Transcript Marijuana Harmless?

Where it all began…
Rich in poppy and marijuana
cultivation
Marijuana demand explodes
Opium traffickers in
Sinaloa referred to as
“Gomeros”
3.5 to 5 tons per week
1st to use aircraft
Pedro Aviles
Perez
Pioneer drug lord
1st generation of
drug smugglers
SINALOA CARTEL
BORDER CROSSING METHODS
BORDER SMUGGLING METHODS: TUNNELS
BORDER TUNNEL METHODS: TUNNELS IN HOMES
BORDER SMUGGLING METHODS:
ULTRALIGHT AIRCRAFT
AUGUST 7, 2013
14,486 LBS MARIJUANA SEIZED IN WEST DESERT
Law Enforcment Sensitive
SOUTHWEST BORDER MARIJUANA SEIZURES
(PROVIDED IN KILOGRAMS BY FISCAL YEAR)
Source: EPIC NSS
Prescription Opioid Abuse: A First Step to Heroin Use?
Prescription opioid pain medications such as Oxycontin and Vicodin
can have effects similar to heroin when taken in doses or in ways
other than prescribed, and they are currently among the most
commonly abused drugs in the United States. Research now suggests
that abuse of these drugs may open the door to heroin abuse.
Nearly half of young people who inject heroin surveyed in three
recent studies reported abusing prescription opioids before starting
to use heroin. Some individuals reported taking up heroin because
it is cheaper and easier to obtain than prescription opioids.
Many of these young people also report that crushing prescription
opioid pills to snort or inject the powder provided their initiation into
these methods of drug administration.
259% increase
Source: EPIC National Seizure System
124% increase
Source: EPIC National Seizure System
Mexican Production of Methamphetamine is Booming
By Join Together Staff | May 10, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed in Drugs
Mexican authorities have shut down a record number of industrial methamphetamine labs in
recent months, Reuters reports. U.S. drug agents fear Mexico’s growing meth production will
result in a sudden surge in supply in this country.
In the first quarter of this year, Mexican soldiers raided 27 industrial meth labs, double the
number raided in the same period last year, and the largest number in any three-month period,
the article notes. In February, they recovered 15 tons of processed crystal, one of the largest
seizures of the drug ever made worldwide.
The United States passed the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act in 2005, which made it
more difficult for meth makers to obtain the cold medicine ingredients pseudoephedrine and
ephedrine that are used to make meth. While U.S. production of the drug decreased, Mexican
production soared.
“We are a victim of our own success,” Matthew Allen, special agent in charge of Immigration and
Customs Enforcement in Arizona, told Reuters. “When you look at domestic meth labs, those
numbers have fallen off the table. But where have they gone? Mexico.”
Quantities of meth being moved north from Mexico into the United States are increasing. Last
year, U.S. agents brought in 20,000 pounds of meth on the southwest border, double the amount
seized in 2008. Agents say street prices for meth are staying flat or decreasing, a sign that there is
an abundant supply.
Mexico has made it more difficult to buy meth ingredients from pharmacies, but drug cartels are
importing their own shipments of chemicals, the article notes. These chemicals often are
imported by companies that seem legitimate, making it more difficult to find them.
There's a Lime Shortage in America, and the Reason
Is Straight Out of a “Breaking Bad” Episode
As the lime supply grew more and more valuable,
a Mexican gang saw an opening for an investment
opportunity.
Powerful
Wealthy
Vindictive
Adaptable
The Sinaloa Cartel is not
just a drug organization,
it’s a Criminal Organization.