THE WORLD may be on the brink of a recession, but for one business prospects
have never been brighter. World heroin production has tripled in ten years, and
cocaine production doubled. Hard drugs are no longer the preserve of the
affluent. A hundred years ago the typical opiate addict in the West was a
middle-class woman in her forties. Now it’s a young, uneducated male. Even
nicotine continues to enjoy steady global growth, as people in the developing
world embrace the habit.
Despite all the health campaigns and the billions spent on law enforcement,
there are more addicts living today…
