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Appendix A. OCDETF Regional Summaries

The following regional drug threat summaries provide strategic overviews of the illicit drug situation in each of the nine OCDETF regions, highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns relating to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The summaries were prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, OCDETF case files, and available statistical data.

Florida/Caribbean Regional Overview

Regional Overview

The Florida/Caribbean (FC) Region encompasses Florida, the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). Four HIDTA programs are located within the region--the Central, North, and South Florida HIDTAs and the Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands HIDTA. The FC Region also has five U.S. Attorneys Districts--three in Florida, one in Puerto Rico, and one in the USVI. The FC Region serves as an entry point for substantial quantities of cocaine and heroin and lesser amounts of marijuana and MDMA that are further transported to markets throughout the Mid-Atlantic, New England, New York/New Jersey, and Southeast Regions.

Figure 2. The Florida/Caribbean Region.

Map of the Florida/Caribbean showing HIDTAs and U.S. Attorney Districts.
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Drug Threat Overview

The production, trafficking, and abuse of illicit drugs pose varying threats throughout the FC Region. High levels of cocaine abuse and widespread availability of the drug, combined with high levels of violence associated with both distribution and abuse, render cocaine the primary drug threat in the FC Region. The distribution and abuse of methamphetamine--particularly ice methamphetamine--heroin, and marijuana pose significant but varying drug threats. Ice methamphetamine availability, distribution, and abuse are increasing in Florida; abuse of the drug is rising in many rural areas of the state. In Puerto Rico and the USVI, however, there is no reported methamphetamine distribution or abuse. Heroin abuse in Puerto Rico and the USVI is low but increasing, and heroin availability and abuse are low throughout most of Florida. Increased production, abuse, and distribution of high-potency marijuana also create serious concerns for law enforcement officials in the FC Region. Nonetheless, they report that the drug does not pose as significant a problem as cocaine or methamphetamine because marijuana is generally associated with less violence and social disorder in the FC Region than other drugs.

Diverted pharmaceuticals and ODDs are of concern to law enforcement and public health officials in the FC Region. Diverted pharmaceuticals, particularly prescription narcotics and benzodiazepines, are widely available and abused. In fact, law enforcement officials report that diverted pharmaceuticals cause more deaths in the region than any other illicit drug. Moreover, law enforcement officials reported an escalating threat from Internet pharmacies in Florida during 2006. ODDs such as MDMA, GHB, and ketamine are available and abused in the FC Region; however, the overall threat posed by these drugs is considerably less than the threat posed by other drugs.

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Strategic Regional Developments

Variations From National Trends

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Great Lakes Regional Overview

Regional Overview

The Great Lakes Region encompasses Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, and the Northern and Central U.S. Attorneys Districts of Illinois. It includes the Chicago, Lake County, Michigan, Milwaukee, and Ohio HIDTAs and parts of the Appalachia HIDTA as well as 13 U.S. Attorneys Districts. The region comprises urban areas, including Chicago (IL), Cleveland and Columbus (OH), Detroit and Grand Rapids (MI), Gary and Indianapolis (IN), Louisville (KY), Milwaukee (WI), and Minneapolis/St. Paul (MN), as well as large, sparsely populated agricultural areas, which are often used by traffickers to produce methamphetamine and marijuana. Chicago and Detroit are the largest metropolitan areas in the region; they are also principal wholesale illicit drug distribution centers, supplying drug markets in the Great Lakes Region as well as those in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and West Central Regions.

Figure 3. The Great Lakes Region.

Map of the Great Lakes Region showing HIDTAs and U.S. Attorney Districts.
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Drug Threat Overview

The distribution and abuse of cocaine (particularly crack) and, to a lesser extent, heroin pose the greatest threats to most urban areas within the region, while the abuse of methamphetamine and marijuana are typically the greatest drug threats in rural areas and smaller cities. Crack cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine pose greater threats to public safety because these drugs are more addictive and are often associated with violent and property crime. Crack cocaine typically is reported as the greatest drug threat in metropolitan areas because of its widespread abuse and the violence attendant to its distribution. Marijuana is the most widely available and abused illicit drug in the region; however, it is generally reported by law enforcement as a lower threat because its distribution and abuse are less often associated with violent crime. The threats posed by ODDs and diverted pharmaceuticals vary but are usually much lower than the threats posed by other major drugs in the region.

