In the context of drug policy, what does it mean if demand is inelastic?

• A. Price increases will greatly reduce consumption.
• B. Demand for many drugs is inelastic; price changes have limited impact on use; prevention and treatment often required in addition to regulation.
• C. Demand is perfectly elastic; price changes have huge impact.
• D. Price controls eliminate use completely.

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is how sensitive drug use is to price, known as the elasticity of demand. When demand is inelastic, people continue using a drug even if its price rises, so price changes produce only small changes in how much is used. This happens with many addictive substances because dependence, cravings, and withdrawal make consumption less responsive to cost. In drug policy, that means simply raising prices or punishing use (regulation alone) won’t dramatically cut consumption. To actually reduce use and related harms, strategies often combine regulation with prevention (to stop new users) and treatment (to help current users reduce or stop).

So the best answer reflects that price changes have limited impact on use, and prevention and treatment are often needed in addition to regulation.

Why the other options don’t fit: they imply that price changes would cause large shifts in use (elastic demand) or that price controls would completely eliminate use, which isn’t consistent with the typical inelastic nature of demand for addictive drugs.