Commentary on Mazerolle et al. (2017): The tide has turned-the shift to international supply undermines novel and effective local law enforcement efforts

The relationship between the regulation of licit medications containing pseudoephedrine and the illicit methamphetamine market in Czechia and neighbouring countries

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of the relationship between region-specific regulations of medications used in the manufacture of illegal drugs and illegal drug markets.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper examines a case study of the relationship between the regulation of medications containing pseudoephedrine in Czechia and neighbouring countries and the illegal drug market for methamphetamine in Czechia between 2006 and 2018. The description of this case is based on a review of the literature and a review of publicly available data sources.

Findings

The tightening of the regulation of medications containing pseudoephedrine in the Czech Republic led, in the years under study, to a gradual decrease in the number of packages sold and simultaneously to the illegal import of such medications from neighbouring countries with less strict regulations. At the same time, shifts in the drug market could be observed: the internationalisation of previously primarily domestic supply chains, the increased involvement of Vietnamese organised crime groups, the emergence of large-scale methamphetamine labs and a shift in production to countries with less strict regulations. The subsequent application of stricter controls in neighbouring countries was accompanied by further shifts in supply chains and increased imports from non-European countries.

Practical implications

The tightening of regulations of medications within a single country or single region might lead to significant and undesirable changes in drug markets and supply chains.

Originality/value

This paper provides a novel case study of the development of region-specific regulations of medications and their influence on illegal drug markets and supply chains in the Czech Republic and in the European context.