Since 2005 when over-the-counter sales of ingredients used to make methamphetamine were regulated, Mexicans are dominating the market. This leaves people to think meth is making a big comeback in the US, but the truth is it never left.
Special Agent Steve Whipple, with the Houston Division of the DEA, said meth never went away
"We've been seizing record quantities every year. Just this last week alone, we've seized over 1,000 pounds of meth in the Houston field division," said Whipple.
He said a lot of the meth is coming in from the Mexican cartels, through the Rio Grande Valley then to Houston.
"We're seeing a consistent flow from Mexico. The cartels have engineered, faster, quicker, cheaper ways to manufacture methamphetamines and large qualities of it. They're literally flooding the market," said Whipple.
He said meth is smuggled in from Mexico, usually as a liquid, then crystallized. In the Houston area the vast majority of meth users are smoking it.
In 2009, in Atlanta, the price was $10,000 a pound. Now, in the Rio Grande Valley, crystal meth can be bought for $2,000-$3,000 per kilo, which is about $1,000-$1,500 per pound. In Houston, it's about $3,500-$4,000 per kilo and goes up as it gets deeper inland.
Meth is also cheaper than heroin.
Whipple said in 2007-2008, there was a 30-40 percent purity rate. Today, it's more than 95 percent pure, which can kill you, it's not safe. It's also being mixed with fentanyl.