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National Methamphetamine Threat Assessment 2009"The National Methamphetamine Threat Assessment 2009 is a national-level strategic assessment of methamphetamine trafficking in the United States. This assessment addresses significant trends in methamphetamine production, transportation, distribution, and abuse. It discusses a wide range of issues, including methamphetamine production in the United States and Mexico and the impact of foreign and domestic methamphetamine production trends on availability of the drug in U.S. drug markets. This assessment draws upon the National Drug Threat Assessment 2009, regional drug intelligence products prepared by the National Drug Intelligence Center, and reporting from numerous federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2008-12
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New England High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area: Drug Market Analysis 2008"This assessment provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the New England High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns related to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The report was prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. The report is designed to provide policymakers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the New England HIDTA."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2008-06
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Economic Impact of Illicit Drug Use on American Society 2011"The National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) prepares an annual National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA) that provides federal policymakers and senior officials with a comprehensive appraisal of the danger that trafficking and use of illicit drugs pose to the security of our nation. To expand the scope of its NDTA, and to provide the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and other federal officials with a broad and deep understanding of the full burden that illicit drug use places on our country, NDIC has prepared this assessment-- The Economic Impact of Illicit Drug Use on American Society. The assessment is conducted within a Cost of Illness (COI) framework that has guided work of this kind for several decades. As such, it monetizes the consequences of illicit drug use, thereby allowing its impact to be gauged relative to other social problems. In 2007, the cost of illicit drug use totaled more than $193 billion. Direct and indirect costs attributable to illicit drug use are estimated in three principal areas: crime, health, and productivity. Each of these areas has several components, which appear as rows in the Statistical Summary table presented on the following page. Because it is possible to characterize productivity lost to drug-induced incarceration and drug-induced homicide as either crime or productivity costs, a 'scenario' is provided for each method of accounting― and these scenarios appear as columns (a) and (b) of the Statistical Summary table."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2011-04
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National Drug Threat Assessment [HSDL Holdings]This is a collection of National Drug Threat Assessments on the Homeland Security Digital Library. From the text: "The National Drug Intelligence Center's annual National Drug Threat Assessments gives policymakers and counterdrug executives timely, predictive reports on the threat of drugs, gangs, and violence. We synthesize the views of local, state, regional, and federal agencies to produce a comprehensive picture of these threats."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)
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National Methamphetamine Threat Assessment 2007This interagency assessment provides a strategic overview and predictive outlook of the threat to the United States from the illicit trafficking and use of methamphetamine. Strategic findings include: "Sharp decreases in domestic methamphetamine production since 2003 have been offset by increased production in Mexico for U.S. distribution by Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs); Recent strong chemical control efforts in Mexico may be challenging Mexican DTOs' ability to maintain their current high level of methamphetamine production; Mexican DTOs and criminal groups are expanding their position relative to methamphetamine distribution, particularly ice methamphetamine, including in the eastern United States."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2006-11
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Marijuana and Methamphetamine Trafficking on Federal Lands Threat AssessmentThis report provides an assessment of marijuana cultivation and methamphetamine production occurring on and transportation through public federal lands. "Marijuana and methamphetamine production and transportation on federal lands, in addition to posing an overall threat, contribute to the threat of violence against law enforcement and private individuals. According to USDA Forest Service and DOI reporting, cannabis cultivators and methamphetamine producers on federal lands often are armed, and cannabis grow sites and methamphetamine laboratories frequently are booby-trapped. Law enforcement officers have seized shotguns, handguns, automatic weapons, pipe bombs, grenades, and night vision equipment from drug producers and smugglers on federal lands. For instance, USDA Forest Service reporting indicates that the number of firearms seized on Forest Service lands during drug enforcement actions increased from 294 in 2002 to 346 in 2003."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2005-02
