Institutions and Drug Markets

This thesis examines how drug policy and enforcement affect drug manufacturers. The approach taken is a comparative institutional analysis of cannabis and methamphetamine production. I focus on the effects of prohibition, privacy, and clandestine markets on producer behavior for these two drugs and the unintended consequences that result. I demonstrate that cannabis and methamphetamine producers both face substantial transaction costs and that producers alter their behavior to manage these transaction costs. I conclude that cannabis producers can adopt indoor, small-scale operations to hide their activity, which are capable of yielding continuous, high-potency crops. Methamphetamine producers also adopt small-scale, decentralized strategies, but commodity control increases their exposure and leads to greater overall transaction costs during the manufacturing process.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of North Texas

Year dc:date

2005

Author dc:creator

• Haddock, Billy Dean

Contributors dc:contributor

• Brandt, Patrick
• VonDoepp, Peter
• Poe, Steven

• Drug control -- United States.
• Drug factories -- United States.
• Cannabis -- United States.
• Methamphetamine -- United States.
• drug policy
• institutions
• illicit drugs
• shadow economy
• transaction costs

Statement dc:rights

• Public
• Copyright
• Haddock, Billy Dean, Jr
• Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.

Language dc:language

English

Identifier

oclc: 62119752
https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4777/
ark: ark:/67531/metadc4777

OAI identifier oai:identifier

info:ark/67531/metadc4777