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Drug That Killed Prince Is Making Mexican Cartels Richer, U.S. Says
Azam Ahmed
NY Times
6.9.16
MEXICO CITY — The drug that killed Prince has become a favorite of Mexican cartels because it is extremely potent, popular in the United States — and immensely profitable, American officials say.
Law enforcement and border authorities in the United States warn that Mexican cartels are using their own labs to produce the drug, fentanyl, as well as receiving shipments from China. Then the cartels distribute the substance through their vast smuggling networks to meet rising American demand for opiates and pharmaceuticals.
“It is really the next migration of the cartels in terms of making profit,” said Jack Riley, acting deputy administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration. “This goes to the heart of the marketing genius of the cartels. They saw this coming.”
It is still unclear how Prince, who the authorities say died of an overdose of fentanyl in April, obtained the drug. Doctors can prescribe fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, for cancer patients and for palliative care, including end of life treatment.
But the presence of illicit fentanyl is surging to levels not seen since 2006, when a similar streak of overdose deaths in the United States was connected to a single laboratory in Mexico.
...
Link!
Azam Ahmed
NY Times
6.9.16
MEXICO CITY — The drug that killed Prince has become a favorite of Mexican cartels because it is extremely potent, popular in the United States — and immensely profitable, American officials say.
Law enforcement and border authorities in the United States warn that Mexican cartels are using their own labs to produce the drug, fentanyl, as well as receiving shipments from China. Then the cartels distribute the substance through their vast smuggling networks to meet rising American demand for opiates and pharmaceuticals.
“It is really the next migration of the cartels in terms of making profit,” said Jack Riley, acting deputy administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration. “This goes to the heart of the marketing genius of the cartels. They saw this coming.”
It is still unclear how Prince, who the authorities say died of an overdose of fentanyl in April, obtained the drug. Doctors can prescribe fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, for cancer patients and for palliative care, including end of life treatment.
But the presence of illicit fentanyl is surging to levels not seen since 2006, when a similar streak of overdose deaths in the United States was connected to a single laboratory in Mexico.
...
Link!
