For decades, news stories have been publicizing the nefarious actions of America’s drug cartels. Whether it’s cocaine, heroin, or what have you, these organized crime syndicates have built literal empires off of the sales of illegal narcotics. And one new report is highlighting their recent hold on the opioid market, with potentially billions of dollars earned off of black market pills.
There is no denying that the opioid crisis has got a serious stranglehold on a large portion of the nation. Tens of thousands are dying from overdoses each year and many more are feeding their habits daily. That’s where the cartels come in, capitalizing on the addictions by selling synthetic painkillers and heroin strains.
That, in itself, is an alarming scenario, but what makes things even worse is that the drugs these groups are selling may be responsible for the country’s increasing overdose rate. One study, published by TheFix.com, claims that between the years 2013 and 2016, deaths from synthetic opioids increased by more than 84 percent.
With cravings at all-time high and prescription meds unaccessible to many, these black market opioids are becoming the “go-to drug” of choice for the millions who are dependent. The trouble is, many of the cartels are adding an extra layer of potency to their synthetic products, lacing the pills with heroin and other addictive substances (in the hopes that customers continue to return).
Worse yet, according to new data from The Crime Report; several other narcotics may be blended into these synthetic batches.
“The practice of mixing synthetics into other substances has expanded beyond heroin, with users and dealers mixing synthetics with stimulants like cocaine,” Report writers shared in their most recent findings. “Transnational criminal organizations have been capitalizing on the nation’s rising opioid dependency by producing and distributing an abundant supply of these illicit and lethal opioids… the nation’s significant efforts to curb the availability of prescription opioids may have shifted demand to more potent, illegal opioids.”
One other telling stat from the Report compared the amount of prescription opioid overdoses to those that had come from black market products. Their findings show that prescription overdose fatalities actually decreased over the past few years and that the synthetic OD’s have been responsible for the growing national average.
Clearly this merits a strong warning for anyone looking to get their opioid products off of the street. Understand that these blends can be extremely dangerous. If your dependency has gotten to that level, please get help before it’s too late.
