U.S. overdose deaths attributed to synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, have increased from under 3,000 in 2013 to nearly 20,000 in 2016, making up half of all opioid-related overdose deaths. These drugs are often purchased on the web’s hidden “darknet.” An analysis published in Contemporary Economic Policy that examined the darknet's opioid purchases from 2014 to 2016 found that vendors priced fentanyl in 2014 at a 90% discount compared with an equivalent dose of heroin.
U.S. overdose deaths attributed to synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, have increased from under 3,000 in 2013 to nearly 20,000 in 2016, making up half of all opioid-related overdose deaths. These drugs are often purchased on the web’s hidden “darknet.” An analysis published in Contemporary Economic Policy that examined the darknet's opioid purchases from 2014 to 2016 found that vendors priced fentanyl in 2014 at a 90% discount compared with an equivalent dose of heroin.
Furthermore, fentanyl’s retail price declined by 50% to $0.21 between 2014 and 2016, exacerbating this difference. “By 2016 a lethal dose of fentanyl on the dark web had fallen to under $2.50, and with bulk pricing a lethal dose cost approximately $1.00,” said author Jacob N. Miller, of Southern Utah University.
The research also suggested that although U.S. legal actions had minimal lasting effects of darknet market disruption, regulatory actions in China intended to curb the manufacturing of fentanyl coincided with a halt in the downward trend in fentanyl prices.
Additional Information
Link to Study: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/coep.12447
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First published in 1982 as Contemporary Policy Issues, Contemporary Economic Policy publishes scholarly economic research and analysis on issues of vital concern to economists, government, business, and other decision makers. Leading western scholars, including three Nobel laureates, are among CEP's authors. The objectives are to communicate results of high quality economic analysis to policymakers, focus high quality research and analysis on current policy issues of widespread concern, increase knowledge among economists of features of the economy key to understanding the impact of policy, and to advance methods of policy analysis.
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