Drug-Related Crime

Law enforcement officials report that most of the drug-related violent crime and property crime in the Rocky Mountain HIDTA region is associated with methamphetamine and, to a lesser extent, crack cocaine distribution and abuse. Much of the region's drug-related violent crime occurs in metropolitan areas and includes assaults, home invasions, homicides, and robberies. A large percentage of the violent crime involves street gangs and their protection of distribution operations and territories. The Metro Gang Task Force in Denver reports high levels of street gang violence as Hispanic gangs aggressively force African American street gangs from their traditional urban crack cocaine distribution areas into the suburbs. In Weber and Morgan Counties, Utah, officials report that Hispanic gang- and drug-related violence is increasing as gang members employ aggressive tactics and sophisticated countersurveillance techniques against law enforcement officers. Colorado Springs law enforcement officials report that heavily armed African American independent dealers, who formerly confined their distribution activities to crack cocaine, are now selling methamphetamine and MDMA. Law enforcement officials in Larimer County, Colorado, report an increase in violent crime related to methamphetamine trafficking, particularly to disputes between gang members over drug debts and assaults on law enforcement officers.

High levels of drug-related property crime occur throughout the region; most is linked to methamphetamine trafficking and abuse. Further, the change in methamphetamine supplies from locally produced powder to Mexican ice methamphetamine has widened the scope of methamphetamine-related property crime. Previously, the most common methamphetamine-related property crime facing law enforcement agencies in the HIDTA was the theft of precursor chemicals used to produce the drug locally. Now, however, law enforcement officials are faced with more sophisticated crimes such as check fraud, currency counterfeiting, identity theft, and mail theft, since former local methamphetamine producers and abusers must acquire funds to purchase the drug from Mexican traffickers. For example, the North Metro Drug Task Force reports that local methamphetamine producers and abusers are forming "crews" of 12 to 20 members who band together for the purpose of engaging in criminal activities to acquire money for methamphetamine purchases. Crews recruit individuals who are talented in specific criminal activities, such as auto theft, credit card theft, identity theft, prescription fraud and, in some instances, counterfeiting currency on color printers.

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Abuse

Methamphetamine poses the most serious drug abuse problem in the HIDTA region, largely because of high addiction rates and the abundance of low-cost ice methamphetamine supplied by Mexican traffickers. The number of methamphetamine treatment admissions (12,849) to publicly funded facilities in the region during 2005 (the year for which the latest data are available) exceeded the number of admission for any other drug, including marijuana (10,374), crack cocaine (3,391), heroin (3,173), and powder cocaine (1,907). Nearly 57 percent of all treatment admissions occurred in Colorado, which comprises over 54 percent of the region's population; the remainder occurred in Montana, Utah, and Wyoming. Moreover, the number of methamphetamine treatment admissions in Colorado more than quadrupled from 2001 (1,558) to 2005 (6,336). Individuals seeking treatment for methamphetamine abuse in Colorado are predominantly Caucasian (over 80%); however, the percentage of Hispanics seeking treatment for methamphetamine nearly doubled from 8 percent in 2000 to 14 percent in 2005.

According to public health agencies in the region, the increased availability of high-purity ice methamphetamine has contributed to a shift in the mode of methamphetamine administration from inhalation and injection to smoking. According to the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division (ADAD) of the Colorado Department of Human Services, the percentage of methamphetamine abusers in Colorado who inject the drug decreased from 34 percent in 2000 to 21 percent in 2005. During the same period, the percentage of abusers who smoked methamphetamine increased substantially, from 39 percent to 65 percent. Additionally, some Colorado treatment providers report that many cocaine abusers have switched to methamphetamine because of its lower price and longer-lasting euphoric effect. However, the Two Rivers Drug Enforcement Team, which encompasses Eagle, Garfield, Pitkin, and Rio Blanco Counties, indicates that the substitution of methamphetamine for cocaine by abusers in its area has slowed because methamphetamine abuse is viewed as much more dangerous than cocaine abuse.

Cocaine abuse, particularly crack abuse, also is a major concern and is increasing in some areas of the Rocky Mountain HIDTA region. For instance, in 2005 (the year for which the latest data are available), the number of cocaine deaths in Colorado increased to 217, the highest since 1997. Moreover, law enforcement officials in Aurora report that crack cocaine abuse increased in 2006 after a large number of Hurricane Katrina evacuees arrived in the city. Additionally, despite reports from some Colorado treatment providers that many cocaine abusers have switched to methamphetamine, the 16th Judicial Drug Task Force reports that crack cocaine abuse has increased dramatically in southeastern Colorado because some methamphetamine abusers have begun to experiment with crack in the wake of successful media campaigns and local drug awareness programs that have publicized the dangers of methamphetamine abuse.

Heroin abuse appears to be increasing in many areas of the Rocky Mountain HIDTA region. This increase is largely driven by Caucasian adolescent and young adult prescription narcotics abusers who switched to heroin abuse when they experienced difficulty in obtaining prescription narcotics. Law enforcement officials throughout the HIDTA region report increasing levels of heroin abuse by younger people in rural, suburban, and metropolitan areas. Mexican black tar heroin is the most available and widely used type of the drug.

"Cheese," a combination of Mexican black tar heroin and crushed OTC nighttime cold medications that contain the antihistaminediphenhydramine (DPH)--such as Tylenol PM--is an emerging concern in Boulder County, Colorado. Abuse of this drug combination was first reported by Dallas, Texas, school district officials in 2005 and has since resulted in at least 18 overdose deaths among Dallas area youth. Cheese typically is light tan in color and has a consistency of powder and granules. Further, it has a 2 to 8 percent heroin purity level and is snorted through a straw by abusers. Cheese is typically distributed in a small paper bindle for as little as $2 per dose and is popular among 10- to 16-year-old Hispanic juveniles, both males and females.

Marijuana is the most abused illicit drug in the Rocky Mountain HIDTA region. Commercial-grade Mexican marijuana is the primary type abused in the region; however, the abuse of high-potency marijuana has increased dramatically, particularly among Caucasian abusers who have disposable income and are willing to pay higher prices for the drug.

The abuse of illicit drugs, particularly methamphetamine, is a primary concern of tribal leaders on the 15 Indian reservations located in the four states that compose the Rocky Mountain HIDTA region. (See Figure 1.) While most of these reservations are not located in designated HIDTA counties, drug distribution on these tribal lands is extensive and affects the HIDTA region, particularly in the transportation of illicit drugs through the HIDTA region en route to reservation lands. Concerns regarding the abuse of methamphetamine and other drugs are compounded by limited availability of substance abuse treatment facilities and relatively limited tribal law enforcement resources.

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