Executive Summary
Violence is among the primary concerns of communities around the world, and research from many settings has demonstrated clear links between violence and the illicit drug trade, particularly in urban settings. While violence has traditionally been framed as resulting from the effects of drugs on individual users (e.g., drug-induced psychosis), violence in drug markets and in drug-producing areas such as Mexico is increasingly understood as a means for drug gangs to gain or maintain a share of the lucrative illicit drug market.
Given the growing emphasis on evidence-based policy-making and the ongoing severe violence attributable to drug gangs in many countries around the world, a systematic review of the available English language scientific literature was conducted to examine the impacts of drug law enforcement interventions on drug market violence.
The full report is available in English and Spanish, and soon in Russian
Citation: Dan Werb, Greg Rowell, Gordon Guyatt, Thomas Kerr, Julio Montaner and Evan Wood. 'Effect of Drug Law Enforcement on Drug-Related Violence: Evidence from a Scientific Review', International Centre for Science in Drug Policy (2010)