Price data for cocaine in Europe reported in the World Drug Report of 2010 are analyzed with the aim of inferring patterns of transnational cocaine flows across the continent. The concepts of market integration and price gradients are combined to identify the existence and directionality of flows, on the basis of which a geographic characterization of the movement of cocaine is constructed. The findings are broadly consistent with anecdotal data on cocaine flows reported in the World Drug Report. The methodology is, therefore, a simple and promising methodology that can supplement existing efforts by researchers and policy-makers to identify trouble spots with a view to managing the growing cocaine problem in Europe and drug problems in general.
{"title":"Inferring Cocaine Flows across Europe: Evidence from Price Data","authors":"Siddharth Chandra, Matthew Barkell, Kelly Steffen","doi":"10.2202/1941-2851.1029","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2202/1941-2851.1029","url":null,"abstract":"Price data for cocaine in Europe reported in the World Drug Report of 2010 are analyzed with the aim of inferring patterns of transnational cocaine flows across the continent. The concepts of market integration and price gradients are combined to identify the existence and directionality of flows, on the basis of which a geographic characterization of the movement of cocaine is constructed. The findings are broadly consistent with anecdotal data on cocaine flows reported in the World Drug Report. The methodology is, therefore, a simple and promising methodology that can supplement existing efforts by researchers and policy-makers to identify trouble spots with a view to managing the growing cocaine problem in Europe and drug problems in general.","PeriodicalId":38436,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Drug Policy Analysis","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2202/1941-2851.1029","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68795835","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Helen Nunberg, Beau Kilmer, Rosalie Liccardo Pacula, James Burgdorf
For more than a decade, medical marijuana has been at the forefront of the marijuana policy debate in the United States. Fourteen states allow physicians to recommend marijuana or provide a legal defense for patients and physicians if prosecuted in state courts; however, little is known about those individuals using marijuana for medicinal purposes and the symptoms they use it for. This study provides descriptive information from 1,655 patients seeking a physician's recommendation for medical marijuana, the conditions for which they seek treatment, and the diagnoses made by the physicians. It conducts a systematic analysis of physician records and patient questionnaires obtained from consecutive patients being seen during a three month period at nine medical marijuana evaluation clinics belonging to a select medical group operating throughout the State of California. While this study is not representative of all medical marijuana users in California, it provides novel insights about an important population being affected by this policy.
{"title":"An Analysis of Applicants Presenting to a Medical Marijuana Specialty Practice in California.","authors":"Helen Nunberg, Beau Kilmer, Rosalie Liccardo Pacula, James Burgdorf","doi":"10.2202/1941-2851.1017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2202/1941-2851.1017","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>For more than a decade, medical marijuana has been at the forefront of the marijuana policy debate in the United States. Fourteen states allow physicians to recommend marijuana or provide a legal defense for patients and physicians if prosecuted in state courts; however, little is known about those individuals using marijuana for medicinal purposes and the symptoms they use it for. This study provides descriptive information from 1,655 patients seeking a physician's recommendation for medical marijuana, the conditions for which they seek treatment, and the diagnoses made by the physicians. It conducts a systematic analysis of physician records and patient questionnaires obtained from consecutive patients being seen during a three month period at nine medical marijuana evaluation clinics belonging to a select medical group operating throughout the State of California. While this study is not representative of all medical marijuana users in California, it provides novel insights about an important population being affected by this policy.</p>","PeriodicalId":38436,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Drug Policy Analysis","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2202/1941-2851.1017","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"31493065","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper reports on results from a survey of views on the theory of rational addiction among academics who have contributed to this research. The topic is important because if the literature is viewed by its participants as an intellectual game, then policy makers should be aware of this so as not to derive actual policy from misleading models. A majority of the respondents believe the literature is a success story that demonstrates the power of economic reasoning. At the same time, they also believe the empirical evidence to be weak, and they disagree both on the type of evidence that would validate the theory and the policy implications. These results shed light on how many economists think about model building, evidence requirements and the policy relevance of their work.
