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Are supply-side drug control efforts effective? Evaluating OTC regulations targeting methamphetamine precursors

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  • Dobkin, Carlos
  • Nicosia, Nancy
  • Weinberg, Matthew

Abstract

Enforcement efforts are the primary approach to reduce illegal drug use in the U.S., but evidence on their effectiveness is mixed. We provide new evidence on the effectiveness of enforcement efforts by using rich administrative records and the staggered implementation of state laws targeting over-the-counter medicines that can be used to produce methamphetamine. We estimate that the regulations reduced the number of methamphetamine laboratories operating in a state by 36%. We find no evidence of changes in methamphetamine consumption or arrests for drug possession, suggesting people were able to find methamphetamine produced elsewhere. Though we find evidence suggesting methamphetamine producers responded to regulation by obtaining precursors from neighboring states that lacked laws, they do not appear to have systematically moved production to neighboring states. This suggests that production shifted over national borders.

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  • Dobkin, Carlos & Nicosia, Nancy & Weinberg, Matthew, 2014. "Are supply-side drug control efforts effective? Evaluating OTC regulations targeting methamphetamine precursors," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 48-61.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:120:y:2014:i:c:p:48-61
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2014.07.011
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    Cited by:

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    3. Alexander Ahammer, 2019. "A novel supply-side measure to combat abuse of addictive prescription drugs," Economics working papers 2019-11, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
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    5. Rose, Christiern, 2016. "The War on Drugs: An Analysis of the Effects of Supply Disruption on Prices and Purity," TSE Working Papers 16-643, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    6. Bondurant, Samuel R. & Lindo, Jason M. & Swensen, Isaac D., 2018. "Substance abuse treatment centers and local crime," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 124-133.
    7. Simone Balestra & Helge Liebert & Nicole Maestas & Tisamarie B. Sherry, 2021. "Behavioral Responses to Supply-Side Drug Policy During the Opioid Epidemic," NBER Working Papers 29596, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Zambiasi, Diego, 2022. "Drugs on the Web, Crime in the Streets. The Impact of Shutdowns of Dark Net Marketplaces on Street Crime," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 274-306.
    9. d'Este, Rocco, 2022. "Scientific Advancements in Illegal Drugs Production and Institutional Responses: New Psychoactive Substances, Self-Harm, and Violence inside Prisons," IZA Discussion Papers 15248, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Zachary Porreca, 2024. "Identifying the General Equilibrium Effects of Narcotics Enforcement," BAFFI CAREFIN Working Papers 24227, BAFFI CAREFIN, Centre for Applied Research on International Markets Banking Finance and Regulation, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    11. Benjamin Petruželka & Miroslav Barták, 2020. "The Identification of Precursor Regulation Impact on the Methamphetamine Market and Public Health Indicators in the Czech Republic: Time Series Structural Break Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-28, October.
    12. Diego Zambiasi, 2020. "Drugs on the Web, Crime in the Streets - The Impact of Dark Web Marketplaces on Street Crime," Working Papers 202025, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
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    14. Hansen, Benjamin & Miller, Keaton & Weber, Caroline, 2020. "Federalism, partial prohibition, and cross-border sales: Evidence from recreational marijuana," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    15. Rocco d'Este, 2021. "Breaking the Crystal Methamphetamine Economy: Illegal Drugs, Supply‐side Interventions and Crime Responses," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 88(349), pages 208-233, January.
    16. Deiana Claudio & Giua Ludovica, 2021. "The Intended and Unintended Effects of Opioid Policies on Prescription Opioids and Crime," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 21(2), pages 751-792, April.
    17. Abby Alpert & David Powell & Rosalie Liccardo Pacula, 2018. "Supply-Side Drug Policy in the Presence of Substitutes: Evidence from the Introduction of Abuse-Deterrent Opioids," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 10(4), pages 1-35, November.
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