The annual United States Government estimate of “Mexican Poppy Cultivation and Heroin Production” found poppy cultivation reached a record high in 2017. Poppy cultivation in Mexico rose 38 percent, from 32,000 hectares in 2016 to 44,100 hectares in 2017. Similarly, potential pure production rose by 37 percent, from 81 metric tons in 2016 to 111 metric tons in 2017.
Provisional data suggests over 49,000 Americans, or 134 per day, died of opioid involved overdoses in 2017; nearly 16,000 of these deaths involved heroin. This increase in Mexican poppy cultivation and heroin production represents an increased threat to the United States.
President Trump is committed to addressing drug demand and the opioid crisis, and has taken steps to save lives through effective drug abuse prevention, evidence-based addiction treatment, and law enforcement actions.
The consequences of heroin trafficking are felt by the citizens of both the United States and Mexico. The United States Government will work to enhance its longstanding partnership with the Government of Mexico to address this problem.
