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Appendix A. OCDETF Regional Summaries
The following regional drug threat summaries provide strategic overviews of the
illicit drug situation in each of the nine OCDETF regions, highlighting significant
trends and law enforcement concerns relating to the trafficking and abuse of illicit
drugs. The summaries were prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement
reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public
health officials, OCDETF case files, and available statistical data.
Florida/Caribbean Regional Overview
Regional Overview
The Florida/Caribbean (FC) Region encompasses Florida, the U.S. Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico, and the territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). Four HIDTA
programs are located within the region--the Central, North, and South Florida HIDTAs
and the Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands HIDTA. The FC Region also has five U.S.
Attorneys Districts--three in Florida, one in Puerto Rico, and one in the USVI.
The FC Region serves as an entry point for substantial quantities of cocaine and
heroin and lesser amounts of marijuana and MDMA that are further transported to
markets throughout the Mid-Atlantic, New England, New York/New Jersey, and Southeast
Regions.
Figure 2. The Florida/Caribbean
Region.
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Drug Threat Overview
The production, trafficking, and abuse of illicit drugs pose varying threats
throughout the FC Region. High levels of cocaine abuse and widespread availability
of the drug, combined with high levels of violence associated with both distribution
and abuse, render cocaine the primary drug threat in the FC Region. The distribution
and abuse of methamphetamine--particularly ice methamphetamine--heroin, and marijuana
pose significant but varying drug threats. Ice methamphetamine availability, distribution,
and abuse are increasing in Florida; abuse of the drug is rising in many rural areas
of the state. In Puerto Rico and the USVI, however, there is no reported methamphetamine
distribution or abuse. Heroin abuse in Puerto Rico and the USVI is low but increasing,
and heroin availability and abuse are low throughout most of Florida. Increased
production, abuse, and distribution of high-potency marijuana also create serious
concerns for law enforcement officials in the FC Region. Nonetheless, they report
that the drug does not pose as significant a problem as cocaine or methamphetamine
because marijuana is generally associated with less violence and social disorder
in the FC Region than other drugs.
Diverted pharmaceuticals and ODDs are of concern to law enforcement and public
health officials in the FC Region. Diverted pharmaceuticals, particularly prescription
narcotics and benzodiazepines, are widely available and abused. In fact, law enforcement
officials report that diverted pharmaceuticals cause more deaths in the region than
any other illicit drug. Moreover, law enforcement officials reported an escalating
threat from Internet pharmacies in Florida during 2006. ODDs such as MDMA, GHB,
and ketamine are available and abused in the FC Region; however, the overall threat
posed by these drugs is considerably less than the threat posed by other drugs.
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Strategic Regional Developments
- Atlanta is a national-level drug distribution center and is now the primary
source for cocaine, ice methamphetamine, and Mexican marijuana distributed in
central and northern Florida and a secondary source for these drugs in South
Florida.
- Mexican DTOs are the dominant wholesale distributors of cocaine, ice methamphetamine,
and Mexican marijuana in central and northern Florida; their influence is increasing
in southern Florida and Puerto Rico.
- Mexican DTOs have forced African American street gangs from midlevel drug
distribution in many areas of Florida, relegating them to lower-level retail
distribution. This situation has led to rising levels of violence among African
American street gangs, particularly in Jacksonville (FL), as these street gangs
fight for remaining drug territories.
- Weapons smuggling from the continental United States, particularly from
Florida into Puerto Rico and the USVI, is a rising law enforcement concern.
Federal and local law enforcement officials report that the demand for weapons
by drug traffickers in Puerto Rico and the USVI has fueled a black market in
which illicit weapons generate large profits for arms dealers.
Variations From National Trends
- Colombian DTOs dominate wholesale cocaine and South American heroin trafficking
in South Florida and the Caribbean. Colombian DTOs use these areas as part of
their worldwide command, control, and communications base. From South Florida
and the Caribbean, Colombian DTOs oversee the movement of cocaine and heroin
shipments from source, staging, and transit zones in South America and Central
America and Caribbean market areas to the continental United States, Europe,
and Africa.
- Heroin abuse is extremely high in Puerto Rico. TEDS data show that in 2005
(the latest year for which data are available), heroin accounted for more treatment
admissions to publicly funded facilities in Puerto Rico than any other drug.
Data from Puerto Rico's Forensic Sciences Institute indicate that forensic pathologists
performed 185 drug-related autopsies in 2006; of these, intoxication caused
by cocaine and opiates (primarily heroin) caused 81 deaths (44%), and heroin
intoxication alone caused 25 deaths (14%).
- South Florida has emerged as a primary trafficking area for pharmaceutical
drug diversion. Abusers and criminal groups working for organized drug diversion
rings, particularly in northeastern states, often travel to South Florida, obtain
prescriptions, and purchase the prescribed drugs, which they then transport
to their points of origin for abuse or resale. Caribbean Division investigations
in Puerto Rico have identified several doctors and associated pharmacies involved
in the diversion of prescription drugs, both within Puerto Rico and to the Orlando
area. Moreover, law enforcement officials report escalating Internet pharmacy
problems in both Florida and Puerto Rico during 2006 and 2007.
