Although law enforcement operations are not likely to have been the direct force behind the 2001 heroin drought, and police and Customs cannot aggressively attack the drug problem in source countries, one should not lose sight that law enforcement crime reduction strategies have the potential to address the more pervasive effects of illicit drugs, the social environment which allows crime to flourish. In October 2001, the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOSCAR) reported that Australia was in the mist of a “heroin drought.” A dramatic drop in heroin use and expenditure, as well as the number of heroin overdoses was found. The observance of a heroin shortage provides an opportunity to assess the effectiveness of anti-drug strategies. If the cause of the shortage could be determined, it would help in focusing future drug policy efforts. The chief reasons for the heroin drought put forward by BOSCAR were seizures by law enforcement agencies, the arrest of significant personalities in the supply and distribution chain, and a severe water drought in the poppy growing regions of Myanmar. It cannot be completely ruled out that Australian law enforcement may have had a hand in bringing about the drought. By reviewing the theories which circulated in drug policy circles after the discovery of the supply shortage, this paper assesses the origins of the 2001 Australian “heroin drought.” 1 figure