2025-06-11 –, BS 3.17 - 44 cap.
Background – Some small rural towns in New Zealand are said to be the exclusive territory of specific gangs with reputations for violence. Gangs are often depicted as heavily involved in the selling of methamphetamine and cannabis in NZ. Does this mean that gangs use their command of violence to establish a monopoly over sale of drugs in their town territories? Economic theory would predict that such a monopoly would manifest in gangs charging higher drug prices where they are the only seller and dominate the market.
Aims – Identify predictors of higher prices for drugs including extent of gang involvement in drug selling in small town locations.
Methods – An anonymous online convenience drug survey (New Zealand Drugs Trends Survey) was broadly promoted via Meta™ platforms (Facebook, Instagram) from August 2022 to February 2023, achieving a final sample of 13,026. Respondents were asked about the purchasing different drugs including the extent to which gangs control the sale each drug type (1=none-5=only gangs), how many different gangs were selling in the area (1=many-4=one), perceptions of the level of influence of gangs in their neighbourhood (1=none-7=very) and whether the buyer lived in a small town, rural area or city. Statistical models were used to identify predictors of the prices of methamphetamine, cannabis, ecstasy and LSD while controlling for a range of socio-economic, gang influence, and drug use variables.
Results – The price of meth significantly increased as the number of gangs involved selling in a locality decreased and the level of perceived gang influence in a locality increased. Gang involvement and influence did not predict the price of either ounces or pounds of cannabis. The price of LSD increased with the level of gang control of selling. The price of MDMA significantly increased as the number of gangs involved selling in a locality decreased. Small town location did not predict the price of any of the drug types.
Conclusions – Gangs had the greatest influence over meth, LSD and MDMA prices, but no influence over cannabis prices. Gang influence was strongest when a single gang was involved in selling in an area, but small-town location did not change the level of influence over price.
Chris Wilkins, Jose Romeo, Marta Rychert, Robin van der Sanden *
* SHORE & Whariki Research Centre, College of Health, Massey University, New Zealand
Professor Chris Wilkins is the leader of the drug research team at Massey University. Chris has expertise in drug trends, drug markets, and drug policy and evaluation. Over the past twenty years, he has completed a range of studies with particular focus on methamphetamine, cannabis, NPS, ecstasy, and organized crime and drug market structure. He has published over 100 academic articles on a range of topics related to drug use, drug-harms and policy response, including recently co-editing an international book evaluating cannabis legalization reforms (Legalizing Cannabis: Experiences, Lessons and Scenarios, with Professors Tom Decorte and Simon Lenton).