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Arizona High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area: Drug Market Analysis 2007"This assessment provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the Arizona High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns related to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The report was prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. The report is designed to provide policymakers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the Arizona HIDTA. Mexican methamphetamine smuggling, transportation, and distribution continue to be the primary drug threats to the Arizona HIDTA region, despite successful precursor chemical control legislation, law enforcement pressure, and public awareness campaigns that have contributed to significant declines in local methamphetamine production and distribution over the last several years. Several successful law enforcement interdictions, seizures, and arrests since December 2006 on both sides of the Arizona-Mexico border as well as legislation in Mexico pertaining to the importation of pseudoephedrine into that country have contributed to temporary methamphetamine shortages and dramatic price increases in Arizona and other U.S. locations that are supplied by traffickers in Arizona, including Las Vegas, Nevada. Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) and criminal groups continue to smuggle illicit drugs, particularly marijuana, through remote areas of public and tribal lands to avoid law enforcement detection."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2007-05
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California Border Alliance Group Drug Market Analysis"This assessment provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the California Border Alliance Group (CBAG) region of responsibility, highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns related to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The report was prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. The report is designed to provide policymakers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the CBAG region. Mexican ice methamphetamine is more readily available in the CBAG region than domestically produced powder methamphetamine, largely as a result of precursor chemical control laws in California and increased production of ice methamphetamine in Mexico. According to U.S. Border Patrol data, methamphetamine seizures in the San Diego and El Centro Sectors increased 94 percent from 2005 through 2006. Additionally, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reports that methamphetamine seizures at the San Diego and El Centro ports of entry (POEs) increased 55 percent from 2005 through 2006. Marijuana production has increased in the CBAG region as a result of rising demand for higher-potency marijuana, both regionally and nationally. Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are fueling a large percentage of this increase, producing marijuana with higher THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) levels than they have in the past."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2007-06
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Chicago High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area: Drug Market Analysis 2007"This assessment is a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the Chicago High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) region, highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns related to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The report was prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. The report is designed to provide policymakers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the Chicago HIDTA. Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) and criminal groups dominate the transportation and wholesale distribution of illicit drugs in the Chicago HIDTA region. These organizations operate as national-level distributors of illicit drugs, particularly to midwestern and eastern drug markets. African American and Hispanic street gangs such as Gangster Disciples, Vice Lords, and Latin Kings dominate the retail distribution of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana in the HIDTA region. These street gangs are prevalent in urban areas and are becoming more active in suburban Chicago communities. Some street gang members have relocated their residences to suburban communities but still maintain control of drug markets in the city of Chicago, where most illicit drug sales occur. Increasingly, gang members distribute drugs inside residences or commercial properties, regularly changing sales locations in response to the Chicago Police Department's effective street corner initiatives that target open-air drug markets. The frequent relocation of indoor markets makes them inherently more difficult for law enforcement to penetrate than traditional openair markets."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2007-05
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Central Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area: Drug Market Analysis 2007"This assessment provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the Central Valley California (CVC) High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns relating to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The report was prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. The report is designed to provide policymakers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the Central Valley California HIDTA. Indoor cannabis cultivation is increasing in the CVC HIDTA region; of particular concern is the rising prevalence of well-organized Asian drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) that produce and distribute indoor-grown, high-potency marijuana. Violent incidents by outdoor cannabis cultivators against law enforcement as well as the presence of weapons at outdoor grow sites are increasing in the region, very likely in response to increased law enforcement pressure and resulting successes in cannabis eradication efforts. Law enforcement officers are increasingly targeting methamphetamine laboratory operators in the region, resulting in a decrease in the number of methamphetamine laboratories seized in the region. However, methamphetamine production in the CVC HIDTA remains at levels sufficient for regional- and national-level distribution, as evidenced by the continued discovery of large-scale methamphetamine laboratory dumpsites, which are indicative of ongoing super laboratories in the region."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2007-06
