 | Over the past decade the US has experienced an epidemic of heroin use which has tripled the number of drug addicts and caused more than 40,000 deaths from overdoses. It has also boosted drug profits of the Mexican drug cartels. Traditionally, the heroin produced in Mexico has been dark brown, hence its nickname "Mexican chapopote", and was mainly consumed in the cities of the west coast of the United States. East Coast consumers prefer 'China White', a variety of white heroin, made popular by Chinese traffickers at the turn of the century. |
 | According to the CDC, the most common use of heroin is inhaled. When heroin has a higher purity it can be inhaled or smoked, making it more attractive to new users. China White from a recent bust was 98 percent pure. Neither Colombian nor Asian heroin can compete with Mexican in terms of cost and purity. One kilogram of Asian heroin wholesale can cost between $5,000 and $10,000 more than Mexican and purity is often half. The increase in supply, cheaper price, and increased purity of heroin in the United States have been identified as causes of increased use. |
 Often straight off the brick or kilo, heroin is sold - relatively pure & in wholesale quantities. | During the first half of the 1990s, Colombian cartels dominated the trafficking of heroin to the United States. Now Mexican traffickers have taken over. In 2014, 79 percent of the total heroin seized was produced in Mexico. Heroin seizures across the US have increased by 80 percent in five years, from 3.73 tons in 2011 to 6.72 tons in 2015. China White heroin contains a mixture of Mexican and Colombian poppies, and is processed using methods traditionally used in Southeast Asian countries. China White has the added benefit of being able to be cut with synthetics without any change in appearance. The sum of all these factors is that heroin is more dangerous and is spreading at unprecedented rates. |  |
