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The poppies used for heroin production can be grown in South America but most of it comes from Asia.

• tyingq 9y ago
  That's not what I see looking at reasonable sources. See https://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr2015/World_Drug_Report_2015.pdf https://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr2015/World_Drug_Report_20... for example. The vast majority of worldwide poppy for opiates is Asia, but the US is unique in that most of the poppy source for their heroin is coming from Columbia and Mexico. It is odd. Canada, for example, gets most of it's heroin via Afghanistan. The size of the lines in this map from the above mentioned resource is relative to the actual production source...where the poppies are, and where they end up as heroin. Note the fat lines from the south, and the thin one from the east. http://i.imgur.com/hvYXYeQ.png http://i.imgur.com/hvYXYeQ.png
  • knownothing 9y ago
    It does seem that most heroin consumed in the US originates in Mexico currently. However it is true that Afghanistan helps supply most (as in <90%) of the world's heroin, and their production is much greater than Mexico and South America as well. > The vast majority of worldwide poppy for opiates is Asia, but the US is unique in that most of the poppy source for their heroin is coming from Columbia and Mexico. It is odd. I think this is a signal that Mexican cartels have monopolized American markets. Smaller unaffiliated players are more likely to use trans-Pacific supply chains. It also seems that the cartels have vertically integrated their operations such that they now grow opium poppies and aren't reliant on South American countries for raw materials.