{"title":"Rational Addiction Theory: A Survey of Opinions","authors":"H. Melberg, O. Røgeberg","doi":"10.2202/1941-2851.1019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2202/1941-2851.1019","url":null,"abstract":"This paper reports on results from a survey of views on the theory of rational addiction among academics who have contributed to this research. The topic is important because if the literature is viewed by its participants as an intellectual game, then policy makers should be aware of this so as not to derive actual policy from misleading models. A majority of the respondents believe the literature is a success story that demonstrates the power of economic reasoning. At the same time, they also believe the empirical evidence to be weak, and they disagree both on the type of evidence that would validate the theory and the policy implications. These results shed light on how many economists think about model building, evidence requirements and the policy relevance of their work.","PeriodicalId":38436,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Drug Policy Analysis","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2202/1941-2851.1019","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68795098","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
For decades, international policies towards heroin have not deviated from an intense focus on cutting supply. Few analysts have supported this position, observing that suppliers respond to successful interdiction by developing new routes; and to aggressive efforts to curb production by changing production techniques and shifting production to new areas. Policy advocates have defended their position by emphasizing tons of drugs seized and hectares eradicated, while highlighting some of the apparent successes of policies targeted at supply: Thailand's elimination of opium production and the dramatic fall in opium cultivation in Afghanistan following prohibition by the Taliban. In their meticulous analysis, with new data on supplier responses to these policies, Paoli, Greenfield and Reuter (2009) cast substantial doubt on these defenses.
{"title":"Review of The World Heroin Market","authors":"Philip Keefer","doi":"10.2202/1941-2851.1021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2202/1941-2851.1021","url":null,"abstract":"For decades, international policies towards heroin have not deviated from an intense focus on cutting supply. Few analysts have supported this position, observing that suppliers respond to successful interdiction by developing new routes; and to aggressive efforts to curb production by changing production techniques and shifting production to new areas. Policy advocates have defended their position by emphasizing tons of drugs seized and hectares eradicated, while highlighting some of the apparent successes of policies targeted at supply: Thailand's elimination of opium production and the dramatic fall in opium cultivation in Afghanistan following prohibition by the Taliban. In their meticulous analysis, with new data on supplier responses to these policies, Paoli, Greenfield and Reuter (2009) cast substantial doubt on these defenses.","PeriodicalId":38436,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Drug Policy Analysis","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2202/1941-2851.1021","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68795460","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Over the last decade there have been several large-scale efforts to leverage the law to encourage substance-abusing offenders to enter treatment. A routine practice has developed in most states in which offenders undergo an assessment for drug abuse or dependence, and based on their self-reported behavior, those deemed to have a substance use disorder are referred to treatment programs. The problem with applying the assessment-treatment model in correctional systems is that both components of this approach are seriously flawed. An alternative model, using regular random testing coupled with modest sanctions, relies on offender observed behavior rather than self report, to signal need for treatment services. Many offenders are able to desist from drug use without treatment. This reallocation of resources creates greater opportunity to provide more-intensive treatment services to those who really need it. This paper proposes replacing the traditional assess-and-treat approach with an alternative model that bases treatment decisions on observed behavior: the behavioral triage model.