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Great Lakes Regional Overview
Regional Overview
The Great Lakes Region encompasses Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio,
Wisconsin, and the Northern and Central U.S. Attorneys Districts of Illinois. It
includes the Chicago, Lake County, Michigan, Milwaukee, and Ohio HIDTAs and parts
of the Appalachia HIDTA as well as 13 U.S. Attorneys Districts. The region comprises
urban areas, including Chicago (IL), Cleveland and Columbus (OH), Detroit and
Grand Rapids (MI), Gary and Indianapolis (IN), Louisville (KY), Milwaukee (WI),
and Minneapolis/St. Paul (MN), as well as large, sparsely populated agricultural
areas, which are often used by traffickers to produce methamphetamine and marijuana.
Chicago and Detroit are the largest metropolitan areas in the region; they are also
principal wholesale illicit drug distribution centers, supplying drug markets in
the Great Lakes Region as well as those in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and West Central
Regions.
Figure 3. The Great Lakes Region.
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Drug Threat Overview
The distribution and abuse of cocaine (particularly crack) and, to a lesser extent,
heroin pose the greatest threats to most urban areas within the region, while the
abuse of methamphetamine and marijuana are typically the greatest drug threats in
rural areas and smaller cities. Crack cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine pose
greater threats to public safety because these drugs are more addictive and are
often associated with violent and property crime. Crack cocaine typically is reported
as the greatest drug threat in metropolitan areas because of its widespread abuse
and the violence attendant to its distribution. Marijuana is the most widely available
and abused illicit drug in the region; however, it is generally reported by law
enforcement as a lower threat because its distribution and abuse are less often
associated with violent crime. The threats posed by ODDs and diverted pharmaceuticals
vary but are usually much lower than the threats posed by other major drugs in the
region.
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Strategic Regional Developments
- Mexican DTOs, the dominant transporters and wholesale distributors of cocaine,
heroin, marijuana, and ice methamphetamine in the Great Lakes Region, are extending
their wholesale distribution operations from larger cities such as Chicago and
Detroit to secondary markets, including Columbus, Cleveland, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis,
Milwaukee, and Minneapolis.
- Methamphetamine production in the Great Lakes Region has declined significantly
over the past 2 years because of precursor chemical control legislation, aggressive
law enforcement efforts, and public awareness campaigns. As a result, high-purity
Mexican ice methamphetamine supplied by Mexican DTOs has supplanted locally
produced methamphetamine.
- Heroin abuse outside major metropolitan areas in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan,
and Wisconsin, including suburban and rural areas of greater Chicago, Detroit,
Gary, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis, is increasing, particularly among young Caucasian
abusers. Many of these new, younger abusers transitioned from the abuse of prescription
narcotics to the abuse of heroin.
- Fentanyl (often used in combination with heroin) posed a public health threat
in various parts of the region, particularly in Chicago and Detroit, resulting
in hundreds of overdoses and deaths in 2005 and 2006. The problem abated following
the May 2006 seizure of an illicit fentanyl production laboratory in Toluca,
Mexico, that reportedly was the primary source of the drug.
- Asian DTOs are increasingly smuggling Canadian MDMA into the Great Lakes
Region, primarily through Michigan. The rising availability of MDMA within the
region has increased the abuse of the drug among high school and college students.
Variations From National Trends
- Mexican ice methamphetamine availability is increasing in many areas of
the Great Lakes Region; no increases in the availability of Asian and Canadian
methamphetamine have been reported.
- The abuse of pharmaceutical drugs, particularly prescription narcotics,
is increasing among teenagers and young adults. Treatment admissions for other
opiates (including prescription narcotics such as hydrocodone, hydromorphone,
and oxycodone) to publicly funded facilities in the region among individuals
12 to 20 years old increased 84 percent from 2002 (584) to 2005 (1,076), the
latest year for which such data are available.
- Caucasian criminal groups and independent dealers are the primary distributors
of MDMA in the Great Lakes Region; however, African American criminal groups
and Hispanic gangs are becoming increasingly involved in MDMA distribution in
Wisconsin, a factor that may lead to increased abuse of the drug in that state.
- Street gangs are the primary retail distributors of illicit drugs in the
region and are expanding their cocaine distribution activities from larger cities
to suburban communities, primarily in the Chicago area. This expansion is leading
to increased violence--particularly violence associated with crack distribution
and abuse--and is straining limited law enforcement and public health resources
in suburban communities.
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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. Within the MAR are three
HIDTAs--the Philadelphia/Camden HIDTA, the Washington/Baltimore HIDTA, and parts
of the Appalachia HIDTA--as well as 10 U.S. Attorneys Districts. The MAR contains
four of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States: Philadelphia (PA) is
ranked fourth; the District of Columbia, eighth; Baltimore (MD), nineteenth; and
Pittsburgh (PA), twenty-first. These metropolitan areas also are the region's principal
drug markets. Secondary drug markets in the MAR include Richmond, Roanoke, and the
Tidewater area of Virginia; Charleston and Wheeling (WV); Harrisburg, Scranton,
and Allentown (PA); and Dover and Wilmington (DE). The large abuser population in
the region sustains wide-scale distribution of cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine.
