It may not be the preferred measure by economists and policy makers, but the Canadian government has noticed an interesting trend among organized crime groups -- they, too, are ditching the dollar:

The weakened US dollar has fallen out of favor with organized crime groups to pay for drug shipments or to settle scores, a Canadian government report said Friday. And if the greenback continues its slide in 2008, as expected, more and more criminals are likely to exchange euros for illicit goods, said Criminal Intelligence Service Canada in its annual report.

The report also cites increasing incidence of "environmental crime" -- groups developing "underground markets for electronic waste and scarce natural resources." If nothing else, Canadian organized crime seems to be ahead of the curve. Money laundering and racketeering sound so 20th century.