According to the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, there were an estimated 948,000 individuals (0.4% of the 12 and older population) who reported using heroin within the past year—up from 0.2% to 0.3% of this population reporting use in the previous decade. In addition to increases in heroin use and abuse, there has been a simultaneous increase in its availability in the United States over the past decade. This has been fueled by a number of factors, including increased production and trafficking of heroin—principally by Mexican criminal networks. Mexican drug traffickers have been expanding their control of the U.S. heroin market, though the United States still receives some heroin from South America and Southwest Asia as well. They are the major suppliers and key producers of most illegal drugs smuggled into the United States, and they have been increasing their share of the U.S. drug market—particularly with respect to heroin. To facilitate the distribution and local sale of drugs in the United States, Mexican drug traffickers have sometimes formed relationships with U.S. gangs. The amount of heroin seized across the United States, including at the Southwest border, has generally increased over the past decade, as illustrated in Figure 1 . Nationwide heroin seizures reached 7,979 kg in 2017, with 3,090 kg (39%) seized at the Southwest border. Arrests and Prosecutions

Data from the DEA indicate that many of their heroin-related arrests are for trafficking-related offenses. In 2017, the DEA made 5,408 heroin-related arrests. Sentencing Commission reports that 2,658 individuals were sentenced for heroin trafficking offenses in U.S. District Courts in FY2017. While this was a decrease from FY2016, the number of individuals sentenced for heroin trafficking has generally moved upward over the past decade. There are a number of federal law enforcement activities aimed specifically at (or which may be tailored to) curbing heroin trafficking. Going Forward

		Adequacy of Data on Heroin Flows

What is known about heroin trafficking flows is contingent on a number of factors surrounding the collection and reporting of these data, which are both multifaceted and incomplete. Policymakers may question whether federal enforcement efforts prioritize curbing heroin trafficking to an extent commensurate with the reported threat of the drug. While seizures have generally increased both along the Southwest border and throughout the country, it is unclear whether enforcement efforts should, or are able to, increasingly target heroin trafficking networks. Policymakers may evaluate whether these strategies and initiatives are sufficient to effectively respond to the threat of heroin trafficking in the United States as well as to the role heroin trafficking may play in the opioid epidemic.
Over the past several years, the nation has seen an uptick in the use and abuse of opioids—both prescription opioids and non-prescription opioids such as heroin. In 2016, there were an estimated 948,000 individuals (0.4% of the 12 and older population) who reported using heroin within the past year—up from 0.2% to 0.3% of this population reporting use in the previous decade. In addition to an increase in heroin use over the past several years, there has been a simultaneous increase in its availability in the United States. The increase in availability has been fueled by a number of factors, including increased production and trafficking of heroin—principally by Mexican criminal networks.
Mexican transnational criminal organizations are the major suppliers and key producers of most illegal drugs smuggled into the United States. They have been increasing their share of the U.S. drug market—particularly with respect to heroin—even though the United States still receives some heroin from South America and, to a lesser extent, Southwest Asia. To facilitate the distribution and sale of drugs in the United States, Mexican drug traffickers have formed relationships with U.S. gangs.
Heroin seizures across the country, as well as those at the Southwest border, have generally increased over the past decade. Nationwide heroin seizures reached 7,979 kg in 2017, with 3,090 kg (39%) seized at the Southwest border. This is up from about 2,000 kg seized at the Southwest border a decade prior. Further, there has been an increase in federal arrests and sentences for heroin-related crimes. For instance, the Drug Enforcement Administration made 5,408 heroin-related arrests in 2017—up from about 2,500 a decade prior. In addition, U.S. Sentencing Commission data indicate that from 2007 to 2017, there was a general increase in the number of individuals sentenced for heroin trafficking offenses in U.S. District Courts.
The federal government—specifically, law enforcement—relies on a number of tools and initiatives to counter heroin trafficking. Many of these efforts focus on drug trafficking broadly and prioritize the greatest drug trafficking threats in a given area, whether those threats come from trafficking heroin or other illicit drugs or substances.
Going forward, there are a number of issues policymakers may consider as they address heroin trafficking. For instance, what is known about drug trafficking is contingent on data surrounding poppy cultivation, heroin production, and product inflows into the United States. Given that these are often based on snapshots of knowledge from disparate sources, Congress may question how these data are collected and their adequacy. In addition, Congress may examine current law enforcement efforts to dismantle heroin trafficking networks and prosecute their leaders. Policymakers may also look at existing federal strategies on drug control and transnational crime to evaluate whether they are able to target the heroin trafficking threat effectively.