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Australia and New Zealand are most expensive places for ecstasy or cocaine
Global Drug Survey 2015 results show Australians report paying €207 a gram of cocaine while New Zealanders pay €191, more than twice as much as the Swiss
David Pegg
Mon 8 Jun 2015 09.01 AESTLast modified on Thu 27 Oct 2016 10.17 AEDT
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An Australian customs official inspects tins of tomato shipped to Australia that contained 4.4 tonnes of ecstasy tablets. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
Australia and New Zealand are the most expensive places in the world to buy MDMA powder, ecstasy or cocaine, according to the results of the Global Drug Survey 2015.
The survey, which invites users to answer a series of questions online about their drug use and which gathered 102,000 responses from more than 50 countries, asked how much would you expect to pay for ecstasy, MDMA and cocaine (both “normal” and “luxury” varieties).
The results, which compare the prices of the four drugs in euros, indicate that users in Australia and New Zealand can expect to pay dramatically more for drugs than users in the US or in any European country.
Australian survey respondents reported paying an average of €207 (£150) for a gram of cocaine, with residents of New Zealand paying slightly less at €191. The next most expensive country in which to buy cocaine was Switzerland, but the price here was less than half that of New Zealand: €87.
Survey respondents in Australia and New Zealand also reported paying more for high-quality cocaine: €251 and €222 respectively, with Switzerland being the third most expensive country at €118.
Brazil is the one country where survey respondents reported being able to buy cocaine at markedly cheaper prices than any other respondent country. A gram of normal quality cocaine cost €9, with the purer version costing €15.
Cocaine price by country Photograph: Global Drug Survey 2015
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Australia and New Zealand also reported paying considerably more for ecstasy/ MDMA than other countries. Respondents from New Zealand reported paying an average €29 for an ecstasy pill and €257 for a gram of MDMA powder. Australian survey respondents paid an average €18 for an ecstasy pill and €166 for a gram of MDMA.
Ecstasy/MDMA prices by country Photograph: Global Drug Survey 2015
The results are not dissimilar to those of the previous Global Drug Survey, which found that residents in New Zealand could expect to pay more than any other country for both cocaine and MDMA.
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The Australia’s parliamentary joint committee on law enforcement reported in 2011 that there is an “extreme difference between Australian and international drug prices”. The deputy commissioner of the Australian Federal Police attributed this to high demand.
But this was contradicted Dr Adam Winstock, who administers the Global Drug Survey. He said the difficulty and expense of importing drugs into Australia and the comparatively small number of potential customers awaiting them led to high costs that were passed on to the consumer.
“Getting anything through customs is really hard. They’ve got really strict border control,” Winstock said, adding that small markets in Australia meant that it was not cost-effective for drug organisations to invest in dealer networks.
A separate study released on Thursday by the European Monitoring Centre for Drug Addiction found that London has the highest concentration of cocaine in sewage in Europe. The EU’s drug agency said the average daily concentration of the drug in the UK capital’s sewage was 737mg per 1,000 people in 2014. The other cities in the top 10 were Amsterdam, Antwerp, Zurich, Barcelona, Basel, Geneva, Eindhoven, Valencia and Berne.
Global Drug Survey 2015 results show Australians report paying €207 a gram of cocaine while New Zealanders pay €191, more than twice as much as the Swiss
David Pegg
Mon 8 Jun 2015 09.01 AESTLast modified on Thu 27 Oct 2016 10.17 AEDT
Shares
67
Comments
44
An Australian customs official inspects tins of tomato shipped to Australia that contained 4.4 tonnes of ecstasy tablets. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
Australia and New Zealand are the most expensive places in the world to buy MDMA powder, ecstasy or cocaine, according to the results of the Global Drug Survey 2015.
The survey, which invites users to answer a series of questions online about their drug use and which gathered 102,000 responses from more than 50 countries, asked how much would you expect to pay for ecstasy, MDMA and cocaine (both “normal” and “luxury” varieties).
The results, which compare the prices of the four drugs in euros, indicate that users in Australia and New Zealand can expect to pay dramatically more for drugs than users in the US or in any European country.
Australian survey respondents reported paying an average of €207 (£150) for a gram of cocaine, with residents of New Zealand paying slightly less at €191. The next most expensive country in which to buy cocaine was Switzerland, but the price here was less than half that of New Zealand: €87.
Survey respondents in Australia and New Zealand also reported paying more for high-quality cocaine: €251 and €222 respectively, with Switzerland being the third most expensive country at €118.
Brazil is the one country where survey respondents reported being able to buy cocaine at markedly cheaper prices than any other respondent country. A gram of normal quality cocaine cost €9, with the purer version costing €15.
Cocaine price by country Photograph: Global Drug Survey 2015
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Australia and New Zealand also reported paying considerably more for ecstasy/ MDMA than other countries. Respondents from New Zealand reported paying an average €29 for an ecstasy pill and €257 for a gram of MDMA powder. Australian survey respondents paid an average €18 for an ecstasy pill and €166 for a gram of MDMA.
Ecstasy/MDMA prices by country Photograph: Global Drug Survey 2015
The results are not dissimilar to those of the previous Global Drug Survey, which found that residents in New Zealand could expect to pay more than any other country for both cocaine and MDMA.
Get Society Weekly: our newsletter for public service professionals
Read more
The Australia’s parliamentary joint committee on law enforcement reported in 2011 that there is an “extreme difference between Australian and international drug prices”. The deputy commissioner of the Australian Federal Police attributed this to high demand.
But this was contradicted Dr Adam Winstock, who administers the Global Drug Survey. He said the difficulty and expense of importing drugs into Australia and the comparatively small number of potential customers awaiting them led to high costs that were passed on to the consumer.
“Getting anything through customs is really hard. They’ve got really strict border control,” Winstock said, adding that small markets in Australia meant that it was not cost-effective for drug organisations to invest in dealer networks.
A separate study released on Thursday by the European Monitoring Centre for Drug Addiction found that London has the highest concentration of cocaine in sewage in Europe. The EU’s drug agency said the average daily concentration of the drug in the UK capital’s sewage was 737mg per 1,000 people in 2014. The other cities in the top 10 were Amsterdam, Antwerp, Zurich, Barcelona, Basel, Geneva, Eindhoven, Valencia and Berne.
