The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimate profits derived from illicit drug trafficking worldwide at about $600 billion, or 7.6% of global trade. Up to 1.5 trillion dollars in drug money are laundered through legal enterprises, accounting for 5% of global GDP. Given these figures, the drug trade can legitimately be seen as its own sector within the larger black-market economy. Currently, criminal organizations get 70% of their revenue from illicit drug trafficking.

The profit margin for drug dealing ranges from 300% to 2,000%. Transnational and local criminal organizations get involved in the drug trade to obtain the maximum possible profits in the shortest possible time.

According to data from U.S. law-enforcement agencies, addicts spend $30 to $50 a day on drugs. A heroin addict in Germany spends an average of 150 euros a day, while a Russian heroin addict spends 1,200-2,000 rubles a day.

Revenues from opiate exports from Afghanistan (in billions of dollars)

2000 …………. 0.9

2001 …………. No statistics available

2002 …………. 2.5

2003 …………. 2.3

2004 …………. 2.8

2005 …………. 2.5

2006 ………….. 3.1

2007 ………….. 4.0

2008 ………….. 3.4

2009 ………….. 2.8