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Drug Situation: Cocaine and heroin continue to be the primary drugs of abuse in the state of Massachusetts as Colombian and Dominican traffickers dominate the distribution throughout the state. OxyContin® remains extremely popular and has been seen as a “gateway drug” to heroin use.

Cocaine: Cocaine is readily available from gram to kilogram quantities throughout the state. New York had been the primary source area; however investigative efforts confirm increased transportation of the drug directly from the Mexican-United States border, as well as Florida and Georgia. Cocaine is transported in multi-kilogram quantities via commercial transit, tractor trailers, and vehicles equipped with hidden compartments. It is also imported via mail services, commercial transit and livery services. Importers are of Colombian and Dominican origin, along with the emergence of Mexican drug trafficking organizations importing cocaine into the region. The drugs retail distribution continues among all ethnic groups. Cocaine prices and purity levels remain stable. Crack cocaine is converted locally and/or obtained from New York, Florida and Puerto Rico. African -American violators and street gang members continue to dominate the drugs’ distribution. Abuse remains widespread and crack continues to be reported as the drug of choice within Boston city limits.

Heroin: Heroin is readily available from gram to kilogram quantities throughout the state. Historically, New York had been the primary source area, with the drug entering by interstate highway via publicly and privately operated vehicles equipped with hidden compartments. However, there continues to be increased transport of the drug directly from source countries and/or the southwestern United States. The primary suppliers are of Colombian and Dominican origin, with retail distribution among all ethnic groups. Heroin distribution and use continues throughout the state. While prices have remained low at both the wholesale and retail level, heroin purity levels have begun to fluctuate with both extremely high and low purity levels encountered at the street level. Abuse continues to be widespread.

Methamphetamine: Methamphetamine is available in limited quantities and is transported via express mail packages from California and the southwestern United States. Recent seizures reflect the availability of crystal methamphetamine. Methamphetamine is rarely abused throughout the state, but prevalent among young adults between the ages of 18 to 25, members of the homosexual community and occasionally abused by individuals in their late 30s to early 40s.

Club Drugs: In the state of Massachusetts, MDMA is widely available and in significant quantities. MDMA is found at rave parties, legitimate nightclubs, on college campuses across the state as well as among members of the homosexual community. Today, MDMA is primarily transported into New England via the New York-Vermont border with increased involvement by Asian drug trafficking organizations. There is limited abuse of club drugs such as Ketamine and GHB.

Marijuana: Marijuana remains readily available in all areas of the state with the majority of commercial-grade product originating in Mexico or the Southwest region of the United States; however, marijuana of both Colombian and Jamaican origin has been encountered. Hydroponic marijuana, which is cultivated predominately in Canada, also continues to be available. Personal use quantities of hashish continue to arrive in Boston on flights from the Netherlands and other source countries. The majority of the marijuana is imported from the southwest border via aircraft, land vehicles, and delivery services.

Other Drugs: Oxycodone products continue to be diverted in the state. Percocet®, Roxicet® and OxyContin® are readily available in Massachusetts. OxyContin® continues to be the preferred pharmaceutical drug of abuse and is widely available. The drug has been obtained from such areas as Arizona, Florida and Nevada for distribution in the Massachusetts area. Traffickers continue to divert OxyContin® via express mail shipments into the greater Boston area. Along with well organized doctor shopping rings, forged and/or altered prescriptions and diversion from individuals’ prescriptions are the most commonly found diversion methods in the state.

Pharmaceutical Diversion: Current investigations indicate that diversion of oxycodone products such as OxyContin® continues to be a problem in Massachusetts. Primary methods of diversion are via illegal sale and distribution by health care professionals and workers, “doctor shopping” (going to a number of doctors to obtain prescriptions for a controlled pharmaceutical), forged prescriptions, employee theft, pharmacy theft, and the Internet. Methadone and Vicodin® were also identified as being among the most commonly abused and diverted pharmaceuticals in Massachusetts.

DEA Mobile Enforcement Teams: This cooperative program with state and local law enforcement counterparts was conceived in 1995 in response to the overwhelming problem of drug-related violent crime in towns and cities across the nation. Since the inception of the MET Program, 473 deployments have been completed nationwide, resulting in 19,643 arrests. There have been 18 MET deployments in the State of Massachusetts since the inception of the program: Lynn, Revere, Webster, Springfield, Lawrence, Everett, Fitchburg (2), Southbridge, Greenfield, Holyoke, Framingham, Worcester (2), Boston (2), Provincetown, and Gloucester.

DEA Regional Enforcement Teams: This program was designed to augment existing DEA division resources by targeting drug organizations operating in the United States where there is a lack of sufficient local drug law enforcement. This program was conceived in 1999 in response to the threat posed by drug trafficking organizations that have established networks of cells to conduct drug trafficking operations in smaller, non-traditional trafficking locations in the United States. As of January 31, 2005, there have been 27 deployments nationwide, and one deployment in the U.S. Virgin Islands, resulting in 671 arrests. There have been no RET deployments in the state of Massachusetts.

Drug Courts/Treatment Centers: Based on information from the 2000 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services, there are 356 substance abuse treatment centers in Massachusetts. There are twenty drug courts across the state.

More information about the New England Division Office.

Sources

Factsheet last updated: 1/2008

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