It came from the north: assessing the claim of Canada’s rising role as a global supplier of synthetic drugs

The past decade saw increasing attention turned toward Canada as an active supplier of synthetic drugs to the U.S. and wider international market. Other than occasional drug seizures at border crossings and news stories, no systematic research has been conducted to verify or ascertain such claims. T...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Morselli, Carlo (Author) ; Bouchard, Martin (Author) ; Zhang, Sheldon X. (Author) ; Farabee, David J. (Author) ; Ouellet, Marie (Author) ; Easton, Stephen T. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2016
In: Crime, law and social change
Year: 2016, Volume: 66, Issue: 3, Pages: 247-270
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Keywords:
Border Crossing
Drug Trafficking
Ecstasy User
Methamphetamine
Synthetic Drug
Description
Summary:The past decade saw increasing attention turned toward Canada as an active supplier of synthetic drugs to the U.S. and wider international market. Other than occasional drug seizures at border crossings and news stories, no systematic research has been conducted to verify or ascertain such claims. This study assesses the Canadian synthetic drugs market by using multiple sources of data and three methods (georeferencing, economic modeling, and chemical composition analysis) to establish the scope, scale, and structure of synthetic drugs production in Canada, with a particular focus on the province of Quebec. The study’s findings indicate that: 1) smuggling patterns at the country’s border are scattered with no indication of an organized or concentrated system of traffic; 2) synthetic drugs production is not high enough to substantiate a significant exportation potential; and 3) contradictions in the pricing and quality of synthetic drugs at the retail level indicate an unsophisticated and typically immature consumer market. Overall, the synthetic drugs market in Canada emerges as a decentralized, largely localized, and young phenomenon, thus, making it an unlikely significant source of supply or threat for the U.S. and beyond.
Item Description:Literaturverzeichnis: Seite 268-270
Physical Description:Illustrationen
ISSN:1573-0751
DOI:10.1007/s10611-016-9627-5