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Reuter P, McKetin R. Introduction to special section on precursor control. THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DRUG POLICY 2024:104458. [PMID: 38926057 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Rebecca McKetin
- National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, 2052, Australia
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The relationship between the regulation of licit medications containing pseudoephedrine and the illicit methamphetamine market in Czechia and neighbouring countries. DRUGS AND ALCOHOL TODAY 2019. [DOI: 10.1108/dat-06-2019-0023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
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.
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