The updated Drug Strategy:
Drug Markets
There are many different types of drug markets:
- open markets where drugs are sold on the street in residential areas;
- open markets where drugs are sold in public areas such as railway stations, bus stations, cafés or clubs;
- closed markets where sales are made only to people known to the suppliers at pre-arranged meetings; and
- markets open to new callers but accessed through pre-arranged meetings.
In practice these can be subdivided into more complex patterns by factors such as:
- the type of drugs sold;
- the supply routes to the street sellers; and
- the familial connections involved.
Places where people sell can also be places where people use drugs and engage in other criminal activity. Markets can often be distinguished by the other kinds of crime that are closely related to them and available within them. for example, in drug houses where crack is sold, there may be handling of stolen goods and access to sex workers who may or may not be connected to the dealers. Closed drug markets can be accessed through other markets, such as markets for sex, which may provide an introduction.
House-based sellers can also be subdivided into sellers who:
- sell directly from their homes;
- operate the business from their homes through mobile phones but sell in the adjacent area; or
- operate from somebody else's home, often someone under their influence. This might include young women dependent in some way on the seller, perhaps being the parent of the children or working in prostitution for him, or those vulnerable because of mental health problems or there youth.
A number of individuals may be connected to the supply operation, including lookouts, referrers, runners and enforcers. These can include:
- very young people who deliver the drugs;
- sex workers who direct their clients to sources of drugs; and
- those who help enforce the debts and territory of a given operator.
Not all suppliers use or require this sort of operation. Drugs sold in clubs (notably dance drugs in dance environments and pubs (e.g. Cannabis) may be sold on by sellers at the very bottom of the selling chain and their sales may be to peers and friends.