On second thought, perhaps it is not so surprising. Most economists these days are alert to the unintended consequences of regulation. And in the case of drug policy, they do not have to look far. The only way to reduce illegal drug use is to reduce the supply or the demand. Consider supply-side strategies first.
Common sense says the place to start is at the border, or even in farmers' fields.
But in this case, suggests Peter Reuter of the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy, common sense is a ticket to frustration. Smugglers of low-bulk drugs have adapted easily to interdiction efforts, he says. Confiscation of large quantities at sea or at the border has only modest impact on importers since the value of the drugs outside the country is so much lower than the value once they cross the border. By the same token, discouraging drug production by subsidizing alternative crops is a fools' game. Drug entrepreneurs can always afford to pay more since the cost of the raw material is a minute fraction of the wholesale price of the delivered product.