Tests Reveal Purer Meth, Less Pure Opioids, More Cocaine Hit Michigan From Mexican Cartels

Feb 18, 2026 | Feature, Great Lakes Region, Michigan

Mexican drug cartels are shipping purer forms of meth into rural Michigan, replacing the drugs that were once made in home labs and full of impurities, police and lab testing data shows.

Meanwhile, opioids have been cut with more impurities that can render overdose treatment ineffective and cocaine use is on the rise, the data shows.

The lab results show rural parts of the state are rife with methamphetamine, cities have more cocaine, and opioids are everywhere in smaller amounts.

Drug use remains high, even as state overdose deaths have fallen from 3,000 in 2021 to just more than 1,900 in 2024, state data shows. Some 269,000 Michiganders 12 and older reported using illicit drugs other than marijuana in 2023 and 2024, the most recent federal data shows.

Local production of meth has grinded to a halt within the last five years, said Elaine Dougherty, lab manager at the Michigan State Police Bridgeport crime lab.

“Now, we get the crystal meth from the drug cartels,” said Doughterty. “It’s not made from Sudafed anymore. It’s not made in pop bottles anymore. It’s literally made in factories in Mexico.”

In Grayling, about 60% of the drugs tested at that crime lab are meth, while Marquette comes in over 80%. Opioids and cocaine each make up roughly 10% to 15% in those labs.

While cocaine is a smaller percentage of the drugs tested across the state, Dougherty said the drug is more popular than it’s been in years, driven in part by increased production in South and Central America.