Drug prices in Sweden mapped in new report
- Nordic Alcohol and Drug Policy Network
- May 6
- 2 min read
06.05.2025 - The annual report on drug prices in Sweden has now been released. The report is based on data collected from police districts across the country. The Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other Drugs (CAN) has been gathering information on street prices for various drugs since the 1980s.
In this new report, CAN outlines price trends for several drug types between 1988 and 2024. The term "street price" refers to the cost of small quantities intended for personal use. Since 2010, the report has also included data on wholesale prices for larger quantities.
“Tracking price developments helps us understand how drug availability has changed,” says Ulf Guttormsson, Head of Department at CAN and author of the report. “Today’s prices are relatively low, indicating high availability.”
Since 2020, several global and domestic events have occurred that might have been expected to drive up street prices. Examples include the COVID-19 pandemic with its travel and transport restrictions, intercepted communications among criminals, general cost increases due to rising inflation, and the weakening of the Swedish krona. In addition, drug seizures have been particularly extensive in recent years, while conflict levels among criminal networks have remained high.
“However, when comparing the 2024 prices to those of the relatively unaffected year 2019, no general increase can be seen. And when adjusted for inflation, prices have in fact decreased,” says Ulf Guttormsson.
“This suggests that the drug market has been fairly resilient to these external events,” he adds.
Wholesale prices have also declined compared to 2019, especially when adjusted for inflation. In addition to strong competition in the current Swedish market, lower purchase prices may also have contributed to the price drops observed over the past five years.
