Cocaine Prices rise 44%. WH and DEA claim cocaine shortage in US

So there I was..reading my morning news, when I came across this article in the Houston Chronicle. Apparently we're winning one of our 'current wars'. Not the overarching war on terror, not Iraq, not Afghanistan, but the 'war on drugs', but don't tell this to the police. They think WH drug czar, John Walters and DEA chief, Karen Tandy are nuts.

Here are a few excerpts,

America's top two drug fighters said anti-narcotics programs in Latin America are causing a cocaine shortage in Houston and 36 other U.S. cities
.....

Armed with the results of a sample involving thousands of purchases made by undercover DEA agents and their informants during the first seven months of the year, Walters said the price of a pure gram of cocaine now stands at about $137 — up 44 percent since January.

"This report is the best evidence yet that counter-drug programs can break the machine that delivers violence, corruption and addiction to every country in the hemisphere..This is not yet victory, but it is a sign that we are on the right track." John Walters told reporters in Bogata, Colombia

....and now for the TRUTH...the Police rebuttal,

Claims of short supplies or higher prices, however, conflicted with reports from the streets of Houston and El Paso, the Texas cities singled out by the DEA as having a shortage.
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"the market hasn't changed much in years...You can still go to the open-air markets and get pretty much anything you are looking for...A gram of pure cocaine costs about $80 in Houston" Lt. Gray Smith of the Houston police narcotics division.
.....
"Our dealers aren't running dry.. Our guys are busting their humps every day, and the numbers are consistent." Darrel Petry, an El Paso police spokesman.

According to Lt. Smith the 44% 'increase' in price per gram could be solely due to the customer purchasing the drugs,

"It can have a scale depending on who you are and what part of town your are in," he said. "Street vendors will chisel all the money out of you they can. If you are wearing nice clothes and a watch, they'll try to hit you up for an extra $20."

I found this last statement amusing. The dealers are most likely over charging the Feds for their drugs...too damn funny. I can't relate because I have no idea what cocaine should cost, but it seems completely rational. If you don't know the person and they look 'rich'..charge 'em more. Little spoiled 'richie rich' Frat boys, Giuliani aides, and Presidents of the United States of America should pay more. Makes complete sense to me...and apparently the Justice Department as well,

Several analysts, as well as a new Justice Department report, suggest the DEA figures should be taken with a grain of salt.

Give me a break. We've been 'fighting' the 'war on drugs' since Nixon. It's failed. My message to the Feds...Stop being taken in your 'deals ' find a new approach. Your current 'spin' is full of CRAP. There is no success in the 'war on drugs'.

Same Players. Different Scandal.