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Title:
New Hampshire Drug Threat Assessment
Publication Date: April 2001
Document ID: 2001-S0377NH-001
Available New Hampshire Assessments
2003 Update: May 2003
2002 Update: April 2002
Original: April 2001Archived on: January 1, 2006. This document may contain dated information. It remains available to provide access to historical materials.
This report is a strategic assessment that addresses the status and outlook of the drug threat in New Hampshire. Analytical judgment determined the threat posed by each drug type or category, taking into account the most current quantitative and qualitative information on availability, demand, production or cultivation, transportation, and distribution, as well as the effects of a particular drug on abusers and society as a whole. While NDIC sought to incorporate the latest available information, a time lag often exists between collection and publication of data, particularly demand-related data sets. NDIC anticipates that this drug threat assessment will be useful to policymakers, law enforcement personnel, and treatment providers at the federal, state, and local levels because it draws upon a broad range of information sources to describe and analyze the drug threat in New Hampshire.
Your questions, comments, and suggestions for future subjects are welcome at any time. Addresses are provided at the end of the page.
Contents
Cocaine
Abuse
Availability
Violence
Production
Transportation
DistributionMarijuana
Abuse
Availability
Violence
Production
Transportation
DistributionHeroin
Abuse
Availability
Violence
Production
Transportation
DistributionMethamphetamine
Abuse
Availability
Violence
Production
Transportation
Distribution
Other Dangerous Drugs
MDMA
Ketamine
LSD
DXM
Diverted PharmaceuticalsList of Figures
Figure 1. New Hampshire drug-related arrests by county, 1999.
Figure 2. New Hampshire transportation infrastructure.
Figure 3. New Hampshire heroin user populations.
Figure 4. New Hampshire rave locations.List of Tables
Table 1. Cocaine Prices, New Hampshire, 1999
Table 2. Marijuana Prices, New Hampshire, 1999
Table 3. Heroin Prices, New Hampshire, 1999
Table 4. Diverted Pharmaceutical Prices, New Hampshire, 1999
Executive Summary
The availability and abuse of powdered and crack cocaine constitute the primary drug threat in New Hampshire. Throughout the state, powdered cocaine is readily available, and purity levels are high. Prices have remained stable although they are high compared to national averages. In addition, crack cocaine is moderately available and is the drug most often associated with violent crime. Massachusetts-based, Dominican criminal groups typically transport powdered cocaine into the state and dominate its wholesale distribution. These groups also convert powdered cocaine into crack. Intelligence reports suggest that these criminal groups are moving into New Hampshire in an effort to control the retail distribution of cocaine. To a lesser extent, powdered cocaine is transported and distributed by users and independent dealers, primarily Caucasians, who purchase the drug in Massachusetts, transport it to New Hampshire, and then use it or sell it to friends and associates.
Marijuana is the most widely available and frequently abused drug in New Hampshire. Abuse of marijuana is common in the state, in part, because many communities attach no stigma to its use. Users and independent dealers cultivate marijuana indoors throughout the state and outdoors in the northern areas of the state. In addition, Mexican drug trafficking organizations based in California and the Southwest Border area transport Mexico grown marijuana from the southwestern United States. Mexican marijuana is also transported into the state by loosely organized Caucasian groups who travel frequently to California and Arizona to purchase marijuana. Finally, moderate amounts of marijuana are smuggled into the United States across New Hampshire's 41-mile border with Canada.
Heroin abuse is increasing in New Hampshire. High purity, South American heroin is available in the state. Most heroin users are young adults who, because of the availability of high purity heroin, snort or, to a much lesser extent, smoke the drug instead of injecting it. Typically, users and independent dealers travel to distribution centers in Massachusetts to obtain heroin from Dominican criminal groups. Less frequently, these criminal groups transport heroin directly into New Hampshire from distribution centers in Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut.
The threat presented by methamphetamine is still considered minimal, although availability and abuse of the drug appear to be increasing. Most of the methamphetamine available in New Hampshire is produced in Mexico and is transported into the state by Mexican drug trafficking organizations based in California and the Southwest Border area of the United States. Outlaw motorcycle gangs and independent dealers, primarily Caucasians, distribute the drug throughout the state. Production of methamphetamine in New Hampshire is limited; however, the easy access to precursor chemicals from Canada as well as the abundance of isolated, rural areas where laboratories may go undetected may compel criminal groups to establish more methamphetamine production operations in New Hampshire.
The availability of MDMA in user quantities is increasing within the state. The drug is popular especially among college students, who use it mostly at dance parties known as raves. Law enforcement officials report rave parties in Dover, Manchester, Nashua, and Portsmouth.
Ketamine is diverted from legitimate sources, often veterinary clinics. There have been no reports of illegal production of ketamine within New Hampshire. The drug is usually sold illegally in New Hampshire through networks of users and their friends and associates; street sales are rare. Ketamine, legitimately used as an animal tranquilizer, is produced in liquid, powder, or pill form. In its liquid form, it can be injected intramuscularly or intravenously, but it also can be made into a tablet or powder through evaporation.
LSD continues to grow in popularity, particularly among youth, and is available in blotter form throughout New England; wholesale quantities are occasionally available. Distributors sell LSD at the retail level in pill, capsule, and liquid form. LSD is shipped into New Hampshire through various package and mail delivery services from California. Users and independent dealers most frequently distribute LSD.
The most commonly diverted pharmaceuticals throughout New England remain the combination of prescription narcotics and benzodiazepines. According to responses to the NDIC National Drug Threat Survey 2000, diverted pharmaceuticals, especially Ritalin and Percocet, are moderately available in New Hampshire.
Addresses
National Drug Intelligence Center
319 Washington Street, 5th Floor
Johnstown, PA 15901Tel. (814) 532-4601
FAX (814) 532-4690
E-mail NDIC.Contacts@usdoj.govNational Drug Intelligence Center
8201 Greensboro Drive, Suite 1001
McLean, VA 22102-3840Tel. (703) 556-8970
FAX (703) 556-7807
Web Addresses
ADNET: http://ndicosa
DOJ: http://www.usdoj.gov/archive/ndic/
LEO: home.leo.gov/lesig/archive/ndic/
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