A friend asked me last week how the COVID-19 crisis was going to impact the Mexican cartels. After thinking about the question for a bit, I decided it would be a good topic to explore in an On Security column. Synthetic Drug Shortages? I have seen some people discussing how the COVID-19 crisis in China has pinched the supply lines of precursor chemicals for synthetic drugs, such as methamphetamine and fentanyl , that flow into Mexico. For example, Keegan Hamilton wrote a very interesting piece for Vice on March 23 discussing how a shortage in precursor chemicals was impacting the Sinaloa cartel. But to date, law enforcement in the U.S. continues to seize large quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl on a regular basis, and there doesn't seem to be any anecdotal evidence from these seizures that suggests there is a shortage of synthetic drugs.