Methamphetamine is transported from the Southwest and Pacific Regions, cocaine is
shipped from the Florida/Caribbean Region, and heroin, Canadian marijuana, and MDMA
are smuggled through POEs in the New York/New Jersey Region.
Figure 4. The Mid-Atlantic Region.
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Drug Threat Overview
The distribution and abuse of cocaine pose the most significant drug threat in
the region, as a result of the drug's wide availability and association with violence
and property crime. Heroin poses a threat; the drug is available in most major markets,
and its availability reportedly is rising in many smaller markets. Heroin is of
particular concern to law enforcement and public health officials in Baltimore,
where abuse of the drug is widespread; it is the leading drug threat in that city.
The methamphetamine threat in the region is moderate but has increased, especially
in some areas with growing Hispanic communities. Methamphetamine production in the
region has decreased; however, Mexican DTOs are supplying more ice methamphetamine
to the region than they had in the past. Marijuana, particularly commercial-grade
Mexican marijuana, is the most widely available and abused illicit drug in the MAR.
However, the availability of high-potency marijuana is increasing throughout much
of the region. Prescription drugs--particularly hydrocodone and oxycodone
products as well as benzodiazepines--are widely diverted and abused in the
region. Other dangerous drugs such as GHB, LSD, MDMA, and PCP are available and abused in various
local markets.
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Strategic Regional Developments
- Mexican DTOs increasingly transport and distribute cocaine, heroin, marijuana,
and ice methamphetamine in the MAR. These DTOs generally use well-established
overland transportation networks extending from Mexico and southwestern states.
However, Mexican DTOs have recently begun to transport some illicit drugs to
the region from Atlanta (GA) and Charlotte (NC). Mexican DTOs often are employed
by Colombian DTOs to transport illicit drugs to the MAR on their behalf, sometimes
receiving drugs as payment.
- Canada-based Vietnamese DTOs and criminal groups are emerging as significant
producers and transporters of wholesale quantities of high-potency Canadian
marijuana as well as MDMA to the region. They typically smuggle these drugs
from Canada into the region overland through POEs in western New York.
- Diverted pharmaceutical abuse among adolescents is a rising concern; the
number of teenagers and young adults in the region who abuse prescription drugs--such
as hydrocodone, oxycodone, and benzodiazepines--is increasing.
Variations From National Trends
- Mexican DTOs operating from the Southwest Region are becoming increasingly
involved in cocaine trafficking within the MAR, especially in Baltimore, Philadelphia,
and Washington, D.C., as well as in areas of southern Virginia and the Shenandoah
Valley.
- An increasing number of Dominican DTOs are bypassing Colombian sources of
supply in New York City and the MAR and are obtaining cocaine at discounted
prices from Mexican sources at the Southwest Border in order to increase profit
margins.
- Colombian and Dominican DTOs are in firm control of the wholesale distribution
of heroin, primarily South American heroin, in the MAR. Most of the heroin and
cocaine transported by these DTOs enters the region from New York; additional
amounts are transported directly to the region from California, southwestern
states, Florida, and the Caribbean islands. Mexican DTOs also transport South
American heroin to the region; they do so in the employ of Colombian DTOs and
on their own behalf.
- The threat posed to the MAR by methamphetamine is relatively low--however,
methamphetamine availability and abuse are increasing in a number of areas in
the region, including the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, the northwestern counties
of Pennsylvania, and the Pocono Mountains area of Pennsylvania.
- While the demand for marijuana is declining at the national level, marijuana
demand in the MAR is high and relatively stable. According to TEDS data, the
number of marijuana-related treatment admissions to publicly funded treatment
facilities increased overall from 2001 (25,029) through 2005 (30,242), reaching
a peak in 2004 (34,494). Marijuana is abused by every ethnic, age, and socioeconomic
group. The popularity of high-potency marijuana, especially among younger abusers,
is a key factor in the high level of demand for the drug.
- Methadone-related fatal and nonfatal overdoses have increased in areas of
Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Virginia and West Virginia
ranked in the top 10 states that reported methadone-related deaths in 2004,
according to the latest data available from the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC).
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New England Regional Overview
Regional Overview
The New England (NE) Region encompasses Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Significant drug markets in these states include
Hartford (CT); Portland (ME); Concord, Manchester, and Nashua (NH); Providence (RI);
Burlington (VT); Springfield (MA); and the Boston (MA) metropolitan area, which
includes Lawrence and Lowell. Six U.S. Attorneys Offices are located in the NE Region.
Most of the illicit drugs available in the NE Region are transported from the Southwest
Region, often by way of New York. The NE Region's geographic location near New York
City and the U.S.-Canada border facilitates the smuggling of drugs into the region.
