{{Illegal drugs are now cheaper and purer globally than at any time over the last 20 years, a report has warned.}}
The International Centre for Science in Drug Policy said its report suggested the war on drugs had failed.
The report, published in the British Medical Journal Open, looked at data from seven international government-funded drug surveillance systems.
Its researchers said it was time to consider drug use a public health issue rather than a criminal justice issue.
The seven drug surveillance systems the study looked at had at least 10 years of information on the price and purity of cannabis, cocaine and opiates, including heroin.
The report said street prices of drugs had fallen in real terms between 1990 and 2010, while their purity and potency had increased.
In Europe, for example, the average price of opiates and cocaine, adjusted for inflation and purity, decreased by 74% and 51% respectively between 1990 and 2010, the Vancouver-based centre said.
The report also found there had been a substantial increase in most parts of the world in the amount of cocaine, heroin and cannabis seized by law enforcement agencies since 1990.
Most national drug control strategies have focused on law enforcement to curb supply despite calls to explore other approaches, such as decriminalisation and strict legal regulation, it said.
It concluded: “These findings suggest that expanding efforts at controlling the global illegal drug market through law enforcement are failing.”
Co-author Dr Evan Wood, scientific chairman of the centre, said: “We should look to implement policies that place community health and safety at the forefront of our efforts, and consider drug use a public health issue rather than a criminal justice issue.
“With the recognition that efforts to reduce drug supply are unlikely to be successful, there is a clear need to scale up addiction treatment and other strategies that can effectively reduce drug-related harm.”
The study comes two days after a senior UK police officer said class A drugs should be decriminalised.
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