{"title":"Behavioral Triage: A New Model for Identifying and Treating Substance-Abusing Offenders","authors":"A. Hawken","doi":"10.2202/1941-2851.1014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2202/1941-2851.1014","url":null,"abstract":"Over the last decade there have been several large-scale efforts to leverage the law to encourage substance-abusing offenders to enter treatment. A routine practice has developed in most states in which offenders undergo an assessment for drug abuse or dependence, and based on their self-reported behavior, those deemed to have a substance use disorder are referred to treatment programs. The problem with applying the assessment-treatment model in correctional systems is that both components of this approach are seriously flawed. An alternative model, using regular random testing coupled with modest sanctions, relies on offender observed behavior rather than self report, to signal need for treatment services. Many offenders are able to desist from drug use without treatment. This reallocation of resources creates greater opportunity to provide more-intensive treatment services to those who really need it. This paper proposes replacing the traditional assess-and-treat approach with an alternative model that bases treatment decisions on observed behavior: the behavioral triage model.","PeriodicalId":38436,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Drug Policy Analysis","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2202/1941-2851.1014","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68795032","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Given the current desperate state of both the counter-narcotics and counter-insurgency efforts in Afghanistan, there is little to lose in trying to implement Poppy for Medicine in the country. This proposal foresees the local production of an Afghan brand of morphine to boost the rural economy and diversify it over time. Poppy for Medicine does not pretend to completely wipe out illegal opium production. Instead, it aims to integrate as many poppy farmers as possible within the legal economy and cut off the biggest possible amount of income from the Taliban's funding base. The system would borrow successful elements from similar poppy licensing schemes in India and Turkey, and should reduce diversion to illegal channels over time while stressing compulsory economic diversification. By focusing on the unmet needs of morphine around the world, Poppy for Medicine would provide much needed painkillers to those people with little or no access to them currently about 80 per cent of the world's population. In Afghanistan, you have to start somewhere and you have to start with something that works. Counter arguments focusing on corruption or a lack of institutional capacity to run or control these projects, should not be used to prevent us from testing whether the current situation (100 per cent diversion of opium towards illegal channels and into the pockets of the Taliban) can be considerably improved. Instead, Poppy for Medicine and similar economic development projects should be implemented to see whether they can boost the rural economy and build capacities and new skills at the same time.
{"title":"Poppy for Medicine: An Essential Part of a Balanced Economic Development Solution for Afghanistan's Illegal Opium Economy","authors":"Romesh Bhattacharji, J. Kamminga","doi":"10.2202/1941-2851.1020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2202/1941-2851.1020","url":null,"abstract":"Given the current desperate state of both the counter-narcotics and counter-insurgency efforts in Afghanistan, there is little to lose in trying to implement Poppy for Medicine in the country. This proposal foresees the local production of an Afghan brand of morphine to boost the rural economy and diversify it over time. Poppy for Medicine does not pretend to completely wipe out illegal opium production. Instead, it aims to integrate as many poppy farmers as possible within the legal economy and cut off the biggest possible amount of income from the Taliban's funding base. The system would borrow successful elements from similar poppy licensing schemes in India and Turkey, and should reduce diversion to illegal channels over time while stressing compulsory economic diversification. By focusing on the unmet needs of morphine around the world, Poppy for Medicine would provide much needed painkillers to those people with little or no access to them currently about 80 per cent of the world's population. In Afghanistan, you have to start somewhere and you have to start with something that works. Counter arguments focusing on corruption or a lack of institutional capacity to run or control these projects, should not be used to prevent us from testing whether the current situation (100 per cent diversion of opium towards illegal channels and into the pockets of the Taliban) can be considerably improved. Instead, Poppy for Medicine and similar economic development projects should be implemented to see whether they can boost the rural economy and build capacities and new skills at the same time.","PeriodicalId":38436,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Drug Policy Analysis","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2202/1941-2851.1020","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68795402","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Poverty and corruption are pervasive in Afghanistan and opium production is rampant, especially in the country's most insecure southern regions. Afghanistan's opium production now accounts for the overwhelming majority of the world's heroin supply. The International Council on Security and Development, a European think tank formerly known as the Senlis Council, is advocating a policy response that it refers to as "Poppy for Medicine." Under the Council's proposal, poppy farmers in Afghanistan would gain access to the world's legal pharmaceutical market through a two-tiered licensing program. A careful examination of India's experience as the world's sole licensed exporter of raw opium and of the world market for legal opiates casts serious doubt on this proposal. Legal medicinal opium production is an improbable answer for at least five reasons: first, illegal production will continue; second, diversion from the legal market to the illegal market is inevitable; third, diversion will involve further corruption; fourth, there may not be a market; and fifth, Afghanistan lacks the institutional capacity to support a legal pharmaceutical industry.