New York City is the largest drug market in the eastern United States and the source
for most of the South American heroin, cocaine, and commercial-grade marijuana available
in New England. A large percentage of the MDMA, marijuana, and prescription drugs
available in the region are smuggled into the area across the U.S.-Canada border.
Figure 5. The New England Region.
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Drug Threat Overview
The distribution and abuse of heroin, primarily South American heroin, and prescription
narcotics such as OxyContin and Percocet (oxycodone) and Vicodin (hydrocodone) pose
the greatest drug threats in the NE Region. In some areas of the NE Region, heroin
abusers who sought methadone treatment to combat their addiction are now abusing
methadone. Consequently, many treatment providers are substituting buprenorphine
products in place of methadone. Cocaine, mostly crack, is commonly abused in some
areas of the region, particularly inner-city neighborhoods in Hartford, Bridgeport,
Providence, and Boston. Crack cocaine availability has expanded in Maine and New
Hampshire as well, largely because African American and Hispanic criminal groups
and street gangs from Massachusetts and New York have increased distribution in
those areas. Marijuana is widely abused throughout the area; most abusers prefer
high-potency marijuana from Canada over commercial-grade marijuana from Mexico.
Moreover, some Canada-based Vietnamese traffickers are beginning to smuggle powder
methamphetamine that they produce in Canada into the region. Methamphetamine poses
a relatively low threat in the NE Region; most abuse of the drug is concentrated
in the gay male community in Boston. The threat posed in the region by ODDs varies;
MDMA distribution and abuse are increasing, while the abuse of LSD, PCP, and psilocybin
mushrooms is stable at low levels. Khat is smuggled into Maine and distributed and
abused among the local Somali population.
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Strategic Regional Developments
- Canada-based Asian DTOs are increasing their presence in the NE Region;
they are shifting some of their operations, particularly hydroponic cannabis
cultivation operations, from Canada into New England states, particularly Connecticut
and New Hampshire.
- Asian DTOs, primarily Vietnamese, are smuggling increased quantities of
MDMA into the region from Canada, using transportation and distribution networks
that they had previously established for Canadian high-potency marijuana.
- Some Canada-based Vietnamese traffickers are beginning to manufacture methamphetamine
in Canada. These traffickers are smuggling a portion of the methamphetamine
into the region, sometimes trading it for cocaine. These groups then smuggle
the cocaine into Canada for distribution in Canadian drug markets such as Montreal,
where an apparent cocaine shortage is developing.
Variations From National Trends
- Heroin is the primary drug threat in New England--the only region of the
country in which this drug is the leading problem. The heroin problem in the
NE Region is driven in part by prescription narcotic abuse; prescription narcotic
abusers often switch to heroin because of the drug's lower cost and higher purity.
- Methadone is the leading cause of drug-related deaths in Maine and New Hampshire.
Heroin abusers who sought methadone treatment to combat their addiction are
now abusing methadone. Consequently, many treatment providers are substituting
buprenorphine products in place of methadone; law enforcement officials in parts
of Maine report that individuals are now abusing buprenorphine products.
- Asian DTOs are establishing hydroponic cannabis grow operations within the
NE Region. In doing so, these DTOs are attempting to avoid losing large marijuana
loads at the U.S.-Canada border as a result of heightened law enforcement scrutiny
and to increase profit margins by avoiding cross-border transportation costs.
- The methamphetamine threat is low in the NE Region--one of the few areas
in the country where methamphetamine is not a significant threat. However, some
Canada-based Vietnamese traffickers are beginning to engage in methamphetamine
production and distribution in order to exploit developing markets in the region.
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New York/New Jersey Regional Overview
Regional Overview
The New York/New Jersey (NY/NJ) Region encompasses the entire states of New York
and New Jersey. The New York/New Jersey HIDTA and portions of the Philadelphia/Camden
HIDTA are represented in the region, as are five U.S. Attorneys Districts. The region
is densely populated and includes approximately 28 million individuals--9.3 percent
of the population of the United States. New York City is the most significant drug
market in the region and one of the largest in the United States. Secondary markets
in the region include Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Albany (NY) and Jersey City,
Paterson, Elizabeth, Trenton, and Camden (NJ).
Figure 6. The New York/New Jersey
Region.
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Drug Threat Overview
Cocaine and heroin pose the most serious drug threats in the region. Cocaine
is frequently abused throughout the area, and availability of the drug typically
is high; however, in February 2007 several cocaine markets in the region reported
atypical decreases in powder cocaine availability and significant increases in cocaine
prices. Cocaine distribution, particularly crack cocaine distribution, is often
conducted by violent street gang members, who reportedly perpetrate a considerable
portion of the drug-related violence that occurs in the region. Heroin abuse in
the region is extensive. The heroin available in the area is among the purest in
the nation, drawing an increasing number of abusers, including young adults. They
abuse heroin in New Jersey at a rate more than twice the national
average.26
Marijuana is the most commonly abused illicit drug in the region, and the availability
of high-potency marijuana from Canada and from indoor grow sites in the region has
increased. Methamphetamine poses a lesser threat than other drugs, despite the fact
that its availability has increased; high-purity Mexican ice methamphetamine is
more available in the region than it was in the past. MDMA, diverted pharmaceuticals,
and ODDs pose a low threat.
