Mexico gang seen ramping up meth in Guatemala

[LiberalAndProud]

MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa drug cartel appears to be extending its massive production of methamphetamine into neighboring Guatemala, as hundreds of tons of precursor chemicals stream into the Central American nation.

While Mexico is usually estimated to be the main supplier of meth used in the United States, seizure data suggest that neighboring Guatemala could in fact be producing as much or more.

That data, along with interviews with U.S. and Guatemalan officials, also indicate that Sinaloa cartel chief Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is taking advantage of Guatemala’s remote, isolated mountains and an alliance with a key Guatemalan trafficker to make the Central American nation a new international meth production base.

Mexican authorities seized 675 tons of a key precursor chemical in December alone, and all of it was heading for Guatemala. Officials in Guatemala, meanwhile, have seized 7,847 barrels of precursors in 2011, equivalent to about 1,600 tons and far more than Mexico’s total seizures of 1,200 tons in the same year.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/world/9744864-418/mexico-gang-seen-ramping-up-meth-in-guatemala.html

[Taverner]

1. Legalize it, and 95% of the problems go away

Let Abbot Labs make an OTC version, and the violence, a majority of the health problems and cost goes away.

[LiberalAndProud]

2. or we could just ban Drano.

"The fact of the matter is, there are evil people in the world who will abuse the most normal, everyday household products for sinister aims," Rep. Rich Morthland, R-Cordova, said.
http://qctimes.com/news/local/illinois-to-require-id-for-some-cleaner-purchases/article_239ea346-3361-11e1-9a15-0019bb2963f4.html

[ellisonz]

3. The Struggle to Ban Precursor Chemicals

Monday, 20 June 2011 07:08
Written by Ronan Graham

So-called “precursors” are chemicals that are used to produce illegal drugs. For cocaine and heroin, chemicals like acetone, sulfuric acid and potassium permanganate are used to process coca leaves and poppy plants. Synthetic drugs like methamphetamine, on the other hand, are produced purely through reactions between chemicals.

Most precursor chemicals also have various legitimate uses in the manufacture of plastics, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and perfumes, amongst other things. This means that it is difficult to regulate these chemicals and stop them being acquired by drug producers.

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Mexican authorities responded to the increase in meth production within their borders with tougher controls on precursor chemicals. In January 2008 the import of pseudoephedrine and ephedrine, which are commonly brought in from China and India, were banned outright in Mexico. Authorities are working to clamp down on illegal labs and there have been a series of major precursor chemical seizures in recent months. In May, security forces seized more than 54 tons of precursor chemicals, destined for use in the production of methamphetamine. This follows the seizure of 38 tons of chemicals in April.

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Efforts to control precursor chemicals seem to produce a “balloon effect,” in which, as one country tightens its rules, production shifts into a place with laxer regulations. This kind of effect has been noted with coca production, which, in recent years, has risen in Peru and Bolivia as it dropped due to security advances in Colombia. With 57 governments across the globe reporting seizures of precursor chemicals to the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) last year, it is clear that international co-operation and a unified global strategy will be necessary to clamp down on the illegal use of these chemicals.

http://www.insightcrime.org/insight-latest-news/item/1109-the-struggle-to-ban-precursor-chemicals

Fuck Meth.