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Mid-Atlantic Regional Overview

Regional Overview

The Mid-Atlantic Region (MAR) is composed of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Within the MAR are three HIDTAs--the Philadelphia/Camden HIDTA, the Washington/Baltimore HIDTA, and parts of the Appalachia HIDTA--as well as 10 U.S. Attorneys Districts. The MAR contains four of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States: Philadelphia (PA) is ranked fourth; the District of Columbia, eighth; Baltimore (MD), nineteenth; and Pittsburgh (PA), twenty-first. These metropolitan areas also are the region's principal drug markets. Secondary drug markets in the MAR include Richmond, Roanoke, and the Tidewater area of Virginia; Charleston and Wheeling (WV); Harrisburg, Scranton, and Allentown (PA); and Dover and Wilmington (DE). The large abuser population in the region sustains wide-scale distribution of cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine. Methamphetamine is transported from the Southwest and Pacific Regions, cocaine is shipped from the Florida/Caribbean Region, and heroin, Canadian marijuana, and MDMA are smuggled through POEs in the New York/New Jersey Region.

Figure 4. The Mid-Atlantic Region.

Map of the Mid-Atlantic Region showing HIDTAs and U.S. Attorney Districts.
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Drug Threat Overview

The distribution and abuse of cocaine pose the most significant drug threat in the region, as a result of the drug's wide availability and association with violence and property crime. Heroin poses a threat; the drug is available in most major markets, and its availability reportedly is rising in many smaller markets. Heroin is of particular concern to law enforcement and public health officials in Baltimore, where abuse of the drug is widespread; it is the leading drug threat in that city. The methamphetamine threat in the region is moderate but has increased, especially in some areas with growing Hispanic communities. Methamphetamine production in the region has decreased; however, Mexican DTOs are supplying more ice methamphetamine to the region than they had in the past. Marijuana, particularly commercial-grade Mexican marijuana, is the most widely available and abused illicit drug in the MAR. However, the availability of high-potency marijuana is increasing throughout much of the region. Prescription drugs--particularly hydrocodone and oxycodone products as well as benzodiazepines--are widely diverted and abused in the region. Other dangerous drugs such as GHB, LSD, MDMA, and PCP are available and abused in various local markets.

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New England Regional Overview

Regional Overview

The New England (NE) Region encompasses Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Significant drug markets in these states include Hartford (CT); Portland (ME); Concord, Manchester, and Nashua (NH); Providence (RI); Burlington (VT); Springfield (MA); and the Boston (MA) metropolitan area, which includes Lawrence and Lowell. Six U.S. Attorneys Offices are located in the NE Region. Most of the illicit drugs available in the NE Region are transported from the Southwest Region, often by way of New York. The NE Region's geographic location near New York City and the U.S.-Canada border facilitates the smuggling of drugs into the region. New York City is the largest drug market in the eastern United States and the source for most of the South American heroin, cocaine, and commercial-grade marijuana available in New England. A large percentage of the MDMA, marijuana, and prescription drugs available in the region are smuggled into the area across the U.S.-Canada border.

Figure 5. The New England Region.

