THE price of metamphetamine hydrochloride, locally known as shabu, has spiked due to the government’s intensified war against illegal drugs in the country, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency said on Thursday.
PDEA Director General Isidro S. Lapeña said the current street price of shabu now ranges from P1,200 to P25,000 per gram, the highest since 2002 following the government’s intensified anti-drug campaign.
This shows an increase of 127.27 percent as compared to its previous price ranging from P1,200 to P11,000 per gram from January to June.
“Basically, the availability and demand for dangerous drugs have a direct effect on its price structure. When the market price of illegal drugs rises, it is generally assessed that there is a scarcity in supply available in the market and vice-versa, an indication that the present government is winning the war against the drug menace,” Lapeña noted.
The price structure of shabu varies depending on the area or place of transaction, payments, and on the quality/purity of the substance. The street price of shabu is lowest in Region 9 at P1,200 per gram, while it is most expensive in Region 12 at P25,000 per gram.
“The scarcity in the supply of shabu can be attributed to the dismantling of seven clandestine laboratories this year, five of them under the administration of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, and the massive crackdown on high-value drug personalities,” Lapeña said, explaining why prices of shabu are inversely proportional to the supply nowadays.
“The cost of shabu has reached an all-time high, thanks to the revitalized national anti-drug campaign. We have successfully minimized the supply of shabu in the market and currently maximizing our drug-demand reduction efforts in the communities to complement the former,” the PDEA chief concluded.