贫穷和腐败在阿富汗普遍存在，鸦片生产猖獗，特别是在该国最不安全的南部地区。阿富汗的鸦片生产现在占世界海洛因供应的绝大部分。欧洲智库国际安全与发展理事会(International Council on Security and Development)的前身是森利斯理事会(Senlis Council)，该机构正在倡导一项被其称为“罂粟药”的政策回应。根据安理会的提议，阿富汗的罂粟种植者将通过一个两级许可计划进入世界合法药品市场。仔细研究印度作为世界上唯一有执照的生鸦片出口国和合法鸦片剂世界市场的经验，就会对这一建议产生严重怀疑。合法的药用鸦片生产是一个不太可能的答案，至少有五个原因:首先，非法生产将继续;其次，合法市场向非法市场转移是不可避免的;第三，分流会导致进一步的腐败;第四，可能没有市场;第五，阿富汗缺乏支持合法制药业的体制能力。
{"title":"Is Medicinal Opium Production Afghanistan's Answer?: Lessons From India and the World Market","authors":"Victoria Greenfield, L. Paoli, P. Reuter","doi":"10.2202/1941-2851.1011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2202/1941-2851.1011","url":null,"abstract":"Poverty and corruption are pervasive in Afghanistan and opium production is rampant, especially in the country's most insecure southern regions. Afghanistan's opium production now accounts for the overwhelming majority of the world's heroin supply. The International Council on Security and Development, a European think tank formerly known as the Senlis Council, is advocating a policy response that it refers to as \"Poppy for Medicine.\" Under the Council's proposal, poppy farmers in Afghanistan would gain access to the world's legal pharmaceutical market through a two-tiered licensing program. A careful examination of India's experience as the world's sole licensed exporter of raw opium and of the world market for legal opiates casts serious doubt on this proposal. Legal medicinal opium production is an improbable answer for at least five reasons: first, illegal production will continue; second, diversion from the legal market to the illegal market is inevitable; third, diversion will involve further corruption; fourth, there may not be a market; and fifth, Afghanistan lacks the institutional capacity to support a legal pharmaceutical industry.","PeriodicalId":38436,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Drug Policy Analysis","volume":"2 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2202/1941-2851.1011","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68794976","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
T. Kresina, A. Litwin, I. Marion, Robert Lubran, H. Clark
The federal government has a fundamental as well as critical role in the successful development, implementation and utilization of controlled medications for the treatment of opioid abuse and dependence. The development and implementation of a federal regulatory structure establishes minimum standards which provide the basis for the development of treatment policies and medical best practices for the treatment of drug abuse and dependence. In the United States, the use of pharmacotherapies in combination with counseling, behavior therapies and other core services including primary medical care provide a comprehensive therapeutic approach termed as an evidence-based best practice termed "Medication Assisted Treatment" (MAT). Federally supported research studies have shown that the most efficacious treatment for opioid abuse and dependence comprises treatment programs that utilize pharmacotherapies and include psychosocial counseling, financial, legal, educational services as well as wrap around social services (NIDA, 2000). Federal programs catalogue such evidence-based best medical practices and promote their implementation in the care and treatment of patients to optimize good medical outcomes. In a non regulatory role, federal programs can also mandate medical education and training as well as support the piloting of treatment improvement projects to develop national implementation strategies. Drug treatment programs that utilize MAT are regulated by the federal government in their adherence to treatment standards through accreditation and in their record keeping requirements for use of controlled pharmaceuticals. Thus, multiple federal agencies combine to support MAT in the treatment of opioid dependence throughout the treatment continuum from drug discovery to patient care and treatment outcome. Salient policy issues that involve MAT as a direct result of the federal regulatory structure(s) include the provision and integration of medical services into Opioid Treatment Programs (OTPs), infectious diseases prevention counseling, the availability of opioid treatment using either buprenorphine or methadone, the limited use of Suboxone/Subutex in OTPs and which health care providers can prescribe as well as the number of patients prescribed Suboxone/Subutex in an office based setting.
