Illicit drugs are not immune to the laws of supply and demand. So it was no surprise when reports of black market price rises started filtering in from around the world after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic last year.
But while lockdowns, closed borders and fewer flights could all be blamed for the spikes, the United States Drug Enforcement Agency found in at least some cases, the motivation was pure greed.
And while similar price rises in Australia and Europe have been linked to users cutting back, one Australian expert warns that s unlikely to last.
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A photo of a 2018 meth haul in Australia.(AFP)
Of course, no pot-calypse has taken place in these parts. But as evidenced in a March report from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the feds still have great antipathy for Colorado cannabis. References to the state s legalization of the product in the annual National Drug Threat Assessment are filled with heavy-handed invective and warnings about how crime organizations are using local standards for their own nefarious purposes.
Marijuana is only one of many topics discussed in the NDTA, with fentanyl, whose impact on Coloradans has been growing in truly troubling ways, among the substances spotlighted. A supplement to the assessment by the DEA s Denver field division points out the state s significant increase in the trafficking of illicit fentanyl and methamphetamine compared to previous years. With the increase in availability of fentanyl and methamphetamine, drug-poisoning and overdose-related deaths have risen significantly. The Denver metro area alone saw fentanyl-related
American daughter of Mexico s fugitive cartel leader pleads guilty dailymail.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymail.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Jessica Oseguera reportedly reached a deal with United States authorities
Documents filed in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday indicate she will plead guilty at a court hearing on Friday
Seguera is the American-born daughter of Nemesio El Mencho Oseguera
She was arrested in February 2020 while attending a court session for her jailed brother, Rubén El Menchito Oseguera, in Washington, D.C.
El Mencho is the leader of Jalisco New Generation Cartel, seen by many as one of the two most powerful criminal organizations in Mexico
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, the cartel is No. 2 behind Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán s Sinaloa Cartel in the U.S.
Juan Manuel Abouzaid was arrested in Jalisco, Mexico, on Tuesday afternoon
Abouzaid is accused by Mexico and the United States of being tied to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel
The U.S. Department of Treasury designated him as a drug trafficker under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act or Kingpin Act last Wednesday
He is accused of coordinating the shipments of drugs and laundering money for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel