What is the relationship of drug addiction to economic systems?

  • The drug problem is estimated to cost over $189 billion yearly to the United States alone in health, crime and productivity losses (and that figure is from 2002).
  • The classic laws of supply and demand don’t completely apply to the drug trade because drugs are addictive – a rise in cost doesn’t necessarily result in a lessening of demand for an addict’s drug of choice.
  • Some of the most powerful illegal drugs originate from farmed crops which exploit impoverished agricultural workers while supplying drug traffickers with immense profits.
  • Funds from the drug trade flood the more impoverished countries, hindering the long term economic development found in legal enterprises that build their economies.