Jorge A. Villatoro Velázquez

Demand for illicit drugs in the U.S. is high, and drug trafficking and stockpiling in Mexican border towns before delivery to the U.S. has contributed to high rates of drug consumption in northern border cities compared to the rest of Mexico. Of particular concern is methamphetamine use. Concurrent with increases in the U.S., the proportion of treatment admissions attributed to methamphetamine in Mexico increased from 3% in 1996 to 20% in 2006.

Methamphetamine use is particularly problematic in the northwestern states of Baja California and Sonora. Data from school surveys indicate that, between 1991 and 2006, lifetime use among boys in grades 7-9 increased from 2.6% to 4.6% in Baja California and 2.6% to 6.2% in Sonora. Notably, these two states are located adjacent to California and Arizona, which also have higher rates of methamphetamine use than surrounding states.

Drug use differs on Mexico's northeast border. While 44% of all drug treatment admissions in 2003 in Baja California were for methamphetamine, the proportion in the Mexican states bordering Texas was only 1%. On the U.S. side, methamphetamine accounted for 31% of treatment admissions in California in 2003 but only 8% of admissions in Texas. Cocaine was the major drug for which clients entered treatment in 2003 in the Texas-northeastern Mexico border region.

The types and rates of drug use on both sides of the Mexico-U.S. border are heavily influenced by drug trafficking routes. Collaborative efforts are needed to decrease both supply and demand of illicit drugs in the border region.