Internet drugs 'more expensive' than from pharmacy ... but no doctor needed

Sydney Morning Herald 3/3/05. "Online sales of mind-altering drugs surges: UN."

In a slightly confusing article on drugs AFP reports on the International Narcotic Control Board's chief Hamid Ghodse and his 'panel' warning about increased supply of narcotics and other psychoactive drugs from the internet.

Ghodse mentions the serious worry of children having access to internet supplies. But he then appears to contradict himself regarding how to address the situation. He states that policing was difficult (or impossible) as internet supply companies 'can easily be relocated' across borders to avoid tighter laws. But his final quote is to call for governments to 'act urgently'. This is usually 'code' for increasing restrictions and raising penalties which he has already pointed out only serve to drive suppliers off-shore. Can he mean the opposite?

On a seemingly separate issue, the report then moves to Afghan opium production which is nearing peak levels again (4600 tons per year).

Clearly only a radical re-think of current policies will have any impact. Citizens deserve access to good medical care at affordable prices. At the same time community demand for drugs in non-medical settings such as alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, ecstasy, cocaine, steroids, etc should be met with more enlightened policies than ineffective and expensive bans as at present. This does not mean 'legalising' everything, however!

My calculations of 4600 tons of opium (which may be flawed), based on 20% morphine equivalent approximation, yields 100,000 million standard 10mg doses of morphine. If dependent people used an average of half a gram per day, this comes to just under 200 grams per year. Thus the Afghan crop estimate above could support 50 million addicts. This may, however, include a larger numbers of non-addicted, occasional drug users.

A Sydney TV news bulletin on Sat 5/3/03 dealing with these matters stated that Afghanistan has now eclipsed Burma by 17-fold in opium poppy production. It may be no coincidence that both of these countries lie in close proximity to potentially the world's biggest opium market after Europe and America, China. Places like Australia and New Zealand must look like tiny 'niche' markets in such a world.

comments by Andrew Byrne ..