In today's world, Supply reduction has become a topic of utmost importance and relevance. Whether in the personal, professional, political or social sphere, Supply reduction has gained great relevance and has generated a wide debate among experts and society in general. The importance of Supply reduction lies in its direct impact on different aspects of daily life, as well as its influence on the development and evolution of different areas of knowledge and culture. This is why it is essential to analyze and understand in depth the importance and impact that Supply reduction has on our current reality, as well as to anticipate possible future scenarios that may arise as a result of its presence in various areas.
Supply reduction is one approach to social problems such as drug addiction. Other approaches are demand reduction and harm reduction.[1]
In the case of illegal drugs, supply reduction efforts generally involves attempts to disrupt the manufacturing and distribution supply chains for these drugs, by both civilian law enforcement and sometimes military forces. This approach, sometimes characterized as the "War on Drugs", has been the dominant approach to drugs policy since the 1960s.[2]
There is little or no evidence showing that supply reduction methods can be successful as a means to reduce the supply of illicit drugs. For example, the retail price of cocaine in the US in 2007 was less than half the price in 1984, despite massive investments by the US government in supply reduction strategies.[3] Some analysts have argued that the abject failure of supply reduction in the US actually contributed to a significant and lasting reduction in crime and violence beginning in the 1990s, when cocaine prices hit record lows.[4]
In contrast, a systematic review documents moderate and growing evidence that retail greater availability is associated with greater relapse to smoked tobacco.