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Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area: Drug Market Analysis 2007"This assessment provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns relating to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The report was prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. The report is designed to provide policymakers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the Midwest HIDTA. Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are now expanding their transportation and distribution networks in eastern Missouri, particularly in the St. Louis metropolitan area, an area within the HIDTA where they had previously maintained minimal presence. An increasing Mexican population within the area has facilitated the control that Mexican DTOs maintain over drug trafficking and has enabled them to use small communities in the Midwest HIDTA region with large Hispanic populations-such as Dodge City, Garden City, Great Bend, and Liberal, Kansas; Joplin, Monett, and southwestern Missouri; and Fremont, Grand Island, Lexington, and Norfolk, Nebraska-as transit hubs for larger markets. State pseudoephedrine control laws together with law enforcement and public awareness programs have contributed to reduced domestic methamphetamine production since mid-2005. Some local methamphetamine production continues, however, placing citizens and law enforcement at risk."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2007-05
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Houston High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area: Drug Market Analysis 2007"This assessment provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the Houston High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns related to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The report was prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. The report is designed to provide policymakers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the Houston HIDTA. Houston is one of the most significant cocaine and marijuana distribution centers in the United States. Large quantities of cocaine and marijuana are distributed from Houston to numerous market areas, including Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois; Miami, Florida; and New Orleans, Louisiana. Houston has emerged as a principal transshipment center for Mexico-produced ice methamphetamine supplied by Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) to major drug markets in the southeastern and central United States. Transshipment through Houston will increase as demand for high-purity ice methamphetamine continues to rise in these markets as well as throughout the United States. Houston has become a significant source for pharmaceutical drugs distributed to markets outside the HIDTA region. The drugs, which primarily include hydrocodone and codeine, are diverted in Houston and distributed to markets in the southeastern United States, including Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2007-06
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Los Angeles High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area: Drug Market Analysis 2007"This assessment provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the Los Angeles High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns related to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The report was prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. The report is designed to provide policymakers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the Los Angeles HIDTA region. The Los Angeles HIDTA region is the most significant illicit drug distribution center in the United States-Los Angeles is the only U.S. city that serves as a national-level drug distribution center for all four major drugs of abuse-cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine, as well as for the distribution of MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine also known as ecstasy) and PCP (phencyclidine). Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) and criminal groups based in the Los Angeles HIDTA region are increasing their control over illicit drug distribution in many drug markets, most recently in East Coast drug markets that have long been controlled by other trafficking groups, which further enhances the Los Angeles HIDTA's role as a national-level drug distribution center. The Los Angeles HIDTA region is a national-level source area for domestically produced methamphetamine. Although production levels have been declining, quantities sufficient for national-level distribution continue to be produced in the region."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2007-06
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Michigan High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area: Drug Market Analysis 2007"This assessment provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the Michigan High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns related to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The report was prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. The report is designed to provide policymakers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the Michigan HIDTA region. Methamphetamine production in the Michigan HIDTA region has declined significantly as a result of successful law enforcement initiatives, public awareness campaigns, and state-level precursor control legislation. Methamphetamine laboratory incidents in Michigan HIDTA counties decreased 44 percent from 2005 to 2006. Clandestinely produced fentanyl, often mixed with and sold as heroin, has emerged as a serious drug threat in the Detroit area. At least 212 fentanyl-related overdose deaths have occurred in the Detroit area since August 2005. Some abusers knowingly abuse fentanyl, while others unwittingly use it under the impression that it is heroin. The large numbers of overdoses and deaths have been a deterrent to some abusers; however, the higher potency of heroin/fentanyl combinations appeals to some heroin abusers in the area who seek a more intense euphoric effect. Heroin use is increasing throughout Michigan, particularly among young female Caucasian abusers. Some abusers of prescription narcotics such as OxyContin substitute heroin when they have difficulty obtaining pharmaceuticals."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2007-06
