Commodities everywhere have been getting whacked and cocaine is no exception. We have to imagine that demand has collapsed -- perhaps as former users switch to cheaper substitutes -- but prices are also following due to an increase in free trade. Well, sort of.

BBC: The price of cocaine in Europe is set to fall even further as smugglers use new routes through West Africa and the Balkans, says the UN anti-drugs agency.

In its latest report, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), said West Africa has become a "major hub" for South American cocaine smuggling.

UK officials said last week that the price of cocaine had fallen by half in the last 10 year.

The trade routes dovetail with what the report says is weak government intervention -- so again, as we said, free trade.

No word on whether growers in high-cost countries are asking for sanctions against the world's low cost producers, but that should come soon.

(via CityFile)