November 2000 Economics Sources report varying prices and purity for heroin in the Los Angeles area, but most fall within a similar range. Since most heroin available in the Los Angeles area is of Mexican origin and given the proximity of the source country to the city, wholesale kilogram prices are generally lower than in many other parts of the United States.
Mexican heroin is generally lower in purity than white heroin.
However, average purity of Mexican heroin has steadily increased throughout the 1990s. According to DEA, recent testing has found purity levels ranging between 33 percent and 67 percent at the ounce level, although some ounce exhibits had purities as low as 8 to 9 percent. According to federal, state, and local law enforcement officials, heroin distribution in Los Angeles has changed little over the last 5 years. Mexican trafficking organizations remain fully entrenched in all aspects of the heroin trade including importation and wholesale and retail distribution of Mexican black tar and Mexican brown powdered heroin. Seizures of SA heroin made in the Los Angeles area in 1999 may constitute a trend that bears watching.