NEWS > HEALTH > ECONOMISTS CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC AS MEXICO RAMPS UP CRYSTAL METH PRODUCTION

ECONOMISTS CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC AS MEXICO RAMPS UP CRYSTAL METH PRODUCTION

August 13 2009

Mexico City, Mexico – For months now meth farms across Mexico have gone unused. Massive cauldrons once boiling 24 hours a day are collecting cobwebs. Former workers have been languishing, their talents going unused and unappreciated as
production of t he drug has reached standstill. With much of the focus on the languishing housing and banking sectors this is one field that has been largely ignored by economists and government programs designed to help stimulate the economy and help put people back to work. Now though a recent uptick in demand has started to give hope that the economy may in fact be getting back on track.

Across Mexico meth labs are once again starting to fire up and workers are starting to go back to work. Distribution avenues are starting to pick up and now Mexican drug officials are gaining confidence and are starting to ramp up production to nearly pre-recession levels as demand, particularly in the United States, starts to
increase. Now economists are starting to take notice for the first time and are citing the increased demand for hard drugs as one of the surest signs yet that the economy is well on its way to recovery.

“Traditionally the drug market has been one of the indicators of a strong economy. The general thinking is that as times get tough people begin to abuse more drugs, drink more, etc but that isn’t and never has been the case. People tend to indulge in more exotic vices when the dollars are rolling in and go for cheap highs when times are tough,” said economist Brent Caber. “There will always be a segment of the population that will indulge in low grade drugs no matter what the economic conditions but that is not what we are seeing here. This is high quality product being generated on a mass scale that is simply too much for the lower class. This level of production means there are more casual dollars in people’s pockets and that is a sure sign that customer confidence is starting to return.”

Other drugs such as heroin have also started to show increased demand, though it is meth that is seeing the biggest growth.

“There are places where the demand is so high that we just can’t keep up yet. Some areas are still down but others have gone from 0 to 100 almost overnight and that is making it very difficult for us to maintain supply. That’s why we’ve been forced to up our production so much. Our business is a buyer’s market and if we can’t supply they will go someplace else,” said a Mexican drug cartel official. “We are definitely not where we were at this
time last year but it is the best it’s been in a long time and that makes a lot of us happy. It makes all the effort, especially on the border, seem worth it after all.”

The drug war on the Mexico-U.S. border has also ramped up in recent months, something that has been seen by many officials as an indirect result of the dwindling economy and drug cartels battle for control amongst one another and against police officials.

“When money is rolling everyone is happy. It’s when times get tough that tension starts to eke into the system and you end up with tension and potentially violence. A lot of the conflict on the border has to do with that economic stress and now that that seems to be
moving towards alleviating we will likely see a decrease in the violence and the associated costs,” continued Caber. “Very soon I imagine we will start seeing other drugs such as heroin and cocaine back on the market in full force. That is not only a sign that the economy is improving but will help to flood dollars back into the system. When the ecosystem starts to break down you have problems but likewise when it starts to improve there are benefits across the board.”

According to drug and cartel officials there is no truth the rumour that much of the meth being produced is being dumped into rivers. They have assured us that all product is ending up in the hands of consumers.      

William Ashford, Business Correspondent   

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