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Strategic Regional Developments
- The purity of South American heroin available in the region has decreased
slightly. Newark (NJ), which previously led the nation in South American heroin
purity, now ranks behind Philadelphia (PA) and New York City. South American
heroin purity has been decreasing in the region since 2003; however, this is
the first time since 2001 that Newark did not lead the nation in South American
heroin purity.
- Despite reported decreases in South American heroin purity, heroin poses
an increasing threat to the region. Heroin abuse, particularly among young people,
is rising. The reason for the increase is largely unknown; however, law enforcement
and public health officials believe that it may be due, in part, to the ease
with which high-purity South American heroin can be administered--by inhalation
rather than by injection. Further, some prescription narcotics abusers switch
to heroin if it is more readily available or less expensive than prescription
narcotics.
- Asian (primarily Vietnamese) DTOs based in Canada are using networks that
they established for marijuana distribution to supply increasing amounts of
high-potency Canadian marijuana as well as MDMA to midlevel and retail-level
distributors in the region.
- Canada-based Asian DTOs and criminal groups as well as members of OMGs have
increased their use of the St. Regis Mohawk (Akwesasne) Reservation as a transportation
corridor to smuggle high-potency Canadian marijuana and MDMA into the region.
- Asian DTOs have increased the size of high-potency marijuana loads that
they ship from Canada into the region through western New York POEs. The loads
had weighed several hundred pounds and had usually been transported in private
vehicles; now most weigh several thousand pounds and are transported in commercial
vehicles. This increase could mean that these DTOs are expanding their marijuana
distribution operations to more domestic drug markets, including those outside
the region.
- Italian organized crime groups have increased their production of high-potency
hydroponic marijuana at indoor grow sites on Long Island because of the high
profit margins associated with the drug and the lesser criminal penalties prescribed
for marijuana-related offenses.
- The availability and abuse of high-purity Mexican ice methamphetamine have
increased in the region, fueled by local Mexican wholesale distributors who
transport multipound quantities of ice methamphetamine into the NY/NJ Region
from laboratories in Mexico and from transshipment locations in Southwest Border
states, California, and Atlanta.
- The New York State Department of Health recently introduced official state
prescription forms that contain security features designed to prevent alterations
and forged prescriptions. The use of these new forms has contributed to a decrease
in local pharmaceutical diversion in New York and may have forced abusers and
traffickers to use alternate methods of acquiring pharmaceutical drugs, such
as ordering them from Internet pharmacies.
Variations From National Trends
- Heroin poses a more serious threat in the NY/NJ Region than it does in most
other regions of the country. The heroin consumed in the NY/NJ Region is among
the purest in the nation, and heroin-related admissions to publicly funded treatment
facilities far exceed those of any other illicit drug. Heroin abuse in the region
has increased, encompassing a growing abuser population that includes a rising
number of younger users.
- Methamphetamine abuse, while increasing in the region, poses a low threat
in the NY/NJ Region--one of the few areas in the country where the methamphetamine
threat is not significant. Most of the methamphetamine available in the area
is transported from California and southwestern states. However, some methamphetamine
is locally produced; most methamphetamine laboratories established in the region
are small--quantities produced in them are sufficient for personal use and limited
distribution only.
- The abuse of prescription narcotics has increased in the NY/NJ region, particularly
among high school and college students. Law enforcement officials in the region
report widespread diversion and abuse of prescription narcotics, including Vicodin,
OxyContin, methadone, and buprenorphine. Treatment admissions for prescription
narcotic abuse in the region rose 92.4 percent between 2001 (4,449) and 2005
(8,559), the latest year for which such data are available; treatment admissions
for individuals aged 12 to 20 rose 427 percent (137 to 722) during the same
period.
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Pacific Regional Overview
Regional Overview
The Pacific Region encompasses northern and central California (including all
counties except the southernmost nine), Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and
Washington as well as the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The region includes the entirety of the
Central Valley California, Hawaii, Nevada, Northern California, Northwest, and Oregon
HIDTAs as well as 10 U.S. Attorneys Districts. The region's access to major illicit
drug production and source areas in Mexico and Canada as well as in Asia and Europe
facilitates smuggling of illicit drugs into the United States through the region
for distribution to drug markets located throughout the country. Several areas in
the Pacific Region have emerged as regional and national distribution centers for
wholesale quantities of illicit drugs. Distribution centers include Central Valley
(CA) (most notably Bakersfield, Fresno, and Modesto), Las Vegas, Portland (OR),
Puget Sound (WA) (most notably Seattle and Tacoma), the San Francisco Bay Area (CA),
and Yakima Valley/Tri-Cities (WA).
