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Worldwide Heroin Situation, 1991

NCJ Number
141187
Date Published
1992
Length
53 pages
Annotation
This report describes the sources, purity, prices, and trafficking of heroin in the United States, Africa, Southeast and Southwest Asia, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Europe, and the Middle East in 1991 and discusses recent trends in heroin production and drug law enforcement.
Abstract
The data indicate a sharp increase in opium and heroin production, indicating increased availability of heroin. The 1.4 metric tons of heroin seized in the United States during 1991 represented a significant increase in 1990. The worldwide production of opium has increased 33 percent since 1988. As a result, the Drug Enforcement Administration has designed special enforcement programs focused on the highest-level drug trafficking organizations that are manufacturing and distributing heroin in the United States. The crucial factor influencing heroin production over the next decade will be demand. Although reliable data are unavailable, the National Institute on Drug Abuse estimated that almost 700,000 people used heroin at least once during 1991. Snorting of heroin appears to be increasing. Photographs, maps, and appended tables and figures