Airport security and cargo screening across the country received a $293 million funding boost in the 2018 federal budget. But what impact does border security actually have on drug use and drug-related violence within Australia?
Border seizures of personal orders of online illicit drugs aren't nearly as common as people think. However, the perceived risk of having their mail intercepted by border security is enough for Australians to buy their drugs locally. With the exception of cannabis, drugs sold by Australian online vendors are incredibly expensive, but Australians will pay a premium for locally sold drugs because they don’t want to risk being caught by border security.
This preference to buy Australian-made online drugs means more harm at home.
This preference to buy Australian-made online drugs means more harm at home. Why? When the manufacturing and distribution is local, so too is the organised crime that comes with it. Organised crime currently costs the Australian public $36 billion annually.
While Australians make up just 0.3% of the global population, they make up 7% of suppliers in the international drug market. They are also huge consumers of online drugs.
The bulk of the funds spent as part of Australia’s National Drug Strategy are spent on law enforcement initiatives to decrease supply, but there is little evidence that such tactics are having an impact.
The majority of illicit drug users in Australia state that drugs – particularly cannabis and methamphetamine – are ‘easy’ or ‘very easy’ to obtain. Flourishing online markets only make access even easier. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin that enable anonymous transactions are shifting drug deals from the streets to the web. And while some have argued this trend could lead to a reduction in drug-related violence – people get stabbed when trading drugs in person, not on the dark web – cryptomarkets do pose an incredible barrier to law enforcement when it comes to evidence and prosecution.
When there are willing buyers, willing sellers and easy-to-use technology to subvert detection, very little can be done to decrease the supply of illicit drugs online.
Jarryd Bartle lectures in criminal law subjects at RMIT University and operates a policy consultancy specialising in evidence-based approaches to criminal behaviour.