Figure 7. The Pacific Region.
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Drug Threat Overview
Methamphetamine trafficking and abuse pose the greatest threat to the region,
largely because of the widespread availability of the drug, high levels of methamphetamine
abuse, and high levels of methamphetamine-related violent crime and property crime.
Marijuana availability is widespread, and abuse of the drug is increasing throughout
the region. This situation is a combined result of rising overall demand and increased
availability of high-potency marijuana. Additionally, marijuana distributors in
California have aggressively exploited state medical marijuana laws to facilitate
illegal cannabis cultivation. The transportation, multilevel distribution, and high
levels of abuse of heroin and cocaine also are significant drug problems in the
region. The distribution and abuse of ODDs and diverted pharmaceutical drugs pose
fewer significant problems than those of other illicit drugs; however, the threat
is increasing in many areas.
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Strategic Regional Developments
- Cannabis cultivation and marijuana production operations at both outdoor
and indoor locations in the Pacific Region are extensive, becoming more sophisticated,
and increasing in size. Rising levels of cannabis cultivation have increased
the risk of harm to law enforcement, public health officials, and private citizens.
- Asian DTOs and criminal groups pose a moderate, yet increasing, drug trafficking
threat to the Pacific Region. Throughout 2006 the incidence of Asian DTOs--predominantly
Vietnamese groups--operating larger indoor cannabis cultivation sites has increased
significantly.
- Some Canada-based Vietnamese criminal groups have relocated a number of
their indoor cannabis cultivation operations from Canada to the region, most
likely to capitalize on increasing regional and national demand for high-potency
marijuana, to reduce transportation costs associated with cross-border smuggling,
and to minimize their exposure to law enforcement border operations.
- Asian DTOs and criminal groups are producing and smuggling increasing amounts
of MDMA from Canada for regional and nationwide distribution--the threat from
MDMA trafficking and abuse is increasing in the Pacific Region.
Variations From National Trends
- State and local law enforcement officials report that methamphetamine contributes
to more violent and property crime in the region than any other drug.
- Mexican ice methamphetamine has emerged as the most prevalent type of methamphetamine
available in the Pacific Region, primarily as a result of significant decreases
in local methamphetamine production over the past several years. To increase
their customer base, Mexican DTOs in northern California are employing a new
technique for marketing methamphetamine that is directed toward younger users--they
are adding flavoring and coloring to the drug. This form of methamphetamine
first emerged in Contra Costa County in 2007.
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Regional Overview
The Southeast (SE) Region encompasses Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana,
Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. It includes three HIDTA
program areas--Atlanta, Gulf Coast, and part of Appalachia. In addition, 20 U.S.
Attorneys Districts are located in the region. Atlanta is a national-level distribution
center for powder cocaine, ice methamphetamine, and Mexican marijuana; the city
also is a regional distribution center for MDMA. The cities of Charlotte, Greensboro,
and Raleigh (NC) have emerged as secondary distribution centers for illicit drugs
destined for drug markets within the region and other parts of the country.
Figure 8. The Southeast Region.
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Drug Threat Overview
The production, abuse, and distribution of illicit drugs pose varying threat
levels throughout the Southeast Region. Cocaine poses the most significant threat;
the drug is widely abused and frequently associated with violent crime in the region,
and availability is typically high. However, in late February 2007 several cocaine
markets in the area, including Atlanta, reported atypical decreases in powder cocaine
availability. Methamphetamine, primarily ice methamphetamine supplied by Mexican
DTOs, is a serious threat to the region and in some areas represents a threat equal
to that of cocaine. Precursor legislation has led to declining local powder methamphetamine
production in the region. However, Mexican DTOs have supplanted declining local
production with increasing quantities of higher-purity ice methamphetamine produced
in Mexico. The higher purity of Mexican ice methamphetamine has drawn more abusers
to the drug; ice methamphetamine abuse crosses most demographic categories in the
region, including teenagers and young adults. Marijuana is the most widely abused
illicit drug throughout the Southeast Region. Heroin poses a relatively low threat
to most of the region; however, some areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, and North
Carolina are experiencing high levels of heroin abuse. ODDs, including MDMA, and
pharmaceutical drugs are available and abused to varying degrees and pose a low
threat.
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Strategic Regional Developments
- Mexican DTOs have established Atlanta as a national-level distribution and
transshipment center for powder cocaine, ice methamphetamine, and Mexican marijuana.
They typically transport significant quantities of these drugs from Mexico,
California, and southwestern states to stash locations within the Atlanta metropolitan
area, from which they either distribute the drugs locally or transport them
to drug markets within the Florida/Caribbean, Mid-Atlantic, New England, New
York/New Jersey, Southeast, and West Central Regions.
- Mexican DTOs are also establishing Charlotte, Greensboro, and Raleigh (NC)
as secondary distribution centers for most drugs in order to spread their operations
over a larger geographic area and minimize the risk of loss occasioned by heightened
law enforcement scrutiny in Atlanta.
