The Traffic Podcast with Marianna Van Zeller is intended for mature audiences.

Listener discretion is advised.

A wave of crystal meth is sweeping over the United States.

2.5 million Americans, age 12 or older, reported using the drug in 2020, and overdose rates are on the rise.

For my TV series, I wanted to understand who or what is fueling this rise and where the meth is coming from.

This is it, guys. We're here.

So my crew and I traveled to Sinaloa, Mexico, and ventured deep into the mountains,

into cartel territory.

They knew, essentially, since we entered the Sierra Madre that we were here,

that without permission, there's no way we would even gotten this close.

Wow, this is much bigger than I thought it was going to be.

I was allowed to visit a super math lab, which is a huge operation that is supplying some of America's demands.

This is all made by hand and you just have the feeling that this can go wrong really fast.

Galleta, which is what they call cookie, is a mix of other chemicals.

Chonurros, osso, alcohol.

And they put the fire on, it starts heating.

Starting to boil and the crystal is starting to form at the top.

This is the crystal that forms crystal map.

I'm Mariana Van Zeller, the host of the National Geographic TV series Trafficked.

Each week on the TV series, I dive into a different black market and meet the people who make

their living inside it.

But this is a little different.

...