The economic cost of drug-related crime in Chile: cannabis was the least costly substance
Chile's drug-crime relationship cost an estimated $268 million in 2006, with cannabis accounting for only 18% of costs compared to cocaine base paste at 53%, despite cannabis being far more prevalent.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Researchers estimated the socioeconomic impact of drug-related crime in Chile using Goldstein's tripartite model (psychopharmacological, economic-compulsive, and systemic violence). The total cost in 2006 was approximately $268 million USD.
Direct drug law enforcement accounted for 36% of costs, while the remaining 64% came from crimes partially linked to drug use and trafficking. Police bore 32% of enforcement costs, penitentiaries 25%, and productivity losses from incarceration represented 29%.
Strikingly, cocaine base paste (CBP) accounted for 53% of costs despite relatively low prevalence, while cannabis accounted for only 18% despite being the most commonly used drug. This disproportionality led the authors to recommend differentiating drug enforcement policies based on actual social and individual harm caused by each substance.
Key Numbers
Total cost: $268 million USD (2006). Cannabis: 18%. Cocaine hydrochloride: 29%. Cocaine base paste: 53%. Police: 32%. Penitentiaries: 25%. Productivity losses: 29%.
How They Did This
Socioeconomic impact analysis applying Goldstein's tripartite model. Quantified drug-crime connections and estimated costs across law enforcement, judiciary, penitentiary, and productivity losses for cannabis, cocaine hydrochloride, and cocaine base paste.
Why This Research Matters
This analysis challenged the allocation of drug enforcement resources by showing cannabis, despite its higher prevalence, was associated with far less crime-related cost than cocaine products. Policy implications were clear: drug enforcement should be proportional to harm.
The Bigger Picture
When drug policy costs are quantified, the case for differentiating enforcement by substance becomes data-driven rather than ideological. Cannabis enforcement consumed significant resources despite contributing relatively little to the overall drug-crime burden.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Single-country study (Chile, 2006). The model relied on estimates and assumptions about drug-crime connections. Currency and cost figures may not translate to other contexts. Did not account for health costs or family impacts.
Questions This Raises
- ?Would legalizing cannabis redirect enforcement resources to more harmful substances?
- ?How do these proportions compare in other countries?
- ?Does cannabis enforcement reduce the costs associated with harder drugs?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Cannabis: 18% of costs. Cocaine base paste: 53% of costs.
- Evidence Grade:
- Economic analysis with clear methodology. Single-country, single-year data limits generalizability but provides a useful case study.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2012. Chile has since relaxed some cannabis laws, and similar economic analyses have been conducted in other countries.
- Original Title:
- The socioeconomic impact of drug-related crimes in Chile.
- Published In:
- The International journal on drug policy, 23(6), 465-72 (2012)
- Authors:
- Fernández, Matías
- Database ID:
- RTHC-00560
Evidence Hierarchy
A snapshot of a population at one point in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Is cannabis a major driver of drug-related crime costs?
In Chile, no. Despite being the most commonly used drug, cannabis accounted for only 18% of drug-crime costs. Cocaine base paste, with much lower prevalence, drove 53% of costs. This disproportion argues for differentiated enforcement policies.
What does this mean for drug policy?
The authors argued that enforcement resources should match the actual harm each drug causes. Spending heavily to enforce cannabis laws while cocaine base paste drives the majority of drug-crime costs is an inefficient allocation of limited resources.
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Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-00560APA
Fernández, Matías. (2012). The socioeconomic impact of drug-related crimes in Chile.. The International journal on drug policy, 23(6), 465-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2012.03.007
MLA
Fernández, Matías. "The socioeconomic impact of drug-related crimes in Chile.." The International journal on drug policy, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2012.03.007
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "The socioeconomic impact of drug-related crimes in Chile." RTHC-00560. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/fernandez-2012-the-socioeconomic-impact-of
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.