NCJ Number
225862
Date Published
July 2008
Length
72 pages
Annotation
This "Technical Report" which is a companion to the "Results Report on The Price and Purity of Illicit Drugs: 1981-2007" - updates previous estimates of a similar report published in 2004 that covered the period 1981 through the second quarter of 2003.
Abstract
Following an introductory chapter, a chapter presents the Institute for Defense Analyses' replication of the implementation steps undertaken in support of the 2004 report and subsequent minor software modifications. This is followed by a chapter that expands discussions of the value, limitations, and methods in compensating for limitations associated with the database of the System to Retrieve Information from Drug Evidence (STRIDE), which is maintained by the Drug Enforcement Administration. A chapter then presents scatter plots of pure quantity-price data, followed by a chapter that describes a median-based methodology for conveniently portraying the STRIDE data and facilitating direct simple comparison to the results of the Expected Purity Hypothesis (EPH) model. This provides a context for assessing the EPH formulation and to motivate potential future enhancements. Another chapter uses correlation analyses in comparing STRIDE estimates to independent databases. These include compilations from law enforcement sources, including local police and DEA, reported by the National Drug Intelligence Center, as well as general workforce drugs-testing results. Three chapters summarize analyses undertaken with earlier versions of the STRIDE data, i.e., not extending through the end of 2007. 11 figures and 9 tables