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Nevada High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area: Drug Market Analysis 2007"This assessment provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the Nevada High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns relating to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The report was prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. The report is designed to provide policymakers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the HIDTA program area. The trafficking and abuse of methamphetamine pose the most significant drug problem in the Nevada HIDTA region. Additionally, methamphetamine trafficking and abuse are the leading contributors to property crime and violent crime in the region. HIDTA officials report that indoor cannabis cultivation and high-potency marijuana production appear to be increasing in the Nevada HIDTA region. Most illegal indoor grows range from 30 to 100 plants and are located in residential neighborhoods and rural areas. Additionally, some marijuana traffickers are exploiting Nevada's medicinal marijuana laws in an attempt to justify illegal indoor cannabis cultivation. The abuse of diverted pharmaceuticals has increased within the Nevada HIDTA region, contributing to a rise in accidental drug overdoses. More drug-related deaths are attributed to diverted pharmaceuticals in Clark County than to any other illicit drug. Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are using more sophisticated compartments in private and commercial vehicles to transport drugs and bulk cash proceeds to and through the HIDTA region."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2007-06
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Milwaukee High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area: Drug Market Analysis 2007"This assessment provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the Milwaukee High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) region, highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns related to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The report was prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. The report is designed to provide policymakers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the Milwaukee HIDTA. The heroin abuser population in Milwaukee, which had been limited to small networks of inner-city residents, has changed. Caucasian males and females from suburban areas and smaller outlying towns are coming to Milwaukee in increasing numbers to purchase heroin for personal use or to sell to friends and acquaintances. In addition, the mean age of heroin users has decreased; abusers now include senior high school age youth. Canada-based Vietnamese criminal groups have increased their transportation of high-potency marijuana into Milwaukee, primarily through Detroit, Michigan, increasing the availability of the drug in the region. Traffickers use Milwaukee as a transit location for khat shipments that originate in England, France, Germany, and Italy, destined for Minneapolis, Minnesota. Sixty Latin Kings members were indicted in 2006, severely disrupting the criminal activities of the street gang; however, other members are poised to take over drug markets vacated by the indicted members."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2007-04
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Hawaii High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area: Drug Market Analysis 2007"This assessment provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the Hawaii High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns relating to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The report was prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. The report is designed to provide policymakers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the Hawaii HIDTA. Decreasing outdoor cannabis cultivation and a corresponding increase in indoor grow operations in Hawaii may signify a shift in marijuana production practices as cultivators begin to move operations indoors in an attempt to evade law enforcement detection and increase profit margins through diversified growing techniques. The diversion and abuse of prescription narcotics such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and methadone are increasing in the Hawaii HIDTA region, causing considerable concern among law enforcement personnel and treatment providers.[…]The Hawaii HIDTA was established in 1999 to address the threat posed by illicit drugs in the entire state of Hawaii. The state comprises eight main islands and a 1,500-mile chain of islets that spans over 6,400 square miles in the north central Pacific Ocean approximately 2,500 miles from the mainland United States. The islands have a combined population of approximately 1.2 million people; most (approximately 70 percent) reside in the city of Honolulu on the island of O'ahu."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2007-06
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Lake County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area: Drug Market Analysis 2007"This assessment provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the Lake County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) region, highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns related to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The report was prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. The report is designed to provide policymakers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the Lake County HIDTA. Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) based in Lake County, Indiana, and neighboring Chicago, Illinois, control the transportation and wholesale distribution of illicit drugs in the Lake County HIDTA region; they also are increasingly using the area as a transshipment center for drugs that they supply to markets in the Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, and Southeast Regions of the United States. Street gang members dominate retail drug distribution, particularly crack cocaine, in Lake County and are largely responsible for the high level of drug-related crime that occurs in metropolitan areas of the HIDTA region. Gang- and drug-related criminal activity is spreading from traditional high-crime urban areas in the state, such as Gary, Hammond, and East Chicago, into surrounding suburban communities in Lake County and neighboring Porter County. Gang members based in Lake County also contribute to violent crime in other cities, including Chicago; Detroit, Michigan; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by supplying firearms to their criminal associates in those cities."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2007-04
