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Why Getting High Has Only Gotten Cheaper
The New York Times • • health
Key Points:
- The war on drugs, initiated in the early 1970s, aimed to reduce substance abuse by increasing drug prices to lower demand, with initial success in raising costs.
- However, over the past two decades, the prices of opioids and other illicit drugs have dropped dramatically, with opioid costs falling by more than 90 percent.
- Meanwhile, the cost of everyday consumer goods has steadily increased, making it easier economically to obtain drugs than to afford basic items like meals.
- This price decline in drugs correlates with a sharp rise in overdose deaths, which increased from 6,700 in 1972 to 80,000 in 2024, driven in part by the availability of cheap, ultra-potent substances.
