editorial comment Economics, Mr. Davis, economics. Heck, if they start fighting it, pills might get free soon! The more you fight it, the cheaper it gets. If you don't know that by now......

Figures showing that the price of hard drugs is continuing to fall are "a shocking indictment" of government failure, David Davis has said.

The shadow home secretary slammed ministers after figures published by the charity DrugScope revealed that ecstasy pills can now be bought for as little as 50 pence.

Today's survey also found that the price of heroin in Sheffield has halved, while dealers are selling 'two for one' heroin and crack 'party packs' to win new clients.

Ketamine, an anaesthetic with strong hallucinogenic qualities, was also found to be a "significant player in the UK drugs market".

The drug is currently legal, although the Home Office says it will be made a class C drug before the end of the year.

"As this survey shows, we are seeing significant regional variations in both drug usage and drug markets across the UK, with certain towns emerging as 'hubs' supplying the local region," said Harry Shapiro, editor of Druglink magazine which published the research.

"The emergence of ketamine as a key substance of choice is an entirely new phenomenon since we last carried out the survey in 2004, when it didn't figure at all."

Shadow home secretary David Davis said the survey proved that "far from winning the war on drugs, Labour haven't even begun to fight it".

"The fact that an ecstasy tablet can be bought for less than a can of coke is a shocking indictment of Labour's absolute failure to tackle the scourge of drugs," he added.

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