Poppies, Opium and Heroin Production in Colombia and Mexico

Poppy cultivation in Mexico and Colombia is part of a local economy geared almost exclusively toward the illegal market abroad: it is driven by demand for heroin, primarily in the United States.

North America, including Canada, is currently experiencing a major humanitarian crisis related to this use and the opioids circulating on this market. To understand the dynamics of this market and to evaluate whether political responses to the phenomenon are appropriate and effective, we present this report on opium poppy cultivation in Mexico and Colombia, which, together with Guatemala, are the poppy-producing countries of Latin America. While it was not possible to include Guatemala in this study, we attempt to provide some relevant information about this Central American country.

Table of contents:

• Introduction
• The History of Opium and its Uses
• Legal Opium
• Heroin and the System of Prohibition
• Illegal Opium
• A Brief History of Opium in Colombia and Mexico
• Poppies in Guatemala
• Cultivation and Production
• From Planting to Gum
• Crop Association and Rotation Cultivation and Harvesting Techniques
• Who Participates
• Yields
• Estimated Size of Crops in Colombia and Mexico
• From Gum to Heroin
• Poppies in the Family Farming Economy: Colombia
• Production in Mexico
• Heroin Consumption in Mexico
• The Price of Gum
• Mexican and Colombian Heroin on the U.S. Market
• Shifting Supply Sources
• The Current Opioid Epidemic
• The INCs and UNKs of the DEA Figures
• The Production Paradox
• Types of Heroin
• Externalizing the Threat
• Conclusions and Recommendations
• Notes
• Bibliography

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