How Much Does a Dose of Heroin Cost in Juárez?
How Much Money is Generated in One Year from Local Sales of Illegal Drugs in Juárez?
How Many Drug Addicts Are there in Juárez?
How Much Money is Generated in One Year from Local Sales of Illegal Drugs in Juárez?
How Many Drug Addicts Are there in Juárez?
Source:
Data used in the first three paragraphs of this report: Diario de Juárez, November 16, 2018, "Controlan Cinco Bandas Narcomenudeo."
Marijuana: This is the cheapest and most popular high; price is one to three dollars per joint
Heroin: Three dollars to $3.50 (US) per dose; the most expensive, called a "pelotita" (little ball) is $4.00
Cocaine: Five dollars to $7.50 for two lines.
Crystal Meth: Between $4.00 and $6.00, depending on the quantity
Warning: Over 5000 arrests were made last year in Juárez of adults selling drugs, plus more than 500 minors. Picaderos and people buying drugs from puchadores may be under surveillance by police or rivals. I strongly recommend against trying to purchase illegal drugs there. This is a dangerous business and it is not hard to get into serious trouble--read on.
About
7000 people in Juárez are involved in the retail sales of these drugs.
Police estimate that last year conflict over the retail sale of drugs
for local consumption resulted in about 900 of the 1247 homicides
registered by police.
The Observatorio de Prevencion, Seguridad y Justicia de Juarez (click here), an NGO keeping tabs on various security issues for Juarez, estimates there are about 45,000 drug addicts in Cd. Juárez today. That is about 3% of the total population. By comparison, 9% of Baltimore is addicted to heroin alone (60,000 addicts out of a population of 645,000). And nationwide about one in twelve teenagers, and about one in six young adults from 18-25, are afflicted with a "substance use disorder." I wasn't able to find comparable stats for Albuquerque, but New Mexico ranks No. 3 in the nation for teenage drug use, so it must be much higher than Juárez. Bottom line: In spite of rapid growth in usage, drug abuse is not as prevalent in Juarez as in the US, at least not yet.
The Observatorio de Prevencion, Seguridad y Justicia de Juarez (click here), an NGO keeping tabs on various security issues for Juarez, estimates there are about 45,000 drug addicts in Cd. Juárez today. That is about 3% of the total population. By comparison, 9% of Baltimore is addicted to heroin alone (60,000 addicts out of a population of 645,000). And nationwide about one in twelve teenagers, and about one in six young adults from 18-25, are afflicted with a "substance use disorder." I wasn't able to find comparable stats for Albuquerque, but New Mexico ranks No. 3 in the nation for teenage drug use, so it must be much higher than Juárez. Bottom line: In spite of rapid growth in usage, drug abuse is not as prevalent in Juarez as in the US, at least not yet.
Sales
of illicit drugs in Juárez generate about $150 million (dollars) per
year, in a city of about 1.5 million. That amounts of $100 (US) per capita. By comparison, he annual budget for the Municipality of Juárez is a little over $200 million.
Stated slightly differently, the 7000 persons involved in selling retail drugs in Juarez generate an average of more than $21,000 each in sales (150 million divided by 7000), in a city in which per capita income is about $3800 per year (New Mexico per capita income in 2017 was about $41,000). Most of the sales force, however, is very poor, unemployed, and likely to be addicted. Their lifestyles are not improving from the sales they make. Others make the big profits.
The explosion of local drug consumption has taken place almost entirely in the last two decades, driven by three forces. First, the Juárez cartel made a decision about two decades ago to begin paying some of their local business associates--drivers, warehousers, security forces, etc.-- in cocaine packages rather than in cash. Since not all of this ended up crossing into the US, there was an immediate increase in the supply of cocaine available in Juárez, a strong motivator to dramatically increase the local market size for cocaine. Since then the market for heroin and crystal meth has skyrocketed. Second, as the Sinaloa cartel gained strength in Juárez around 2007, both the Juárez cartel and the Sinaloa cartel began to use prison gang members in Juárez and El Paso as security forces. These gangs began taking over local retail marketing, aggressively pushing recreational use of drugs. Third, for reasons still heatedly debated, popular culture in Juárez grew more tolerant of recreational use of drugs in the past fifteen years, particularly among youths, apparently from all class backgrounds.
Stated slightly differently, the 7000 persons involved in selling retail drugs in Juarez generate an average of more than $21,000 each in sales (150 million divided by 7000), in a city in which per capita income is about $3800 per year (New Mexico per capita income in 2017 was about $41,000). Most of the sales force, however, is very poor, unemployed, and likely to be addicted. Their lifestyles are not improving from the sales they make. Others make the big profits.
The explosion of local drug consumption has taken place almost entirely in the last two decades, driven by three forces. First, the Juárez cartel made a decision about two decades ago to begin paying some of their local business associates--drivers, warehousers, security forces, etc.-- in cocaine packages rather than in cash. Since not all of this ended up crossing into the US, there was an immediate increase in the supply of cocaine available in Juárez, a strong motivator to dramatically increase the local market size for cocaine. Since then the market for heroin and crystal meth has skyrocketed. Second, as the Sinaloa cartel gained strength in Juárez around 2007, both the Juárez cartel and the Sinaloa cartel began to use prison gang members in Juárez and El Paso as security forces. These gangs began taking over local retail marketing, aggressively pushing recreational use of drugs. Third, for reasons still heatedly debated, popular culture in Juárez grew more tolerant of recreational use of drugs in the past fifteen years, particularly among youths, apparently from all class backgrounds.
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