The Fentanyl Trade Through Mexico, Explained in 8 Graphs

[TomSea]

The Fentanyl Trade Through Mexico, Explained in 8 Graphs

Fentanyl use is booming in the United States. With support from the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, InSight Crime mapped the distribution chain, and the role of Mexico’s criminal organizations in the trade in our series about fentanyl. Below are our graphic illustrations of the trade.   



The alarming spike in synthetic opioid overdose deaths and the accompanying rise in the presence of fentanyl shows just how quickly long-established supply and demand for drugs can be overthrown. In a grim application of free market theory, fentanyl is the newest, cheapest, most easily-manufactured product. Demand has soared, and users are paying the price by the thousands.

Read more at: https://www.insightcrime.org/investigations/fentanyl-trade-mexico-explained-8-graphs/

New website for me, this article is from the Wilson Center, so for whatever people think of Woodrow, the think tank may well come up with some useful information.  I'll look at this more.

[Victoria33]

@TomSea

I have posted this before.  My husband had ankylosing spondylitis (bone disease), and the pain doc put him on Fentanyl patches on his chest; wearing one every day.  Doc told me not to touch one, as just a touch would send the med through my skin.  I have read law enforcement people must wear gloves and masks if they think they are near Fentanyl.  No wonder it kills people, as it invades the skin so fast.

[Sanguine]

Fentanyl has been around for many years - 50+.  Something has changed.

[Smokin Joe]

Fentanyl has been around for many years - 50+.  Something has changed.

Yep someone discovered on the street that it could be used in place of, or in addition to heroin as a street drug. Dosage and method of administration matter, and street users were getting 'burned' by lethal dosages injected.

Carfentanyl has showed up in a couple of places (used to tranquilize elephants, and about 100X as strong) and was probably going to be 'cut' to street level dosages, which would require someone who really knew what they were doing, given the potency of the drug. But either (Fentanyl or Carfentanyl) allows large numbers of doses in a small package, which equates to high street value and more difficult detection of transshipments.

As you noted, skin contact or inhaling dust from an open package can be lethal because of the transdermal absorption of the drug, even more effective in nasal and pharyngeal mucosa. For exampe:
https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/ohio-cop-overdoses-after-drug-stop-are-you-danger-accidental-fentanyl-exposure/5BBCyoD6LWGa4TBpVJz66M/

[Sanguine]

Yep someone discovered on the street that it could be used in place of, or in addition to heroin as a street drug. Dosage and method of administration matter, and street users were getting 'burned' by lethal dosages injected.

Carfentanyl has showed up in a couple of places (used to tranquilize elephants, and about 100X as strong) and was probably going to be 'cut' to street level dosages, which would require someone who really knew what they were doing, given the potency of the drug. But either (Fentanyl or Carfentanyl) allows large numbers of doses in a small package, which equates to high street value and more difficult detection of transshipments.

As you noted, skin contact or inhaling dust from an open package can be lethal because of the transdermal absorption of the drug, even more effective in nasal and pharyngeal mucosa. For exampe:
https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/ohio-cop-overdoses-after-drug-stop-are-you-danger-accidental-fentanyl-exposure/5BBCyoD6LWGa4TBpVJz66M/

Great info, @Smokin Joe.  I think something more evil has happened.  I understand that most of the street fentanyl comes from China.  It sounds to me like this is a deliberate effort to create a drug problem.   There are always potential addicts, but many of them will not descend to that level unless an addictive drug is easily available.  And, apparently, those who aren't killed outright by overdosing become addicted.   

[EdJames]

That's right, China sees getting dangerous products into American consumers as another front of their war against us.

Highly addictive, fatal drugs?  Check.

Poisons in pet foods?  Check.

Poisons in personal care products?  Check.

Poisons in coatings on toys?  Check.

China has been waging a multi-front 'cold' war on the US for a very long time.

[Smokin Joe]

That's right, China sees getting dangerous products into American consumers as another front of their war against us.

Highly addictive, fatal drugs?  Check.

Poisons in pet foods?  Check.

Poisons in personal care products?  Check.

Poisons in coatings on toys?  Check.

China has been waging a multi-front 'cold' war on the US for a very long time.

@Sanguine It's called Asymmetrical Warfare. It has been going on for a long time, while China has been gathering both tech and commercial assets with a dual use capability for a long time, at least since the Clintons were in the White House. 

Fentanyl and Carfentanyl have been around for a while, and are just being used as substitute opioids for Heroin, guaranteeing no one needs poppy fields to get a monkey on their back. Where China has stayed one step ahead is in the manufacture of synthetic drugs, often in "Spice" and sometimes sold just as what they are. It's a to-order market in substances that are so new they aren't listed as criminal, so the trade is pretty much unregulated. 'bath salts" are one example of the typ of substance involved, and a single use does brain damage. Nancy Reagan was right...

[Sanguine]

@Sanguine It's called Asymmetrical Warfare. It has been going on for a long time, while China has been gathering both tech and commercial assets with a dual use capability for a long time, at least since the Clintons were in the White House. 

Fentanyl and Carfentanyl have been around for a while, and are just being used as substitute opioids for Heroin, guaranteeing no one needs poppy fields to get a monkey on their back. Where China has stayed one step ahead is in the manufacture of synthetic drugs, often in "Spice" and sometimes sold just as what they are. It's a to-order market in substances that are so new they aren't listed as criminal, so the trade is pretty much unregulated. 'bath salts" are one example of the typ of substance involved, and a single use does brain damage. Nancy Reagan was right...

I'm watching Gen. Jack Keane on Mark Levin's show right now.  The general pretty much agrees with your general drift.

[Smokin Joe]

I'm watching Gen. Jack Keane on Mark Levin's show right now.  The general pretty much agrees with your general drift.

One of the reasons I really recommend reading Sun Tsu's Art of War. If you get what he says, you begin to wrap your head around the incredible number of ways that even the most powerful force can be defeated by modest means. That is best done in peacetime, like termites seating away at the supporting elements of a structure. After that, the wind can bring the whole thing down.