Charlotte, NC is now the main distribution center for Mexican heroin:

January 31st, 2011 6:10 pm ET

Since 2005, average heroin seizures have grown in Charlotte by an incredible 233 percent, from 214 grams to 714. A single dose is usually one 10th of a gram.

The Drug Enforcement Administration reports that during 2008 alone, heroin seizures across North Carolina increased by 77 percent over the previous year.

The Mexican cartels are sending massive amounts of heroin into North Carolina which is produced from opium from poppy fields throughout western Mexico. With Charlotte now the main distribution center for Mexico’s black tar heroin, the drug is more than plentiful inside the city, and the cost is a mere $12.50 a dose.

That tremendous supply streaming into Charlotte is fueling a rapidly growing demand which is having a devastating effect on many of the city’s residents.

The McCleod Addictive Disease Center in Charlotte reports that they now see 15 to 20 new patients daily, seeking treatment for heroin addiction. The center’s program manager, Ronnie Bradley says that in 2008, that number was only seven or eight.

In 2009, Charlotte Police Captain Mike Adams told the Charlotte Observer that heroin addiction among the city’s youth population is becoming a major problem. Capt. Adams said: “A lot of what we deal with is teens, is high school.â€