The first interim report of the plan to fight drugs reveals a competitive and lucrative market. The French spend 36 euros on average per year for their consumption.
36 euros is the amount spent on average by each French person for the purchase of… narcotics. A result unveiled by the Interim Report published as part of the 2013-17 government plan to combat drugs and commissioned by the Interministerial Mission for the Fight against Drugs and Addictive Behaviors (Mildeca).
According to specialists from the National Institute for Higher Security and Justice Studies who wrote it, the turnover obtained through the sales of narcotics also amounts to 2.3 billion euros. in 2010.
Cannabis king
Cannabis is arguably the most popular drug in France. This has not changed since 2005. The Minister of Health, Marisol Touraine, once again recalled her opposition to its legalization in an interview granted to the newspaper The world, so as not to “trivialize your consumption”.
In 2010, cannabis sales represented 48% of the overall turnover of the drug market, and an estimated sales volume of 154 tonnes. In five years, this turnover has increased considerably, from 832 to 1,117 million. Experts believe that this development is not due to an increase in consumption but rather to a surge in prices.
However, this price increase is offset by the decrease in the price / purity ratio. Thus, the same quantity of drug contains more THC, the active substance of cannabis, in 2010 than in 2005. At the origin of this phenomenon, a more competitive market, in particular because of the competition of the herb and resin by European and Maghreb producers.
Other drugs
This market dominance of cannabis could decrease in favor of cocaine. The interim report underlines that 15 tonnes would have been consumed in France in 2010, and the turnover linked to these sales would represent 38% of the market.
The consumption of other drugs is also on the increase, in particular heroin which is making a big comeback, but it is in competition with “Opiate Substitution Drugs” (OSM) which limit its expansion. Synthetic drugs, on the other hand, seem little established on the French market, compared to other European countries.
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