- New Orleans (LA) has experienced increased drug-related violence as retail-level
drug distributors displaced by Hurricane Katrina return to the city and attempt
to reestablish their trafficking operations. Upon their return, many of these
distributors are finding a diminished customer base, leading them to seek additional
distribution territory. This situation has resulted in increasingly violent
turf battles among retail distributors, contributing to escalating homicide
rates in the city.
- Indoor cannabis cultivation is increasing in the Southeast Region as growers
attempt to avoid outdoor eradication and attain higher profits through the production
of higher-potency marijuana. Cuban criminal groups with ties to organizations
in the Florida/Caribbean Region are increasingly cultivating cannabis at indoor
grow sites in the SE Region.
Variations From National Trends
- African American criminal groups and street gangs that typically distribute
crack cocaine, heroin, marijuana and, occasionally, MDMA have recently begun
to distribute ice methamphetamine.
- New Orleans drug traffickers have formed new associations with sources of
supply in Texas, particularly traffickers in Houston. Approximately 150,000
New Orleans residents were evacuated and relocated to the Houston area in 2005
because of Hurricane Katrina. Some of these evacuees were drug traffickers from
high-crime areas of New Orleans, and, upon relocating to Houston, they formed
relationships with local drug dealers and gang members. Many of these traffickers
have returned to New Orleans, and the relationships that they forged with Houston-based
traffickers have enabled them to reestablish drug markets in New Orleans with
a steady source of supply.
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Regional Overview
The Southwest Region encompasses Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and the
nine southernmost counties in California. Within the Southwest Region are eight
HIDTAs--the California Border Alliance Group (CBAG), Los Angeles, Arizona, New Mexico,
Houston, North Texas, South Texas, and West Texas HIDTAs--as well as 11 U.S. Attorneys
Districts. The Southwest Region, which contains the nearly 2,000-mile-long U.S.-Mexico
border, is the principal arrival zone for most illicit drugs smuggled into the United
States. Mexican DTOs operating in Mexico and the United States exert nearly total
control over drug trafficking operations along the U.S.-Mexico border. The Southwest
Region also serves as a significant national money laundering center for the transportation
and placement of illicit funds derived from the sale of drugs in the region and
throughout the country.
Figure 9. The Southwest Region.
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Drug Threat Overview
The drug threat facing the Southwest Region is extensive, encompassing drug production,
cross-border smuggling, national drug transportation, multilevel drug distribution,
increasing abuse rates, drug-related crime, and money laundering. Methamphetamine,
cocaine, marijuana, heroin, ODDs, and diverted pharmaceutical drugs pose varying
threats to the Southwest Region. Methamphetamine poses the greatest drug threat
because of the amount smuggled into the region from Mexico, the high rates of abuse,
and the increasing amount of violence and property crime related to the drug. The
threat posed by the trafficking and abuse of cocaine is increasing, primarily because
Mexican DTOs dominate the cocaine market in the region and have emerged as the primary
suppliers of cocaine to other regions of the country. Marijuana is the most readily
available drug in the Southwest Region; more marijuana is seized along the Southwest
Border than all other drugs combined. Drug traffickers often use marijuana smuggling
and distribution to finance other trafficking activities. The trafficking and abuse
of heroin also pose significant drug threats because of the large quantities of
Mexican black tar and Mexican brown powder heroin that are smuggled into the region
from Mexico for local distribution and transshipment to other regions of the country.
ODDs and diverted pharmaceutical drugs pose a lesser drug threat to the region,
largely because the drugs are transported, distributed, and abused less frequently
than other illicit drugs.
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Strategic Regional Developments
- Mexican DTOs are the primary organizational threat to the Southwest Region,
primarily because of the breadth of their trafficking operations along the U.S.-Mexico
border. They exert more influence over drug trafficking in the Southwest Region
than any other trafficking group because of their extensive cross-border trafficking
networks as well as their expansive transportation and distribution operations.
- Mexican DTOs operating along the U.S.-Mexico border are no longer solely
drug trafficking organizations; they are expanding into other criminal enterprises
to generate additional income. Many DTOs now engage in alien smuggling, extortion,
and ransom kidnapping to help fund their drug trafficking operations.
- Mexican ice methamphetamine is the dominant form of methamphetamine available
in the region and has replaced locally produced powder methamphetamine. This
is a result of Mexican DTOs' transferring methamphetamine production operations
to Mexico and the enactment of state and local precursor chemical control legislation
that dramatically decreased methamphetamine production in the region.
- Mexican DTOs are expanding cannabis cultivation operations in the Southwest
Region, most likely to capitalize on increasing regional and national demand
for higher-potency marijuana. Mexican DTOs control the largest cannabis plots
in the region and often locate them on public lands, including in national forests.
- Several port expansion projects are underway in Mexico; they involve the
development of intermodal transportation networks connecting Mexico's maritime
ports with markets in the interior of the United States. These projects will
most likely increase the volume of commercial truck and rail traffic entering
the Southwest Region from Mexico, providing traffickers with additional opportunities
to conceal their illicit operations.
