Up to 400 billion counterfeit cigarettes are produced in China each year.  In addition, 99 percent of the counterfeit cigarettes found in the United States comes from China.

Source:  Te-Pin Chen, “China’s Marlboro Country,” Slate, June 29, 2009.

The current estimated drug industry in British Colombia, Canada is valued at $6.3 billion.  The industry mainly consists of cocaine and marijuana.

Source:  Kim Murphy, “Vengeance runs rampant among Vancouver’s young outlaws,” Los Angeles Times, June 29, 2009.

657 billion cigarettes are sold illegally each year, killing 132,000 people. In addition,  half of all cigarettes sold in developing countries are illegal.

Source:  Denis Campbell, “Developing world faces black market cigarette plague,” The Observer, June 28, 2009.

Up to 1,000 people are trafficked into Australia each year, according to various estimates compiled by Voice of America.  90 percent of those trafficked into the country is for sexual purposes.

Source:  Phil Mercer, “Asian Police Join to Combat Trafficking of Sex Slaves,” Voice of America News, June 27, 2009.

US Envoy to Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke stated that efforts by the United States to eradicate poppy production in the country did not achieve any positive gains.

From the AP (via NPR News):

“Eradication is a waste of money,” Holbrooke said on the sidelines of a Group of Eight foreign ministers’ meeting on Afghanistan, during which he briefed regional representatives on the new policy.

“It might destroy some acreage, but it didn’t reduce the amount of money the Taliban got by one dollar. It just helped the Taliban. So we’re going to phase out eradication,” he said.

The Taliban earned an estimated $50 million to $70 million in 2008 from trafficking opium.  Afghanistan is the source country for 93 percent of the world’s heroin.

Source:  Associated Press, “U.S. Announces Shift in Afghanistan Drug Policy,” NPR News, June 27, 2009.

Price is in US Dollars and represents the typical price of Marijuana in the Middle East.

Click here for additional prices of marijuana.

Source:  UNODC, “World Drug Report 2009: Section 3.4 Prices, pages 215 to 234,” June 2009.

Price is in US Dollars and represents the typical price of Marijuana in Europe.

Click here for additional prices of marijuana.

Source:  UNODC, “World Drug Report 2009: Section 3.4 Prices, pages 215 to 234,” June 2009.

Price is in US Dollars and represents the typical price of Marijuana in Asia.

Click here for additional prices of marijuana.

Source:  UNODC, “World Drug Report 2009: Section 3.4 Prices, pages 215 to 234,” June 2009.

Price is in US Dollars and represents the typical price of Marijuana in the Americas.

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Source: UNODC, “World Drug Report 2009: Section 3.4 Prices, pages 215 to 234,” June 2009.

Price is in US Dollars, and represents the typical price of Marijuana in Africa.

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Source: UNODC, “World Drug Report 2009: Section 3.4 Prices, pages 215 to 234,” June 2009.