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New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area: Drug Market Analysis 2007"This assessment provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the New York/New Jersey (NY/NJ) High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns related to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The report was prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. The report is designed to provide policymakers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the NY/NJ HIDTA. Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are transporting a larger percentage of the cocaine and heroin available in the NY/NJ HIDTA region and are taking a more significant role in distributing drugs in the area. Colombian DTOs have lessened their direct involvement in transportation and distribution duties, creating this opportunity for Mexican DTOs to increase their market share. Over the past 12 to 16 months, Mexican DTOs' growing role has led to an influx of higher-purity crystal methamphetamine, a larger volume of drugs transported overland (mostly from the Southwest Border area), and a significant decline in drugs transported to the HIDTA region from Florida. Canada-based DTOs have increased the size of the hydroponic marijuana loads that they ship into the HIDTA region through western New York ports of entry (POEs). Previously, the loads weighed several hundred pounds and were commonly transported in private vehicles; now, most weigh multithousand pounds and are transported in commercial vehicles."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2007-06
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Northern California High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area: Drug Market Analysis 2007"This assessment provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the Northern California High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns relating to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The report was prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. The report is designed to provide policymakers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the Northern California HIDTA. The trafficking and abuse of ice methamphetamine are the most significant drug threats to the Northern California HIDTA region. Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are the primary transporters and distributors of the drug. To increase their customer base, Mexican DTOs began a new technique for marketing methamphetamine that is directed toward younger users by adding flavoring and coloring to the drug. This form of methamphetamine first emerged in Contra Costa County in 2007. Methamphetamine trafficking and abuse also are a significant influence in violent crimes and property crimes perpetrated in the HIDTA region. Mexican DTOs are cultivating cannabis at an increasing number of outdoor grow sites located in remote locations, on public lands, and in rural areas within the Northern California HIDTA region. As a result, the HIDTA region has emerged as one of the most significant areas for outdoor cannabis cultivation in the United States."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2007-06
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North Texas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area: Drug Market Analysis 2007"This assessment provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the North Texas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), high-lighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns related to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The report was prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. The report is designed to provide policymakers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the North Texas HIDTA. Some Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are extending transportation and distribution operations to the North Texas HIDTA region to avoid heightened scrutiny along the Southwest Border. They can conceal their operations more efficiently among the growing Hispanic population of this area than in sparsely populated areas along the U.S.-Mexico border. The distribution and abuse of ice methamphetamine are expanding throughout the North Texas HIDTA region, despite steady declines in local powder methamphetamine production. Mexican DTOs are supplanting decreased local production by supplying large amounts of ice methamphetamine to the area. African American, Asian, and Mexican DTOs operating in the North Texas HIDTA region are increasingly conducting drug transactions with one another, an action that facilitates the expansion of drug distribution networks. Local traffickers have increased their access to multiple drug sources and drug types through interaction with Mexican DTOs. As a result, local traffickers are introducing different drug types to their customers."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2007-05
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North Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area: Drug Market Analysis 2007"This assessment provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the North Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns related to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The report was prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. The report is designed to provide policy makers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the North Florida HIDTA region. The North Florida HIDTA region's significance as a transit area to drug markets throughout Florida is increasing because of its proximity to Atlanta, Georgia; Atlanta has recently emerged as the primary source for cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana distributed in central and northern Florida and as a secondary source for these drugs in South Florida. Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are increasing their influence over the wholesale distribution of cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine-particularly ice methamphetamine-a development that is threatening to undermine recent gains that North Florida HIDTA-sponsored task forces have made against overall illicit drug activity in the region. Methamphetamine distribution and abuse are increasing in the North Florida HIDTA region, and the drug has emerged as the greatest drug threat in many rural areas of the region."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2007-06
