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JUNE 2007 HOT TOPICSDocumenting the Price and Purity of Illicit Drugs: 15 Years in the Making
Because drugs are provided through markets, albeit illegal ones, it is natural to want to track data series related to prices, as well as more traditional indicators of demand, use, and quantities consumed. Although a great deal of effort has been devoted to collecting and reporting data on demand and quantities consumed, getting data on prices has proven more challenging because suppliers do not, of course, report pricing. Yet price data can be used to assess the effectiveness of supply-control interventions, understand how drug use responds to price changes, and estimate how much money is spent on drugs. The best source of information currently available on illicit drug prices and purity is the STRIDE database, a forensic database of information from seizures, purchases, and other drug acquisition activities conducted by undercover agents and informants. Unfortunately, STRIDE is not designed to assess pricing. However, in 1992, RAND researchers pioneered a data-analytic method using the corporation's own research funds that enabled these data to be used to assess trends in the price and purity of powder and crack cocaine. The work was so successful that many scientists began using these methods and data to generate price series for heroin, d-methamphetamine, and marijuana as well. In 2004, with support from ONDCP, researchers in RAND's DPRC once again demonstrated the utility of the data when proper modeling and statistical techniques are used. RAND's ability to overcome scientific concerns raised by a 2001 National Research Council panel paved the way for the legislation passed last week. RAND's method for constructing price and purity trends is a potentially important tool for understanding how drug markets work and the impact of interventions intended to control those markets. READ THE REPORT: The Price and Purity of Illicit Drugs READ THE REPORT: Technical Report on the Price and Purity of Illicit Drugs Through 2003 Keeping Guns Out of the Hands of Criminals
Following on the heels of the Boston Gun Project—which was launched in 1996 and helped reduce youth homicides by about two-thirds—RAND was funded by the National Institute of Justice to see whether the process could be adapted elsewhere. RAND researchers replicated a tailored intervention in the Los Angeles Police Department, Hollenbeck area, and confirmed that coordinated community efforts can reduce youth violence. More recent research examined information collected from 10 ammunition retailers by the Los Angeles Police Department and screened by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to see whether ammunition buyers appeared in federal or state criminal databases. It determined that over two months, 52 buyers who were explicitly prohibited by law from buying ammunition collectively bought more than 10,000 rounds. The California legislature is currently debating the policy implications of this study. Finally, RAND has been a research partner to the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and San Diego Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN) task forces. PSN is a comprehensive, strategic approach to reducing gun violence coordinated jointly through the U.S. Attorneys' offices and funded by the U.S. Department of Justice. As part of the PSN effort, RAND researchers have examined similarities and differences in the homicide patterns of five communities throughout California known for their systemic violence and analyzed relevant crime data in the Century Station area of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department and in the San Diego Police Department's Southeast Division to suggest possible policy directions for the areas' PSN task forces. For more detailed information, visit RAND's Project Safe Neighborhood site. READ RAND REVIEW ARTICLE: Unruly Turf: The Role of Interagency Collaborations in Reducing Gun Violence READ THE SUMMARY: Reducing Gun Violence: Results from an Intervention in East Los Angeles |
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The RAND Safety and Justice Program conducts research, analysis, and demonstrations that help policymakers, government agencies, and communities improve public safety. To access our research, please visit our website at www.rand.org/ise/safety/. The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. Learn More »Copyright © 2007 RAND Corporation. 1776 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401-3208. RAND® is a registered trademark. The RAND Safety and Justice Congressional Newsletter is distributed on an opt-in basis only by visiting us at www.rand.org. We respect your privacy. If you do not wish to receive this periodic newsletter, please email ocr@rand.org or call (703) 413-1100 x5395. This newsletter is also available on the RAND Congressional web site at http://www.rand.org/congress/newsletters/safety_justice/2007/06/. |
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The fiscal year 2008 House appropriations bill has directed the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to update its report on the price and purity of illicit drugs using the most recently available data from the System to Retrieve Information from Drug Evidence (STRIDE) database maintained by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). The existence of this mandate highlights the significance of groundbreaking analytic work done by the RAND Drug Policy Research Center (DPRC) over the past 15 years.
After the Virginia Tech shootings, Congress and gun rights advocates formed an alliance to pass new gun-control legislation to help keep guns out of the hands of criminals—an issue that the RAND Corporation has been studying for years. 
