The financial hierarchy of drug supply & traffick is different for each illegal substance due to the fact that each "drug" comes from different places. (example: Cocaine grows in Columbia so the chain would start there. Methamphetamine is made from pseudophedrine and either anhydrous ammonia (which is stolen mainly from Corn Farmers or Farming Co-ops) or Red Phosporous. While the Meth Epidemic is starting to become a nationwide problem, it first became a crisis in the midwest (where corn is grown) hence the hierarchy starts there but is quite muddled due to the emergence of Mexican Gangs supplying pseudophedrine over the border now due to US Govt crack downs on the purchase of OTC cold medicine. Etc., etc.) A more specific question is needed to give an answer. If a generic one must be given, than the answer would be the same as it is with any other product or good. 1) Supplier 2) Wholesaler/Exporter/Importer 3)Business/person who jacks up the price and sells it in smaller quantities after the product has been "cut" or in layman's terms, diluted somehow- this step is usually repeated until the person(consumer) pays a really high price for a product that is only a fraction of the strength it originally was and costs 20 x's more percentage wise than it was originally sold for. On the flip side, the consumer takes a lot less risk than everyone else in the hiararchy concerning legal matters so the one who ends up profiting the most from this venture depends on how you look at it.