U.S. Warns of Cheap, Deadly ‘Black’ Heroin

Drug enforcement officials are becoming increasingly worried about a new form of Mexican heroin called “black tar” that is as much as 40 times stronger and 10 times cheaper than normal and may have killed hundreds of U.S. users, a spokesman said today.

Cornelius Dougherty, a Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman, said the super-potent, dangerous drug is called black tar because it has the color and consistency of roofing tar, and is produced and distributed by a new order of amateur Mexican processors and smugglers.

Dougherty said the new heroin is now sold in 27 states--up from four in 1983, and reports from hospital emergency rooms indicate it has caused dozens, perhaps hundreds, of overdose deaths and thousands of injuries in the last year.

The DEA said that whereas an average-size 10 milligram dose of conventional Mexican heroin sells for about $24, the same dose of black tar sells on the street for as little as $2.50.

90% Purity

The agency added that dealers often sell black tar at purities of 90% or more, with typical purity of 60% to 70%. Conventional powdered Mexican heroin usually ranges from 2% to 6% in purity.

Dougherty said black tar “has been around for a couple of years” and is produced by Mexican farmers in the states of Durango, Sinaloa and Sonora in northern Mexico who use a simplified process to produce the heroin from their own opium poppy crops, thus accounting for the new heroin’s low price as well as its high purity. The process also allows “a lot of contaminants,” he said.

“We are concentrating a lot of our resources and people onto the problem,” Dougherty said. “We hope we can turn the tide.”

Asked what progress is being made, Dougherty said, “We’re worried about it.”

Dougherty said Mexico was the No. 1 source of heroin into the United States 10 years ago, but dropped to No. 3 during the late 1970s due to a joint U.S.-Mexican eradication effort.

Asked if the United States still is getting cooperation from Mexican authorities, Dougherty said, “To a certain degree.”