The dangerous and complicated economics of Mexican Fentanyl

A Times investigation revealed that methamphetamine-laced prescription drugs are being sold by some farmacias in tourist areas of Mexico. The question is: Why?

Mexican cartels have made huge money over the years by trafficking drugs. The trade was dominated for decades by hard drugs like heroin and cocaine. However, in recent years, criminal organizations have overtaken the underground fentanyl marketplace, surpassing China as the main U.S. supplier.

A Los Angeles Times investigation that was published Thursday revealed a new front in cartels' attempts to make illicit fentanyl money. Reporters discovered that pharmacies were selling counterfeit pills laced in more powerful substances like methamphetamine and fentanyl in three northwestern Mexican cities.

Experts believe that the pills were likely made by cartels who want to pass them off for legitimate, but difficult-to-get pharmaceuticals like oxycodone or Adderall. Some readers wondered: Why would cartels make fake pills and then inject them with deadly drugs?Chelsea Shover, a UCLA researcher, said that fentanyl has largely replaced heroin because it is easier to make, and you don't even need a poppy fields. She was the senior author of a study that mirrored the Times investigation. You can purchase a pill press online to make convincing fakes.

Jaime Arredondo, Canada research chair on substance abuse at the University of Victoria, stated that "For a long period it was difficult to get physicians to prescribe pain medication. They changed the law in 2015 to make it easier in theory, but it seems that doctors are still reluctant to prescribe pain medication." And Dr. David Goodman Meza, an assistant professor at UCLA, who is also one the study's coauthors, stated that it's primarily U.S. buyers driving the demand for fake pharmaceuticals. This is not because they want them, but because they are looking for the real deal.

He said that this is especially true since we have slowed down access to opioids in the U.S. to "solve" our drug problem." Selling fentanyl as pills is marketing to a population that may not want to try 'hard drugs.

Pills were generally priced between $15-$35 at the pharmacies Times reporters visited last week. These prices are prohibitive for many local drug users. Arredondo also explained that the Mexican market for oxycodone is not large due to the reluctance of Mexican doctors to prescribe strong painkillers.

Steffanie Strathdee is a distinguished professor of medicine at UC San Diego, and another coauthor of the UCLA-led research." Tourists have greater resources and the cartels know that." Romain Le Cour Grandmaison is a senior expert at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. However, it is difficult to estimate how much money counterfeit drugs generate for cartels." How profitable is all this? That's one of my questions. What does it really cost to make it from A to Z? He said that there are so many figures out there, and the uncertainty is crazy." Contrary to the cocaine trade, where researchers have a strong understanding of the economic model from South America's growing fields to New York City's streets, there is very little reliable data about the economics of fentanyl trafficking and selling and manufacturing fentanyl-laced pills.

Keri Blakinger is the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department reporter. Before joining the Los Angeles Times, in 2023, Blakinger spent nearly seven years living in Texas. She first covered criminal justice for The Houston Chronicle, then she covered prisons for The Marshall Project. Her work has been featured in numerous publications, including the BBC, the New York Daily News and Vice. She also contributed to the Washington Post Magazine's 2019 reporting on women locked up, which earned her a National Magazine Award."Corrections In Ink," a 2022 memoir, is her book.