STREET PRICE OF DRUGS PLUNGES IN 12 YEARS

The price of illegal drugs has fallen sharply in the past 12 years,
reinforcing fears that young people are using cannabis, cocaine and ecstasy
instead of alcohol, government figures released yesterday indicate.

Plummeting street prices for heroin and other illegal drugs contrast with
the rising cost of drink and cigarettes, the statistics show. They were
produced for the Home Office by police at the National Criminal
Intelligence Service.

The research, revealed in a series of parliamentary written answers, found
the average price of heroin had fallen from UKP90 a gram to UKP53 since
1990, while ecstasy had dropped from UKP18.80 a dose to UKP7. The price of
cannabis resin fell from UKP91.80 an ounce to UKP77, while cocaine prices
dropped from UKP87 a gram to UKP60.

David Laws, the Liberal Democrat MP who uncovered the figures, said: "The
fact that prices have fallen so substantially proves that people must be
finding it easier to get drugs into the country.

"The way in which we have drawn up the classification between legal and
illegal drugs may have helped to create an incentive for people to cross
from legal to illegal drugs. It could force more young people towards
drugs, particularly in the more deprived areas."

The only listed drug to have risen in price was herbal cannabis, which
increased from UKP59.30 an ounce to UKP80.