{"title":"United States Government Oversight and Regulation of Medication Assisted Treatment for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence","authors":"T. Kresina, A. Litwin, I. Marion, Robert Lubran, H. Clark","doi":"10.2202/1941-2851.1007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2202/1941-2851.1007","url":null,"abstract":"The federal government has a fundamental as well as critical role in the successful development, implementation and utilization of controlled medications for the treatment of opioid abuse and dependence. The development and implementation of a federal regulatory structure establishes minimum standards which provide the basis for the development of treatment policies and medical best practices for the treatment of drug abuse and dependence. In the United States, the use of pharmacotherapies in combination with counseling, behavior therapies and other core services including primary medical care provide a comprehensive therapeutic approach termed as an evidence-based best practice termed \"Medication Assisted Treatment\" (MAT). Federally supported research studies have shown that the most efficacious treatment for opioid abuse and dependence comprises treatment programs that utilize pharmacotherapies and include psychosocial counseling, financial, legal, educational services as well as wrap around social services (NIDA, 2000). Federal programs catalogue such evidence-based best medical practices and promote their implementation in the care and treatment of patients to optimize good medical outcomes. In a non regulatory role, federal programs can also mandate medical education and training as well as support the piloting of treatment improvement projects to develop national implementation strategies. Drug treatment programs that utilize MAT are regulated by the federal government in their adherence to treatment standards through accreditation and in their record keeping requirements for use of controlled pharmaceuticals. Thus, multiple federal agencies combine to support MAT in the treatment of opioid dependence throughout the treatment continuum from drug discovery to patient care and treatment outcome. Salient policy issues that involve MAT as a direct result of the federal regulatory structure(s) include the provision and integration of medical services into Opioid Treatment Programs (OTPs), infectious diseases prevention counseling, the availability of opioid treatment using either buprenorphine or methadone, the limited use of Suboxone/Subutex in OTPs and which health care providers can prescribe as well as the number of patients prescribed Suboxone/Subutex in an office based setting.","PeriodicalId":38436,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Drug Policy Analysis","volume":"2 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2202/1941-2851.1007","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68795314","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Many more people die each year from alcohol and tobacco use than from illicit substance use, yet the American public appears far more concerned about illegal drugs. This paper suggests that some of this mismatch in concern may stem from differences in the types of deaths created, with deaths associated with illicit drugs being, on average, "scarier" to the public than are the deaths associated with legal substances. Hence, the mismatch between actual risks and public concern is not necessarily entirely wrong or irrational, but rather may embody stable preferences.
{"title":"Is Objective Risk All That Matters When It Comes to Drugs?","authors":"J. Caulkins, Ryan Menefee","doi":"10.2202/1941-2851.1005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2202/1941-2851.1005","url":null,"abstract":"Many more people die each year from alcohol and tobacco use than from illicit substance use, yet the American public appears far more concerned about illegal drugs. This paper suggests that some of this mismatch in concern may stem from differences in the types of deaths created, with deaths associated with illicit drugs being, on average, \"scarier\" to the public than are the deaths associated with legal substances. Hence, the mismatch between actual risks and public concern is not necessarily entirely wrong or irrational, but rather may embody stable preferences.","PeriodicalId":38436,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Drug Policy Analysis","volume":"2 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2202/1941-2851.1005","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68795200","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Federal and state excise taxes on alcoholic beverages have declined sharply in real value over the last 50 years. The result is cheaper alcohol, more alcohol abuse, and more alcohol-related problems of all sorts than would otherwise have occurred. Frequently voiced concerns that such taxes are regressive, or that they penalize the majority who drink moderately and safely, are off base. An increase in the federal alcohol taxes could provide almost everyone but the heaviest drinkers with a net financial gain even if there were no behavioral effects; the evidence that there are behavioral effects that improve health and safety is an important bonus. In a sense, alcohol taxes are the proverbial free lunch.
{"title":"A Free Lunch","authors":"P. Cook","doi":"10.2202/1941-2851.1001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2202/1941-2851.1001","url":null,"abstract":"Federal and state excise taxes on alcoholic beverages have declined sharply in real value over the last 50 years. The result is cheaper alcohol, more alcohol abuse, and more alcohol-related problems of all sorts than would otherwise have occurred. Frequently voiced concerns that such taxes are regressive, or that they penalize the majority who drink moderately and safely, are off base. An increase in the federal alcohol taxes could provide almost everyone but the heaviest drinkers with a net financial gain even if there were no behavioral effects; the evidence that there are behavioral effects that improve health and safety is an important bonus. In a sense, alcohol taxes are the proverbial free lunch.","PeriodicalId":38436,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Drug Policy Analysis","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2202/1941-2851.1001","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68794591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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