The Propaganda Files - Drugs on the Table

NSW Police Minister: Tough On Drugs ... Soft On Maths ... Even Softer On Reality


There’s an old saying in the world of fighting drug crime - “Drugs on the Table”. When a politician or senior police officer need some publicity that they are being tough on drugs, they would produce piles of confiscated narcotics and put them on display for the press and public to admire. Then a few important people would stand behind it, declaring they are taking drugs off the street. The saying is still used today ... except without the table. The press loves to report on mountains of drugs and the public see it as a success in the fight against the illegal trade. All of which suits the PR machine behind our anti-drug, crime fighting heroes.

Putting the “Drugs on the Table” might work most of the time but any simple analysis usually unfolds the nasty truth of unpublished statistics, costly operations and lashes of propaganda. So when a “Drugs on the Table” media release from NSW Police Minister, Tony Kelly and the NSW police recently appeared in the newspapers, I sat down with a calculator and did some figures.

Organisation: NSW Police Force & NSW Police Minister, Tony Kelly
Campaign: Cannabis busts in NSW

When: 2008-2009
Link: Press Release 

Propaganda: 8/10

Laugh Out Loud Rating: 5/10


The headlines scream:

Police Seize More Than $18 Million Worth Of Cannabis

MORE than $18 million worth of cannabis crops have been seized in a series of aerial drug raids across NSW over the past five months, police said.

The haul had effectively wiped out a large percentage of the NSW summer crop, which would otherwise have now been on the streets of Sydney and NSW country towns.

Removing $18 million dollars worth of cannabis off the streets is impressive for 5 months work. 9,645 cannabis plants were destroyed and 20 people were charged (or issued with Field Court Attendance Notices). The NSW police and NSW Police Minister, Tony Kelly are claiming a huge dent has been put in the illegal drug market and they are “cutting into the sale of cannabis on the streets by attacking the source”.

Whoooo there, slow down a bit sherif. We need some perspective here. Last year, the Australian Crime Commission conservatively estimated the value of the Australian illicit drug trade at about $10 billion. So lets do the maths, subtract 18 million from 10,000 million ... [calculator pounding away] er, [redoing calculations] um, [resorting to pen and paper for calculations] mmm, that leaves 9,982 million. That's less than 0.2% of the total drug market. Not really earth shattering figures.

This past summer the pro-active work of NSW Police managed to put a huge dent in the illegal cannabis trade across the state
Tony Kelly - NSW Police Minister

In 2006/07, 4,782 kilograms of cannabis was confiscated by police which equates to about $96 million dollars at $20 per gram. To allow for discounted sales and we halve the value it comes to $48m. It is estimated that only 10% of all drugs are seized by police each year so this calculates out to about half a billion dollars a year in cannabis sales. The thrill of seizing and destroying $18 million dollars worth of illegal cannabis suddenly abates and the reality factor hits home that this “huge dent in the illegal cannabis trade” might only be a minor scratch in the paintwork.

The State Command’s Cannabis Team is made up of Drug Squad detectives working with the Police Air Wing, Dog Squad, Radio Electronics Unit and officers from the various Local Area Commands, all working together to locate and destroy cannabis crops across NSW. These different units have successfully pooled their resources with the single focus of disrupting the cultivation and distribution of cannabis.
Tony Kelly - NSW Police Minister

So how much do us tax payers spend on this 'formidable outfit' that includes drug squad detectives, a police air wing, a dog squad, a radio electronics unit and police from local area commands? I would really love to know this but conducting a cost-benifit analysis for our efforts at eliminating illicit drugs is virtually impossible. First of all, without control of the market i.e. prohibition, we can never obtain real information. And how do you measure success? Forcing outdoor cannabis growers out of business might lead to a surge in the stronger form of hydroponically grown skunk or a shift to production of harder drugs. Is this success? No government has ever commissioned a proper cost-benefit analysis of their local "War on Drugs" as far as I know. Maybe I’m wrong but the only serious attempt I know of is from the non government Transform Drug Policy Foundation in the UK. The point is, are we wasting our dwindling financial resources for the benefit of politicians? Is the targeting of outdoor cannabis crops the best way to help with the drug problem? These are valid questions but without some sort of audit or study, we are left with the opinion and media releases from those directly involved. And as I’ve shown, their figures don’t quite add up.

