NCJ Number
195556
Journal
Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy Volume: 9 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2002 Pages: 143-151
Date Published
May 2002
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the illegal drug distribution system in Frankfurt (Germany) and Milan (Italy).
Abstract
In 1999, the European Monitoring Center on Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) initiated a call to study local drug markets in European cities. Frankfurt, Germany’s fifth largest city, and Milan, Italy’s second largest city, were chosen. A multi-faceted methodology was developed that emphasizes qualitative research instruments and information from as many different perspectives as possible. Primary sources collected information from the four main actors of today’s illegal markets: consumers, suppliers, law enforcement personnel, and public and private drug treatment providers. The secondary sources were existing studies; ad hoc information by local and national law enforcement agencies and drug treatment services; criminal cases; and media articles and reports. Results showed that in both cities the great majority of drug deals, including those involving large quantities of drugs, were carried out by numerous, relatively small enterprises. The “invisible hand of the market” ran the drug exchanges rather than large-scale organizations. “Flexible hierarchies and dynamic disorder” dominated the trading and distribution of the major illegal drugs and local Western European contexts. This disorganized nature of the illegal drug trade is caused by the constraints from the illegal status of the drugs exchanged. Illegal market suppliers cannot resort to state institutions to enforce contracts since the goods and services they provide are prohibited. All suppliers of illegal commodities are bound to operate under the constant threat of being arrested and having their assets confiscated. These constraints have prevented the rise of large, hierarchically organized firms to mediate economic transactions in the illegal marketplace. In both cities, many dealers worked alone to earn fast money. A person has never succeeded in controlling the city market for any illegal substance in Milan or Frankfurt. 1 note, 24 references