Donald Trump says drugs are being allowed to 'pour through our southern border' - the numbers say something else

Thomson Reuters

Republican presidential nominee Trump talks with a member of the audience at the conclusion of the debate with Democratic presidential nominee Clinton in St. Louis, October 9, 2016.

According to Donald Trump, "We're also letting drugs pour through our southern border at a record clip. At a record clip. And it shouldn't be allowed to happen."

But the reality is somewhat different.

Rather than a record flow, the amount of drugs coming over the US border with Mexico, measured by seizures by Customs and Border Protection, has trended down over the last five years.

Marijuana seizures have declined the most, likely driven by changing regulations on the drug in the US.

The amount of cocaine seized at the US-Mexico border has also fallen, though the southern border may not be its principal entry point.

Seizures of heroin and methamphetamines have risen slightly over the past five years, a trend that reflects changing drug-consumption habits in the US.

Overall, as the charts below show, the flow of drugs into the US doesn't match what Trump said, and the dynamics of US drug use have also changed markedly over the last 15 years.