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National Drug Intelligence Center  National Drug Threat Assessment 2005 Summary Report February 2005 Pharmaceuticals The diversion and abuse of pharmaceutical narcotics, depressants, and stimulants are a significant threat to the United States. Rates of abuse for prescription drugs have increased sharply since the early to mid-1990s but appear to be stabilizing at high levels. The consequences of prescription drug abuse also have increased since the early to mid-1990s and have continued to increase during the past 2 reporting years. Key Findings The abuse of prescription drugs increased sharply since the mid-1990s and now has stabilized at high levels. ED mentions of narcotic analgesics (prescription narcotics) increased nearly 300 percent from 1995 through 2002, and mentions of benzodiazepines (prescription narcotics) increased 38 percent during the same period. From 1996 through 2002, treatment admissions for opiates other than heroin increased more than 200 percent.  The availability of pharmaceuticals has increased since the late 1990s when legitimate production of pharmaceuticals increased sharply, making more pharmaceuticals available for illegal diversion. Figure 12. Emergency Department Mentions for Narcotic Analgesics, 1995-2002 d-link Source: Drug Abuse Warning Network. Figure 13. Emergency Department Mentions for Benzodiazepines, 1995-2002 d-link Source: Drug Abuse Warning Network. The threat posed by pharmaceutical diversion varies by region. Law enforcement reporting indicates that state and local law enforcement agencies in the Northeast, Southeast, and Midwest Regions were more likely to identify pharmaceuticals as their greatest drug threat than agencies in the Southwest, Pacific, and West.  To Top      To Contents     Other Dangerous Drugs The trafficking and abuse of GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate) have become a particular concern to law enforcement and public health agencies because of increasing availability of the drug in some areas, sharp increases in ED mentions for GHB since the mid-1990s, and the use of GHB in the commission of drug-facilitated sexual assault. Rates of ketamine use are trending downward among adolescents and young adults. In addition, seizure data indicate that ketamine availability is decreasing and that ketamine-related ED mentions appear to be trending downward. The availability of LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) is decreasing, and rates of use have decreased sharply to very low levels.  The consequences of PCP (phencyclidine) use are increasing despite relatively stable or declining past year rates of use. The estimated number of ED mentions for PCP increased each year from 1998 to 2002.  To Top      To Contents       Inhalants Analysis of long-term trends in inhalant abuse among adolescents reveals that rates of abuse declined overall from 1995 to 2002; however, abuse among eighth graders rose significantly from 2002 to 2004. To Top      To Contents    Steroids According to MTF, steroid use appears to be relatively low among high school students and young adults. These data show that steroid abuse among high school students has risen overall since the early 1990s but now may be declining. To Top      To Contents       Money Laundering Interagency estimates indicate that the cost to society from drug trafficking and abuse in the United States is between $60 billion and $108 billion. In 2000, the most recent year for which these data are available, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) estimated annual retail-level cocaine purchases at $36 billion, heroin at $10 billion, marijuana at $11 billion, methamphetamine at $5.4 billion, and other substances at $2.4 billion. These figures do not include the estimated dollar figure for drugs purchased at wholesale or midlevel, meaning that the amount of drug-related currency generated in the United States may be significantly greater than the $60 billion to $108  billion estimate. Figure 14. Estimated Annual Domestic Retail-Level Drug Purchases in Billions of Dollars, 2000 d-link Source:  Office of National Drug Control Policy. Key Findings The physical transportation of bulk cash and monetary instruments is a principal method used by drug traffickers to move illicit drug proceeds from domestic drug markets to other U.S. and foreign destinations. According to EPIC Pipeline, Convoy, and Jetway seizure data from 2001 through 2003, the primary origins of U.S. currency seized in these operations were California, Illinois, New York, and Texas, while Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas were the primary destinations. Drug traffickers in the United States frequently use money services businesses (MSBs)--particularly money transmittal, currency exchange (casas de cambio), and check-cashing businesses--to launder drug proceeds. MSBs filed 214,966 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) from October 1, 2002, to December 31, 2003. During that period, states with the most MSB-SAR filings were New York, California, Arizona, Texas, and Florida. In 2003 representatives of depository institutions--banks, thrifts, savings and loans, and credit unions--filed 288,243 SARs. Of these, 155,468 indicated a Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)/Structuring/ Money Laundering violation, the only specific money laundering violation. According to FinCEN, the states with the highest number of BSA/Structuring/Money Laundering violations during that period were California, New York, Texas, Florida, and New Jersey.  Drug traffickers, particularly South American traffickers, launder illicit drug proceeds through informal value transfer systems (IVTS). For example, South American traffickers launder an estimated $3 to $6 billion each year through the Black Market Peso Exchange (BMPE). Southeast and Southwest Asian traffickers also launder and transfer large amounts of money through hawala, hundi, or hui khan IVTS. Unlike the BMPE, however, hawala, hundi, and hui khan businesses can operate legally in the United States, provided that they register  with FinCEN and comply with all applicable laws, such as the Bank Secrecy Act. The registration requirement was established by the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 and makes it easier for government agencies to prosecute individuals laundering drug proceeds through these systems.  To Top      To Contents     To Previous Page     To Next Page To Publications Page     To Home Page

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