Variations From National Trends
- Several Mexican DTOs are engaged in violent disputes over control of smuggling
routes that traverse the Southwest Border. Most of this violence has remained
in Mexico; some, including violence against law enforcement personnel who patrol
the Southwest Border, has spilled into the region. Violence is also emerging
in Southwest Border areas and communities that have not experienced high levels
of smuggling-related violence in the past.
- Abuse of cheese heroin is increasing in the Dallas area. At least 11 schools
within the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) reported the presence of
the drug combination on their campuses. Moreover, local officials attribute
the deaths of at least 22 Dallas County individuals since 2005 to cheese heroin;
eight were DISD students.
- African American criminal groups are becoming increasingly involved in methamphetamine
distribution in the region. This includes an increasing number of crack cocaine
distribution groups that are now distributing methamphetamine in addition to
crack cocaine. Additionally, some African American crack cocaine abusers are
switching to methamphetamine. These trends have been reported by law enforcement
and health officials in southeastern New Mexico, Dallas and Tyler (TX), and
Oklahoma City.
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West Central Regional Overview
Regional Overview
The West Central Region is composed of large metropolitan areas as well as expansive,
sparsely populated locations that include public and Native American tribal lands
within 11 states; the region also shares an international border with Canada. The
West Central Region is populated by approximately 22.6 million people; more than
50 percent reside in metropolitan and urban areas. Traffickers distribute large
quantities of illicit drugs from St. Louis, Kansas City, Des Moines, Omaha, Denver,
and Salt Lake City. These cities facilitate access to markets in the West Central
Region and the rest of the country, primarily because of their geographic locations
along major interstate highways and other transportation systems.
Figure 10. The West Central
Region.
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Drug Threat Overview
Methamphetamine poses the greatest overall drug threat to the region because
of its wide availability and association with violence, identity theft, and property
crime. Mexican DTOs have capitalized on declining local methamphetamine production
to supply the region's methamphetamine market with low-cost, high-purity ice methamphetamine.
The distribution and abuse of powder and crack cocaine and Mexican black tar and
brown powder heroin also are significant drug threats. Marijuana is the most widely
available and abused drug in the region. The threat posed by ODDs is low and varies
by state. The diversion and abuse of pharmaceutical drugs are generally low.
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Strategic Regional Developments
- Mexican DTOs have reinforced their position as the dominant illicit drug
transporters and distributors in the West Central Region. They exploit well-established
trafficking networks and a sophisticated distribution system that reaches from
sources of supply in Mexico and southwestern states to regional distribution
hubs in Denver, Kansas City and St. Louis (MO), Omaha, and Salt Lake City.
- Denver, Kansas City, and St. Louis have emerged as significant transshipment
centers for cocaine, Mexican ice methamphetamine, and Mexican marijuana smuggled
by Mexican DTOs to drug markets in the Northeast, including New York City.
- Mexican DTOs are expanding their distribution operations in metropolitan
areas within Missouri, where they had previously maintained a limited presence.
These traffickers provide wholesale and midlevel distributors with a consistent
source for cocaine, Mexican ice methamphetamine, and Mexican marijuana.
- Crack cocaine distributors in some areas of the region are now selling powder
cocaine to users along with instructions on how to convert the powder into crack.
They are doing so in order to avoid the more stringent penalties associated
with crack distribution.
- Some abusers are beginning to use crack cocaine in place of methamphetamine
in metropolitan areas and smaller towns, such as Hannibal (MO), that have experienced
significant declines in the availability of locally produced methamphetamine.
- Asian DTOs with ties to Canada have recently begun to establish hydroponic
cannabis grow operations in the region to capitalize on the rising demand for
high-potency marijuana. In addition, they are quite likely establishing grow
sites in the region to avoid losing marijuana loads at the U.S.-Canada border
as a result of heightened law enforcement scrutiny and to increase profit margins
by avoiding cross-border transportation costs.
- The abuse of cheese heroin is emerging in Boulder County (CO). This drug
appears to be popular among 10- to 16-year-old Hispanic juveniles in the region,
both male and female.
Variations From National Trends
- Retail distribution of crack cocaine by Hispanic dealers is increasing in
many urban drug markets within the region. Hispanic dealers are forcing out
African American retailers who previously controlled all crack distribution
in these areas. As such, many African American crack cocaine dealers are moving
their operations to outlying suburban and rural areas to avoid confrontation
and violence.
- The availability and retail distribution of white powder heroin have surpassed
those of Mexican heroin over the past 2 years in the St. Louis metropolitan
area and St. Louis County.
- Retail theft of pharmaceutical drugs has dramatically increased since 2004
in areas of the region. For instance, pharmacy robberies and burglaries in the
Denver and Salt Lake City metropolitan areas have increased by 50 percent in
each of the last 2 years.
End Note
26. State of New Jersey
Department of Human Services reports that 5 percent of young adults (ages 18 to
25) in New Jersey report lifetime heroin abuse, compared with 2 percent nationwide.
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