National
Drug Intelligence Center Northwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis June 2007 Drug-Related CrimeIce methamphetamine abuse is the leading cause of drug-related criminal activity in the HIDTA region. It fuels much of the area's property crime. Abusers of powder and ice methamphetamine often commit robbery, property theft, and fraud to obtain money to purchase the drugs. Moreover, an increased number of methamphetamine abusers are implicated in domestic violence, child abuse, and child neglect in the region. Children of methamphetamine abusers often live in appalling conditions; many have been exposed to toxic chemicals used in methamphetamine production. Additionally, the Pediatric Interim Care Center (PICC), a nonprofit organization that provides interim care for drug-affected infants, reports that prenatal methamphetamine exposure admissions exceed all other drug-related exposure admissions for infants. In 2006 PICC reported 37 cases of infant treatments for exposure to methamphetamine and 29 additional cases for exposure to methamphetamine in combination with another drug. |
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