In 2001, there were 10,130 acres of land in Mexico that harvested marijuana.

In 2009, the area of land devoted to harvested marijuana in Mexico increased to 29,652 acres.

Source:  Tim Johnson, “Mexico’s drug war leaves marijuana growers to thrive,” McClatchy, September 2, 2010.

The drug cartels in Mexico pay an estimated $1.2 Billion in bribes to municipal police each year.

Source:  William Booth and Nick Miroff, “Drug gangs, smugglers in Mexico and U.S. are increasingly disguising couriers in phony uniforms,” Washington Post, August 30, 2010.

Mexican drug cartels are estimated to bring in between $25 Billion to $40 Billion a year from the global drug trafficking operations.

Source:  “Mexico’s Calderon says will target drug cash,” Reuters, August 26, 2010.

The number of inhalant users in Mexico in 2008 was 533,797, a 70 percent increase from the 314,760 users in 2002.

The number of inhalant users who entered drug treatment centers in Mexico also increased 80 percent during those six years, from 4,050 to 7,293 people.

Source:  Sergio Solache, “In Mexico, lessons of addiction are stark,” USA Today, August 23, 2010.

Between December 2006 when the crackdown against drug cartels became in Mexico until August 2010, 30 reporters in Mexico have either been killed or disappeared while covering the drug war.

Source:  Tracy Wilkenson, “Under threat from Mexican drug cartels, reporters go silent,” Los Angeles Times, August 16, 2010.

According to figures compiled by the Associated Press, between December 2006 and September 2009, the Mexican Government arrested 226,667 drug suspects. Out of that total, less than a total have been officially charged with a crime.

The examples provided by the AP show that 24,000 people were freed from Baja California out of the 33,000 that were arrested. In Sinaloa, 9,700 were arrested and 5,606 were released. And in the birthplace of the Gulf Cartel, 3,600 were arrested with 2,083 later released.

Source: Associated Press, “AP Impact: Mexico justice means catch and release,” Washington Post, July 27, 2010.

According to the United Nations, 1.7 million people in Mexico consume 27.6 tons of cocaine each year. 3.9 tons of heroin is consumed within the country as well.

Up to 3 million people smoke marijuana in Mexico.

Officially, the Mexican Government reports that there are 428,000 drug addicts in the country.

Source:  Tim Johnson, “Rehab clinics turn into killing zones in Mexico’s drug war,” McClatchy, July 22, 2010.

In 2010, there were 6,010 illegal immigrants in the prison system in the State of Arizona, with over 2,000 convicted for serious drug crimes.

Source:  JJ Hensley, “Illegal immigrants’ activity in drug trade uncertain,” Arizona Republic, July 6, 2010.

In Fiscal Year 2009, authorities caught 130 minors attempting to smuggled drugs into Arizona from Mexico, an increase of 83 percent from Fiscal Year 2008.

Source:  Dennis Wagner, “Cartels use kids to bring in drugs,” Arizona Republic, July 5, 2010.

An estimated $29 Billion a year of cash from drug sales is smuggled into Mexico each year to the drug cartels.

If the $29 Billion were in 100 bills, the total weight of the cash smuggled would be 319 tons.

Source:  Michael Smith, “Banks Financing Mexico Gangs Admitted in Wells Fargo Deal,” Bloomberg, June 29, 2010.