This sends a clear message about police determination to attack the illegal drug trade at its foundations
Tony Kelly - NSW Police Minister

Police determination means jack-shit to organised crime. They are too far up the ladder to seriously fear getting caught and there’s always the greasy wheel of bent cops that insane profit margins guarantee will keep them at an arm’s length from the law. If anything, police determination just gives more support to their favourite law ... prohibition. The losers are the private growers and the tax payer, both who are just fodder in this endless cycle. If police determination is a factor, what about the determination of those who make millions of dollars from this drug trade? As we are seeing in Mexico, even the military can’t quell the determination of drug cartels that make more tax free profits than the oil industry.

Some Figures to Ponder

• From the NSW Police Force Media Release Archives (25 Feb 2009 - 12 Apr 2009), less than 10% of the media releases involved drugs. These media releases are usually for major police news that warrant the attention of the press. This must leave a lot of small drug arrests deemed unimportant. In fact, out of the 500 police media releases from 25 Feb 2009 - 12 Apr 2009, only 9 were for cannabis. One was the $18 million summary in this article, 4 related to one case and 3 were for hydroponics.
• Nationally, 82,300 people were arrested for drug offences in the 2006–07 financial year and nearly 70% of these drug arrests were for cannabis offences. That’s a whopping 57,000 plus people arrested for cannabis in 12 months. (The $18 million dollars worth of seizures only nabbed 20 people)
• There were 627 detections of cannabis at the border in 2006–07, 24% more than the previous reporting period. However, there was a minor decrease in the weight of cannabis detected.
• 62% of all border detections of cannabis involved the importation of seeds.
• Some 85% of governments’ drug budgets are allocated to law enforcement and some 87% of arrests are of consumers.
• Cannabis remains the most widely used illicit drug in Australia.

Police Seize More Than $18 Million Worth Of Cannabis
Daily Telegraph
By Simon Benson
April 2009

MORE than $18 million worth of cannabis crops have been seized in a series of aerial drug raids across NSW over the past five months, police said.

The haul had effectively wiped out a large percentage of the NSW summer crop, which would otherwise have now been on the streets of Sydney and NSW country towns.

But the increase in police aerial patrols since September last year had now forced dope growers, literally, into the hills.

Police fear crops would become harder to detect with growers moving to more rugged and inaccessible terrain, using sophisticated irrigation systems.

Police Minister Tony Kelly yesterday congratulated the state crime command drug squad's plantation unit for delivering what he described as a major dent in the cannabis industry.

"This past summer the pro-active work of NSW Police managed to put a huge dent in the illegal cannabis trade across the state," he said.

"During peak cannabis growing season the police pulled out thousands of plants, cutting into the sale of cannabis on the streets by attacking the source.

"This sends a clear message about police determination to attack the illegal drug trade at its foundations."

Mr Kelly said seven cannabis eradication programs were conducted from November last year to the end of March this year.

Regions targeted included Byron Bay, Richmond, Manning Great Lakes, mid-North Coast, Far South Coast, Coffs Harbour and the New England Area.

A total of 9645 cannabis plants were destroyed.

Police said 20 people were charged with either possessing or cultivating cannabis.

Mr Kelly said the state command's cannabis team was a formidable outfit with units including drug squad detectives, police air wing, dog squad, radio electronics unit and police from local area commands.

Since 2001, the cannabis eradication programs had resulted in the seizure and destruction of 100,536 plants, valued at more than $206 million.

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