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New England High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area: Drug Market Analysis 2007"This report provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the New England High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns relating to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The report was prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. It is designed to provide policymakers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the New England HIDTA region. Prescription narcotics abuse has spread among the New England drug abuser population and, in part, has fueled an increasing heroin problem in New England; chronic prescription narcotics abusers often switch to heroin because of its lower price. Methadone, a synthetic opiate used to treat heroin abuse and chronic pain, has become the leading cause of drug-related deaths in Maine and New Hampshire. Methadone is periodically prescribed by unscrupulous physicians to abusers who are seeking OxyContin (oxycodone); when abusers try to achieve an OxyContin-like high with methadone, which is not physiologically possible, they sometimes use excessive amounts of the drug and accidentally overdose. Asian drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are establishing increasing numbers of hydroponically grown cannabis operations within the New England HIDTA region to avoid the risks associated with transporting the drug across the U.S.-Canada border. Crack cocaine distribution is increasing in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont as Massachusetts-based street gangs travel to these states to expand their distribution markets."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2007-06
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Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area: Drug Market Analysis 2007"This assessment provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) region, highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns related to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The report was prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. The report is designed to provide policymakers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the Ohio HIDTA. The control that Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) exert over wholesale drug distribution in the Ohio HIDTA region is unrivaled and increasing. Mexican DTOs have supplanted Dominican and Jamaican DTOs as the principal transporters and wholesale distributors of cocaine, marijuana, and heroin in the region. Columbus has emerged as a regional distribution center for Mexican brown powder heroin and Mexican black tar heroin that are supplied to drug markets throughout Ohio, West Virginia, and western Pennsylvania. Mexican brown powder heroin and Mexican black tar heroin are now the most common types of heroin available in most areas of the Ohio HIDTA region. Heroin use is increasing in the Ohio HIDTA region and throughout the state, predominantly among young Caucasian adults, ages 18 to 25. Many new abusers of heroin, particularly among this group, had previously abused prescription narcotics."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2007-06
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Northwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area: Drug Market Analysis 2007"This assessment provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the Northwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns relating to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The report was prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. The report is designed to provide policymakers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the Northwest HIDTA. Powder methamphetamine production in the Northwest HIDTA has been decreasing over the past 3 years, largely because of the regulation of precursor chemical sales and concerted law enforcement efforts. Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are capitalizing on declining local powder methamphetamine production by supplying drug markets in the region with increasing quantities of low-cost, high-purity ice methamphetamine produced in Mexico. Ice methamphetamine has replaced marijuana as the most prevalent drug for treatment admissions in the Northwest HIDTA region. Seizures of MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as ecstasy) have increased along the U.S.-Canada border; polydrug criminal groups are using Washington as an entry point into the United States to supply an increased demand for the drug in markets throughout the country. Canada-based Vietnamese criminal groups are relocating some of their cannabis cultivation operations from Canada to Washington State to reduce transportation costs and minimize the risk of interdiction by law enforcement while smuggling marijuana across the U.S.-Canada border."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2007-06
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Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area: Drug Market Analysis 2007"This assessment provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns related to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The report was prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. The report is designed to provide policymakers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the Rocky Mountain HIDTA. Methamphetamine distribution and abuse remain at high levels in the Rocky Mountain HIDTA region despite dramatic declines in local production of powder methamphetamine. Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are providing the market with a continuous and abundant supply of low-cost, high-purity ice methamphetamine. Methamphetamine-related crime, including property crime (check fraud, currency counterfeiting, identity theft, and mail theft) and violent crime (such as assaults), has increased in the region. This increase has been linked by law enforcement officials to the rising availability and abuse of Mexican ice methamphetamine. Cocaine availability and abuse are increasing in major cities and in some rural areas of the HIDTA region, such as southeastern Colorado and central and southeastern Montana. A growing number of cocaine abusers reportedly believe that they can use the drug occasionally without becoming addicted and consider cocaine to be a recreational drug when compared with methamphetamine. Rising demand for high-potency marijuana has resulted in increased production of the drug in the HIDTA region."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2007-06
