St George's professor leads call for action on drug trafficking

The price of cocaine is set to plunge further as traffickers exploit new smuggling routes, warned an international drugs body headed up by St George’s, University of London’s Professor Hamid Ghodse.

The International Narcotics Board (INCB) said cocaine prices would continue to fall unless action was taken to block supply routes through West Africa and Eastern Europe.

South American drug producers are switching supplies from the Caribbean and North Atlantic to avoid Royal Navy and US authorities, its annual report found.

Stockpiles of the drug are building up in West Africa, from where it is shipped to the UK and the rest of Europe either directly or via the Balkans.

Professor Hamid Ghodse, President of the INCB and Director of St George’s International Centre for Drug Policy, said: “Prices are likely to fall providing the governments don’t step up their efforts to intercept supplies.

“The route of transporting for traffickers has become relatively easier.”

Ten years ago the price of cocaine was £80 a gramme, compared with about £20 for a cheap form today.

Traffickers are loading commercial flights with “large numbers” of drug mules swallowing as much as a kilogram of cocaine each, the report warns. This “shotgun approach” makes it more difficult for police and customs officials to spot every mule.

The report also highlights concerns over cannabis use. The UK tops the European league table of cannabis use by teenagers. Around 44% of 15 to 16-year-olds admit to taking the drug, compared to less than 10% in Norway.

“Over the years, cannabis has become more potent and is associated with an increasing number of emergency room admissions. It is often the first illicit drug that young people take and is frequently called a gateway drug,” explains Professor Ghodse. “In spite of all these facts, the use of cannabis is often trivialised,” he concludes.

But the authors highlight “significant” falls in cannabis use by that age group in England, by around 4% between 2001 and 2007. And they welcome the Government’s decision to reclassify cannabis to Class B because of fears over the impact of strong “skunk” strains on the mental health of young people.

British youngsters are also being targeted by illegal online pharmacies selling heroin substitutes, the report warns. The unlicensed pharmacies sell methadone, codeine, and other stimulants without prescription.

"The internet is a major problem," said Professor Ghodse. "That is why we (the INCB) started three years ago to have contact with Interpol (on the issue). There are illicit internet pharmacies and they do not have natural boundaries."

He said that there was evidence of such activity in the United States, Thailand, Australia and the UK but that it was difficult for law enforcement agencies to track down the perpetrators.