Appendix C. OCDETF Regional Summaries

Mid-Atlantic Regional Overview

Regional Overview

The Mid-Atlantic Region (MAR) is composed of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. There are three High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTAs) operating within the region--the Philadelphia/Camden HIDTA, the Baltimore/Washington HIDTA, and parts of the Appalachia HIDTA; 10 U.S. Attorney Districts serve the MAR. The extensive transportation infrastructure of the MAR provides drug traffickers virtually unrestricted access to drug markets in the region and enables them to use the region as a conduit in transporting cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine from the Southwest and Pacific Regions into the New England and New York/New Jersey Regions, as well as in transporting heroin from New York City and Philadelphia to major heroin distribution centers in the Great Lakes and West Central Regions.

Drug Threat Overview

Cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana are the most abused drugs in the MAR; the abuse of diverted pharmaceuticals is emerging as a serious problem, and the abuse of ODDs is increasing in isolated pockets. Powder cocaine and crack cocaine are consistently identified by a majority of law enforcement agencies in the region as the greatest drug threat in their jurisdiction. Heroin poses a low to moderate and slowly increasing threat to the region; traffickers are expanding distribution of the drug in a rising number of markets. Heroin supplies have become limited in some rural areas of the region because of this expansion into new markets. The threat posed by methamphetamine in the MAR is low to moderate but increasing, especially in areas with large Hispanic populations. Local methamphetamine production is low and declining; however, increasing amounts of high purity ice methamphetamine are being transported into the region by Mexican DTOs, supplanting supplies. Marijuana presents an ongoing threat; availability is high, with Mexican DTOs transporting thousands of pounds of marijuana into and through the region and other groups supplementing availability by producing marijuana locally. Asian DTOs are also transporting and distributing rising amounts of high potency Canadian marijuana, inflating regional supplies. Diverted pharmaceuticals--particularly hydrocodones, oxycodones, and benzodiazepines--are emerging as a significant threat in the region. The availability and abuse of other dangerous drugs such as MDMA, PCP, LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), and GHB are decreasing, although MDMA and PCP abuse is elevated in some areas.

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Strategic Regional Developments

• Powder cocaine and crack cocaine--which pose the greatest drug threat in the MAR--are increasingly being sold to and abused by young Caucasian professionals, blue-collar workers, and students in small cities, towns, and rural areas. Most of the powder cocaine transported into the region is converted into crack cocaine.

• Heroin abuse in the MAR has stabilized at high levels; younger abusers are seeking treatment in increasing numbers and are switching to other drugs that they perceive as less addictive.

• Marijuana availability in the MAR is high and increasing as more high potency Canadian marijuana is transported by traffickers into the region, supplementing Mexican and locally produced supplies.

Variations From National Trends

• Colombian and Dominican DTOs control the wholesale trafficking of cocaine in the MAR, despite the fact that Mexican DTOs serve as dominant wholesale distributors throughout most of the nation. However, Mexican DTOs are strengthening their position in the MAR by establishing alliances with street, prison, and outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs).

• Colombian and Dominican DTOs are in firm control of wholesale distribution of heroin, primarily South American heroin, in the MAR. Unlike in a large portion of the country, Mexican DTO involvement in wholesale distribution of heroin is minimal.

• The threat posed to the MAR by methamphetamine is relatively low--the region is one of the few areas in the country where the methamphetamine threat is not significant. However, the threat appears to be increasing.

• Methamphetamine production is low in the MAR; state precursor laws have made production more difficult, and the influx of Mexico-produced methamphetamine, including high purity ice, has satiated demand, making local production unnecessary.

• While the demand for marijuana is declining at the national level, marijuana demand in the MAR is high and increasing. Marijuana-related admissions to publicly funded treatment facilities in the MAR increased almost 50 percent from 2000 through 2004. Marijuana is abused by every ethnic, age, and socioeconomic group. The popularity of high potency marijuana, especially among younger abusers, is a key factor driving the growth in demand.

• The availability of MDMA throughout most of the MAR is lower than the national average, with the exception of some urban areas, college campuses, and the Delaware and Maryland beach locales.

• PCP distribution and abuse are higher than the national average in MAR urban centers, such as Washington D.C., Baltimore, and Philadelphia.

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