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Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area: Drug Market Analysis 2007"This assessment provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the Washington/Baltimore (W/B) High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns relating to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The report was prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. The report is designed to provide policymakers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the W/B HIDTA. Methamphetamine abuse is increasing in the region, particularly among adolescents in northern Virginia and teenagers, young adults, and homosexual males involved in the club scene in the Washington, D.C., area. However, the overall demand for methamphetamine in the W/B HIDTA region is relatively low, far less than the demand for cocaine and heroin. Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are increasing their drug trafficking activities in the W/B HIDTA region. Mexican DTOs and criminal groups already supply most of the marijuana available in the area. Further, they are increasingly transporting cocaine into the region as well as transporting large quantities of methamphetamine into the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia, adjacent to the HIDTA region. Midlevel and retail drug traffickers are using various techniques to gain market share in the region, including providing free heroin, using brand names to establish repeat customers and, as evidenced by the rise in incidents involving heroin/fentanyl combinations reported in 2006, offering 'hot bags' of heroin combined with fentanyl to increase potency."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2007-06
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South Texas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area: Drug Market Analysis 2007"This assessment provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the South Texas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) region, highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns related to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The report was prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. The report is designed to provide policymakers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the South Texas HIDTA. The South Texas HIDTA region is a primary entry point along the U.S.-Mexico border used by Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) to smuggle cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine into the United States. Mexican DTOs control drug trafficking in and through the South Texas HIDTA region. Their control stems from their marijuana, methamphetamine, and heroin production capabilities in Mexico, their sources of supply for other drugs and precursor chemicals, and their extensive cross-border smuggling operations. Methamphetamine smuggling through the South Texas HIDTA region has increased, despite a decrease in seizures during the past year. South Texas now rivals California and Arizona as the primary entry point for Mexican methamphetamine smuggled into the United States. Several Mexican DTOs are engaged in violent disputes over control of smuggling routes through the region. Most violence has remained within Mexico; some, including violence against law enforcement personnel who patrol the U.S.-Mexico border in South Texas, has spilled into South Texas HIDTA counties."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2007-05
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Philadelphia/Camden High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area: Drug Market Analysis 2007"This assessment provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the Philadelphia/ Camden High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (PC HIDTA), highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns relating to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The report was prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. The report is designed to provide policymakers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the PC HIDTA. Violent crime in the PC HIDTA region is increasing and has emerged as the principal threat to the safety and well-being of citizens within the area. In 2006 the number of homicides in Philadelphia was the highest in over a decade. As of April 22, 2007, law enforcement officials in the city reported 128 homicides, a 17 percent increase from the same period in 2006. Although many of these homicides involve individuals with a history of drug use and/or arrests, the majority of the homicides are not predicated on drug activity; more often than not, they are the result of interpersonal disputes. Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are increasing their drug trafficking activities in the areas surrounding the PC HIDTA region. Mexican DTOs and criminal groups already supply most of the marijuana available in the region; they are increasingly transporting cocaine as well as large quantities of ice methamphetamine into the area."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2007-06
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West Texas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area: Drug Market Analysis 2007"This assessment provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the West Texas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns related to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The report was prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. The report is designed to provide policymakers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the West Texas HIDTA. Several Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are struggling for control over the El Paso/Juárez plaza; however, a controlling organization has not yet been established. They use the region as a national-level distribution center and transshipment point for illicit drugs destined for major markets throughout the United States and as a staging and transit area for illicit drug proceeds smuggled to Mexico from these markets. Violent crime associated with the struggle among Mexican DTOs for control of the El Paso/Juárez plaza has spread to the U.S. side of the border, endangering law enforcement personnel and citizens in the West Texas HIDTA region."National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.)2007-04