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Title:
Marijuana and Methamphetamine Trafficking on Federal Lands Threat Assessment
Publication Date: February 2005
Document ID: 2005-Q0317-007
This report provides an assessment of marijuana cultivation and methamphetamine production occurring on and transportation through public federal lands.
Your questions, comments, and suggestions for future subjects are welcome at any time. Addresses are provided at the end of the page.
Cover photo © Corel
Contents
Marijuana
Cultivation
Transportation
OutlookList of Figures
Figure 1. Six Regions
Figure 2. Top Ten National Forests for Eradication of Marijuana on Forest Service Lands in 2003
Figure 3. Cannabis and Marijuana Seizures, Department of the Interior Lands, 2003
Figure 4. Top Five National Forests for Methamphetamine Laboratory Seizures, January 2002 to December 2003
Figure 5. Methamphetamine Seizures, Department of the Interior Lands, 2003
Executive Summary
Drug trafficking organizations, criminal groups, and independent traffickers frequently produce and transport illicit drugs, particularly marijuana and methamphetamine, in or through federal lands. Consequently, several hundred thousand cannabis plants are eradicated and hundreds of methamphetamine laboratories are seized each year from National Forest System lands managed by the Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and lands managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The largest seizures of cannabis from federal lands have been in California and Kentucky, where the primary producers are Mexican drug trafficking organizations and Caucasian independent dealers, respectively. Mexican drug trafficking organizations and criminal groups smuggle marijuana across the Southwest Border through federal lands; Canada-based criminal groups, outlaw motorcycle gangs, and independent dealers smuggle marijuana through federal lands along the Northern Border.
Most methamphetamine laboratory seizures occur in the West Region and, to a lesser extent, the Pacific Region. See Figure 1 for a map of the six regions. Caucasian independent dealers are primary producers in the West Region; Mexican criminal groups dominate production in the Pacific Region. Mexican drug trafficking organizations and criminal groups are primary smugglers across the Southwest Border and through federal lands. Seizures on federal lands along the Northern Border are infrequent.
Figure 1. Six Regions
Map of the United States divided into the six regions.
The Pacific region consists of Alaska, Hawaii, northern and central California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
The West region consists of Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas.
The Southwest region consists of southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
The Midwest region consists of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio.
The Southeast region consists of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and the territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Northeast region consists of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, and West Virginia.Cannabis cultivation by Mexican drug trafficking organizations on federal lands is likely to increase, as is methamphetamine production, especially in the Midwest and Southeast Regions.
Addresses
National Drug Intelligence Center
319 Washington Street, 5th Floor
Johnstown, PA 15901Tel. (814) 532-4601
FAX (814) 532-4690
E-mail NDIC.Contacts@usdoj.govNational Drug Intelligence Center
8201 Greensboro Drive, Suite 1001
McLean, VA 22102-3840Tel. (703) 556-8970
FAX (703) 556-7807
Web Addresses
ADNET: http://ndicosa
DOJ: http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/
LEO: home.leo.gov/lesig/ndic/
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