Title:

Vermont Drug Threat Assessment Update

Publication Date: May 2003
Original Publication: January 2002

Document ID: 2003-S0377VT-001

Archived on: January 1, 2006. This document may contain dated information. It remains available to provide access to historical materials.

This report is a brief update to the Vermont Drug Threat Assessment, which is a strategic assessment of the status and outlook of the drug threat to Vermont. Analytical judgment determined the threat posed by each drug type or category, taking into account the most current quantitative and qualitative information on availability, demand, production or cultivation, transportation, and distribution, as well as the effects of a particular drug on abusers and society as a whole. While NDIC sought to incorporate the latest available information, a time lag often exists between collection and publication of data. NDIC anticipates that this update will be useful to policymakers, law enforcement personnel, and treatment providers at the federal, state, and local levels.

The Vermont Drug Threat Assessment was produced in January 2002 and is available on NDIC's web site www.usdoj.gov/ndic or by contacting the NDIC dissemination line at 814-532-4541.

Your questions, comments, and suggestions for future subjects are welcome at any time. Addresses are provided at the end of the page.
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Overview

Heroin

Cocaine

Marijuana

Other Dangerous Drugs
Diverted Pharmaceuticals
MDMA
LSD

Methamphetamine

Outlook

Sources

List of Tables

Table 1. Drug-Related Treatment Admissions by Drug Type, Vermont, FY2000-FY2001

Overview

Vermont.

Map of Vermont showing major transportation routes.

The distribution and abuse of illegal drugs pose a serious threat to Vermont. Illicit drugs available in the state typically are transported from metropolitan areas in neighboring states, including New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, primarily via private and rental vehicles but also by buses, trains, commercial aircraft, and package delivery services. Smaller amounts of drugs are transported into the state from Canada by similar conveyances as well as by couriers on foot, snowmobiles, or all-terrain vehicles. Most of the drugs transported into Vermont are abused within the state and are not transshipped to other locations.

Heroin, primarily high purity South American heroin, poses the most serious drug threat to Vermont. Heroin was a factor in more drug deaths in 2001 than any other illicit drug, and the number of heroin-related treatment admissions surpassed the number of treatment admissions for every other illicit drug except marijuana in that year. Cocaine, both powdered and crack, also poses a significant threat to the state because it is readily available, frequently abused, and often associated with violent crime. Marijuana is the most widely available and frequently abused illicit drug in Vermont. The availability and abuse of other dangerous drugs, principally diverted pharmaceuticals and MDMA, pose an increasing threat to the state. The threat posed by methamphetamine production, distribution, and abuse is low in Vermont.