Depression is rage spread thin. ~George Santayana
The use of cocaine doubled in Mexico over the past six years, partly because the drug become more available. The overall use of illegal drugs increased only slightly, according to the Health Department’s 2008 national addictions survey.
The report said 2.4 percent of Mexicans aged 12 to 65 used cocaine in 2008, compared to 1.2 percent in 2002. The consumption of all illegal drugs in Mexico jumped to 5.7 percent from 5 percent.
Carlos Rodriguez, president of the National Addictions Council, said the increase in cocaine use was in part because the drug became more abundant in Mexico after increased security in the United States made it tougher for traffickers to smuggle shipments over the border.
The report said the states of Quintana Roo, where Cancun is located, and Tamaulipas, across from Texas, have the highest use of illegal drugs – just over 11 percent of their populations.
President Felipe Calderon has opened dozens of drug rehabilitation centers while aggressively pursuing drug traffickers.
Calderon deployed 45,000 soldiers and federal agents after taking office in December 2006 to drug problem areas. The gangs used unprecedented violence, including beheadings, killing more than 13,500 people.
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