Cocaine street price drops as local supply reaches ‘alarming’ levels

Figures released by the police’s intelligence unit show that while the street price of cocaine has decreased from €85 a gramme to €70, corresponding prices for mephedrone, heroin and ecstasy have all remained stable.

Over the same period, the price of cannabis resin (hash) has increased from €10 to €15 a gramme. When compared to statistics gathered annually by Europe’s drug monitoring agency (EMCDDA), this suggests that Malta is among the most expensive EU states for cannabis: a reflection of an apparent decrease in supply, possibly coupled with changing preferences among regular drug users.

The same cannot be said for cocaine. At €70 a gramme – from which not more than 10 individual lines can be derived, depending on the purity of the drug – the local price remains a far cry from the average of €107 one would expect to spend on the same amount in Latvia: by far the most expensive country in Europe, at least when it comes to “Charlie”.

But drug rehab professionals who spoke to this newspaper all concur that the local decrease in price still represents a clear cause for concern.

Supply and demand

According to the basic law of economics, a drop in price of any commodity can be accounted for either by a corresponding decrease in demand, or alternatively by an increase in supply.

Judging by the number of persons currently seeking treatment for cocaine addiction and/or related problems, it appears that the local demand for cocaine has certainly not decreased over the corresponding period. If anything, drug rehab agencies tend to agree that the numbers of cocaine users is currently on the rise.

The marked 17.7% percent drop in price can therefore be taken as a direct result of a considerable increase in supply, with one psychotherapist claiming that it is now “easer than ever before” to buy cocaine in Malta.

Ms Mariella Balzan, a psychotherapist who specializes in drug addiction problems, argues that there has been a shift in perception regarding cocaine among both young and older adults.

“Cocaine is a partying drug abused by people from all levels of the social strata. Its use and abuse, together with alcohol, have become normalized within many Maltese social circles,” she said. “The number of people I come into professional contact with who would binge on alcohol and cocaine over weekends has clearly increased over the past few years.”

Balzan describes the availability of cocaine in Malta as having reached ‘alarming’ levels in recent months and years.

“I am surprised that the media don’t take more of an interest in this sort of thing. Usually they report on drugs only when there are drug busts and people are arraigned in court. This happens a lot, but generally such busts involve drugs other than cocaine – for instance, heroin. You rarely hear about big cocaine busts, though they do happen from time to time. Even so, if you pay close attention it is often the same category of pusher who ends up in court.”

Changing trends

The same economic principle seems to apply in reverse to cannabis – universally classed as a less harmful drug than cocaine, though this view is sometimes contested by local drug agencies.

Either way, the relative increase in street price of cannabis, though marginal, may correspond to a decrease in supply, if not also in demand.

One reformed drug addict who spoke to this newspaper anonymously said that he was not at all surprised that cocaine is now significantly easier to procure than hash.

“Considering that the risk factor in selling cannabis is virtually the same as with heroin or cocaine, but the profit margin so much higher, it is inevitable that pushers will eventually try and move the higher yielding drug rather than the lower.”