Heroin availability in the US – and overdose deaths related to drug – has skyrocketed over the past several years.
Eleven of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s 21 field divisions in the US rated it has the number-one drug threat in 2016. And while the DEA says heroin from Mexico, South America, Southwest Asia, and Southeast Asia is all available in the US, the agency’s testing and research indicate that the US’s southern neighbor is the dominant source.
“Mexico and, to a lesser extent, Colombia dominate the US heroin market because of their proximity, established transportation and distribution infrastructure, and ability to satisfy heroin demand in the United States,” the DEA notes in its 2017 National Drug Threat Assessment.
Mexican cartels’ shift to producing heroin – as well as synthetic drugs like fentanyl – has been driven in part by loosening marijuana laws in the US, and the Sinaloa cartel appears to be the main player in a lucrative market.
[contentcards url=”http://www.businessinsider.in/Mexican-heroin-is-flooding-the-US-and-the-Sinaloa-cartel-is-steering-the-flow/articleshow/61707860.cms” target=”_blank”]