|
National Drug Intelligence Center
National Drug Threat Assessment 2007
October 2006
New England Regional Overview
Regional Overview
The New England Region (NER) encompasses the states of
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
There is one HIDTA within the region--the New England HIDTA--as well as six U.S.
Attorney Districts, one for each state. Most of the illicit drugs available in
the NER are transported from the Southwest Border; however, geographically, the
NER shoreline and international border with Canada are often exploited by
traffickers to smuggle drugs into the region. Additionally, various criminal
groups--primarily highly mobile members of street gangs from southern New England
and New York City--increasingly are expanding their drug distribution operations
into smaller and more rural communities throughout New England.
Drug Threat Overview
The availability and abuse of opiates, particularly heroin but
also diverted pharmaceuticals such as oxycodones (OxyContin, Percocet) and
hydrocodone (Vicodin), pose the most significant drug threats to the NER. The
region has a large number of opiate addicts who are supplied by a
well-established network of heroin and pharmaceutical distributors. Cocaine,
particularly crack, is the drug of choice in some areas of the region, including
the inner-city neighborhoods of Hartford, Bridgeport, and New Haven (CT), Boston
(MA), and Providence (RI). Crack availability has expanded in northern New
England, largely because African American and Hispanic criminal groups and
street gangs from southern New England have increased distribution operations in
the area. Marijuana is widely abused, with high quality, high-priced hydroponic
marijuana from Canada and cheaper commercial-grade marijuana from Mexico both
readily available in the region. Methamphetamine production and abuse, which
were previously concentrated within the gay male community, are increasing among
the general population in eastern parts of the NER; however, the threat posed by
methamphetamine remains relatively low. The abuse of club drugs such as MDMA,
GHB, and ketamine has slightly decreased in recent years, although these drugs
remain popular among young adults and teenagers in some areas of the region.
To Top To Contents
Strategic Regional Developments
-
Heroin and diverted opiate pharmaceutical abuse is the
greatest drug threat to the NER because of widespread abuse and associated
social consequences. Diverted opiate pharmaceutical abuse is spreading among
the general population and has fueled increasing heroin abuse in New England,
since pharmaceutical abusers often switch to
heroin.
-
Methadone, an opiate used to treat heroin abuse and chronic
pain, has become the leading drug involved in overdose deaths in Maine and New
Hampshire. Oxycodone abusers, who are having difficulty obtaining the drug,
are using methadone, attempting to achieve an oxycodone-type high. This effect
is unattainable from methadone, and the abusers are sometimes overdosing
because the drugs have different onset and duration periods.
-
Crack cocaine distribution is increasing in northern New England19 as street gangs from southern New
England20 travel north in an attempt
to expand their distribution networks. These gang members often acquire
handguns while in northern New England and transport them south, fueling
violent crime in the southern part of the region.
-
A rising number of polydrug criminal groups and street gangs
are operating from the Lowell and Lawrence (MA) area, the primary New England
distribution hub, influencing drug activity throughout much of the region.
-
Methamphetamine is an emerging, but low, drug threat to New
England. Clandestine laboratory seizures have occurred in Connecticut, Maine,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Methamphetamine abuse, previously
concentrated among members of the gay male communities in Boston and Cape Cod,
is now gradually spreading to the general population. Mexican DTOs and
Canada-based Asian traffickers, who have ready access to large supplies of
methamphetamine, are poised to meet any future increases in demand.
-
Canada-based Asian DTOs and OMGs increasingly are smuggling
Canada-produced hydroponic marijuana and MDMA, as well as diverted
prescription drugs into New England for distribution; they are transporting
millions of dollars generated from the sale of these drugs in the United
States back to Canada.
Variations From National Trends
-
Heroin poses the primary drug threat to New England--the only
region of the country where this drug is the leading problem. The heroin
problem in the NER is driven in part by pharmaceutical opiate abuse;
pharmaceutical opiate abusers often switch to heroin because of the drug's
lower cost and higher purity.
-
Some opiate abusers in the NER who are undergoing methadone
treatment are using cocaine to satisfy drug cravings. Since opiates and
stimulants affect different parts of the brain, patients on methadone can
still achieve a high by using cocaine.
-
Methadone abuse is increasing in the NER; in 2005 the drug
emerged as the leading cause of drug-related deaths in Maine and New
Hampshire. Some doctors are becoming reluctant to prescribe an oxycodone such
as OxyContin because of the drug's high abuse potential; they are now
prescribing methadone for pain. Consequently, abusers seeking an
oxycodone-type high that is unattainable from methadone are sometimes using
excessive amounts of methadone and overdosing.
-
The threat posed to the NER by methamphetamine, while
increasing, is low--the region is one of the few areas in the country where the
methamphetamine threat is not significant. Unlike in the rest of the country,
methamphetamine is infrequently produced in the NER. Most of the
methamphetamine available in the region is transported by traffickers via mail
from California and southwestern states as well as Colorado and Oregon.
Further, ice methamphetamine is rarely encountered in the NER.
-
Significant quantities of high potency marijuana are smuggled
to and through the NER from Canada. Asian DTOs, OMGs, Native North Americans,
and Caucasian traffickers, and traditional organized crime (TOC) groups have
expanded their marijuana production capabilities to Ontario, Quebec, and New
Brunswick, where multithousand-plant grows are now often encountered and tens
of thousands of plants are seized annually by Canadian authorities. Most of
the high potency marijuana produced at these sites is destined for U.S.
markets via brokers operating in the Montreal area.
End Notes
19. In this
report northern New England refers to Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
20. In this report southern New
England refers to Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
To Top To Contents
To Previous Page
To Next Page
To Publications Page To
Home Page
|