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The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Heroin Signature Program (HSP) analyzes hundreds of wholesale-level heroin samples each year to identify the geographic area—Mexico, South America (SA), Southwest Asia (SWA), or Southeast Asia (SEA)—where the samples were manufactured.

The PDIP strives to maintain situational awareness of the threat posed by prescription opioids in Pennsylvania, and to share these analyses with stakeholders in federal, state, and municipal governments. In 2013, the PDIP published a Pharmaceutical Threat Assessment for Pennsylvania that found prescription opioid availability and abuse at epidemic levels. In 2016 and 2019, the PDIP published updated assessments detailing prescription opioid availability and abuse trends; this 2020 assessment builds on the previous analyses.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Philadelphia Field Division (PFD) Intelligence Program conducted an analysis of drug availability and abuse for the State of Delaware. This product highlights significant findings regarding various drug trends since last reported in 2017.

The primary drug threats identified in Delaware are illicit opioids, cocaine, controlled prescription drugs, and methamphetamine. The determination of drug threats in Delaware considers a variety of factors including: availability, threat to public health, community impact, attendant crime, enforcement activity, seizures, drug abuse and treatment statistics, and propensity for abuse.

The PFD Intelligence Program analyzed the following indicators in this assessment: illicit and controlled prescription drug availability; drug prices and purity; and fatal drug-related overdose data.

The HSP (Heroin Signature Program) is one essential component of the DEA’s Intelligence Program to identify trends in heroin trafficking and distribution in the United States. The objective of the program is to identify and quantify the chemical components of heroin seized at U.S. ports of entry (POE), all non-POE heroin seizures weighing more than one kilogram, randomly chosen samples, and special requests for analysis. Samples submitted to the HSP undergo in-depth chemical analysis at the DEA Special Testing and Research Laboratory (SFL1). This chemical analysis allows SFL1 to associate the heroin samples with a production process, or “signature,” which is indicative of a particular geographic source area and processing method.

Since 2009, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reporting from the Los Angeles Field Division (LAFD) has explored drug-related mortality in the LAFD area of responsibility (AOR), which includes the State of Nevada. In 2019, LAFD personnel reviewed post-mortem toxicology records from the period between 2015 and 2018. These records show that the rate of drug-caused deaths per 100,000 in Washoe County alone increased by more than 130 percent during these four year.

DEA's Philadelphia Division conducted a review of laboratory analyzed drug seizures for Pennsylvania. The results of analyzing this data formed the basis for estimating the level of drugs present in Pennsylvania and highlights trends in drug availability. 

The flow of fentanyl into the United States in 2019 is more diverse compared to the start of the fentanyl crisis in 2014, with new source countries and new transit countries emerging as significant trafficking nodes. This is exacerbating the already multi-faceted fentanyl crisis by introducing additional source countries into the global supply chain of fentanyl, fentanyl-related substances, and fentanyl precursors. Further, this complicates law enforcement operations and policy efforts to stem the flow of fentanyl into the United States. While Mexico and China are the primary source countries for fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked directly into the United States, India is emerging as a source for finished fentanyl powder and fentanyl precursor chemicals.

The DEA New Orleans Division conducted a five-year review of the data on synthetic substances reported in the National Forensic Laboratory Information System for their area of responsibility. The findings revealed that Louisiana submitted the majority of reports for synthetic cannabinoid substance and synthetic cathinones substance for 2013 to 2017. Synthetic cannabinoid substance and synthetic cathinones are classified as new psychoactive substances (NPS).

The 2019 National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA) is a comprehensive strategic assessment of the threat posed to the United States by domestic and international drug trafficking and the abuse of both licit and illicit drugs. The report combines federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement reporting; public health data; open source reporting; and intelligence from other government agencies to determine which substances and criminal organizations represent the greatest threat to the United States.

The vast majority of drugs entering Chicago and the surrounding area, including fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances (FRS), heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, continue to be smuggled across the United States–Mexico border. Availability and abuse of these drugs is high, with opioids being the most prevalent in major cities and methamphetamine in rural areas. The primary organizational threats within the CFD are Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs)—often referred to as cartels— that distribute illicit drugs through trusted intermediaries to local street gangs for retail sale.

The Fentanyl Signature Profiling Program (FSPP) performs in-depth chemical analyses on fentanyl and fentanyl-related exhibits obtained from seizures made throughout the United States.  This report details the results and conclusions derived from these analyses that are reported on a quarterly basis. FSPP data is not intended to reflect U.S. market share, but is rather a snapshot of samples submitted to this laboratory from the 7 DEA regional laboratories.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Chicago Field Division (CFD) conducted a study of all exhibits containing fentanyl and/or fentanyl-related substances (FRS) acquired within the CFD’s area of responsibility (AOR) between fiscal year (FY) 2015 and FY 2019 up to May 30, 2019. The CFD AOR includes the States of Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. The exhibits included those acquired by DEA and other federal agencies, such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The phenomenon of drug overdose death has grown steadily worse in the United States during most of the 21st century and has been skyrocketing since 2013 and the introduction of illicitly manufactured fentanyl-related substances into the domestic drug market...

Since 2014, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Philadelphia Division Intelligence Program (PDIP) has annually collected and analyzed data and disseminated perceived trends and key findings that concern drug-related overdose deaths in Pennsylvania. This analysis has informed a multi-disciplinary audience relating to the drugs, populations, and geographic areas of greatest concern...

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Philadelphia Division’s Intelligence Program (PDIP) reviewed a set of data indicators for the years 2015-2018 to assess the current prescription opioid threat in Pennsylvania. Analysis revealed that a positive change in the prescription opioid threat may be underway...

The DEA Heroin Domestic Monitor Program (HDMP) is a retail-level heroin purchase program that provides data analysis about the geographic source of heroin along with price, purity, adulterants, and diluents sold at the street-level in 27 U.S. cities. The data in this report is from 2016.

Crafting initiatives and strategies to address opioid supply, demand, and misuse requires timely and actionable information and data, which this report endeavors to provide. This report presents a comprehensive assessment of the opioid crisis in Pennsylvania, through collection and analysis of supply and demand indicators and intelligence, as well as detailed county level analysis of multiple opioid misuse data sources.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Heroin Signature Program (HSP) analyzed several hundred wholesale-level heroin samples in 2016 to identify the geographic area where the samples were manufactured (Mexico, South America [SA], Southwest Asia [SWA], or Southeast Asia [SEA]).

The purpose of the Greater New Orleans Situational Drug Report is to identify current and emerging drug trends within the New Orleans metropolitan area as well as to deliver accurate and timely strategic intelligence to assist drug treatment and prevention organizations in the development of drug prevention and mitigation strategies. This assessment provides an overview of the region’s primary drug threats.