sells for $5 in America, the price difference is what is driving this massive market takeover by the 501 syndicates.
That is a demand side drive and the only way to reduce that drive is rehab programs that work.
Currently we spend $15million on drug rehab programmes and that is for a joke 6 weeks.
We need massive rehab programs that work, if we had a taxed Cannabis market we would make $1.1billion in taxation each year, we could ring fence $100m of that for drug rehab and actually help meth addicts kick the addiction and thus lower demand.
If we don’t provide legitimate business from cannabis growing we leave it in the hands of organised crime as they build their meth fortunes, legalising the market would allow the industry to get out from under gangs and provide the drug rehab money to drive down meth demand.
It’s a smarter move than just pouring more money into the war on drugs.
Oh and legalise MDAM and look to micro dosing LSD for depression, come on folks, let’s welcome the good drugs (Cannabis, MDMA, LSD, Mushrooms) and dump the dreadful drugs like Meth, Heroine, Tobacco and Booze.
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