Map of the New England Region showing HIDTAs and U.S. Attorney Districts.
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Drug Threat Overview

The distribution and abuse of heroin, primarily South American heroin, and prescription narcotics such as OxyContin and Percocet (oxycodone) and Vicodin (hydrocodone) pose the greatest drug threats in the NE Region. In some areas of the NE Region, heroin abusers who sought methadone treatment to combat their addiction are now abusing methadone. Consequently, many treatment providers are substituting buprenorphine products in place of methadone. Cocaine, mostly crack, is commonly abused in some areas of the region, particularly inner-city neighborhoods in Hartford, Bridgeport, Providence, and Boston. Crack cocaine availability has expanded in Maine and New Hampshire as well, largely because African American and Hispanic criminal groups and street gangs from Massachusetts and New York have increased distribution in those areas. Marijuana is widely abused throughout the area; most abusers prefer high-potency marijuana from Canada over commercial-grade marijuana from Mexico. Moreover, some Canada-based Vietnamese traffickers are beginning to smuggle powder methamphetamine that they produce in Canada into the region. Methamphetamine poses a relatively low threat in the NE Region; most abuse of the drug is concentrated in the gay male community in Boston. The threat posed in the region by ODDs varies; MDMA distribution and abuse are increasing, while the abuse of LSD, PCP, and psilocybin mushrooms is stable at low levels. Khat is smuggled into Maine and distributed and abused among the local Somali population.

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New York/New Jersey Regional Overview

Regional Overview

The New York/New Jersey (NY/NJ) Region encompasses the entire states of New York and New Jersey. The New York/New Jersey HIDTA and portions of the Philadelphia/Camden HIDTA are represented in the region, as are five U.S. Attorneys Districts. The region is densely populated and includes approximately 28 million individuals--9.3 percent of the population of the United States. New York City is the most significant drug market in the region and one of the largest in the United States. Secondary markets in the region include Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Albany (NY) and Jersey City, Paterson, Elizabeth, Trenton, and Camden (NJ).

Figure 6. The New York/New Jersey Region.

Map of the New York/New Jersey Region showing HIDTAs and U.S. Attorney Districts.
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Drug Threat Overview

Cocaine and heroin pose the most serious drug threats in the region. Cocaine is frequently abused throughout the area, and availability of the drug typically is high; however, in February 2007 several cocaine markets in the region reported atypical decreases in powder cocaine availability and significant increases in cocaine prices. Cocaine distribution, particularly crack cocaine distribution, is often conducted by violent street gang members, who reportedly perpetrate a considerable portion of the drug-related violence that occurs in the region. Heroin abuse in the region is extensive. The heroin available in the area is among the purest in the nation, drawing an increasing number of abusers, including young adults. They abuse heroin in New Jersey at a rate more than twice the national average.26 Marijuana is the most commonly abused illicit drug in the region, and the availability of high-potency marijuana from Canada and from indoor grow sites in the region has increased. Methamphetamine poses a lesser threat than other drugs, despite the fact that its availability has increased; high-purity Mexican ice methamphetamine is more available in the region than it was in the past. MDMA, diverted pharmaceuticals, and ODDs pose a low threat.

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Pacific Regional Overview

Regional Overview

The Pacific Region encompasses northern and central California (including all counties except the southernmost nine), Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington as well as the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The region includes the entirety of the Central Valley California, Hawaii, Nevada, Northern California, Northwest, and Oregon HIDTAs as well as 10 U.S. Attorneys Districts. The region's access to major illicit drug production and source areas in Mexico and Canada as well as in Asia and Europe facilitates smuggling of illicit drugs into the United States through the region for distribution to drug markets located throughout the country. Several areas in the Pacific Region have emerged as regional and national distribution centers for wholesale quantities of illicit drugs. Distribution centers include Central Valley (CA) (most notably Bakersfield, Fresno, and Modesto), Las Vegas, Portland (OR), Puget Sound (WA) (most notably Seattle and Tacoma), the San Francisco Bay Area (CA), and Yakima Valley/Tri-Cities (WA).

Figure 7. The Pacific Region.

Map of the Pacific Region showing HIDTAs and U.S. Attorney Districts.
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Drug Threat Overview

Methamphetamine trafficking and abuse pose the greatest threat to the region, largely because of the widespread availability of the drug, high levels of methamphetamine abuse, and high levels of methamphetamine-related violent crime and property crime. Marijuana availability is widespread, and abuse of the drug is increasing throughout the region. This situation is a combined result of rising overall demand and increased availability of high-potency marijuana. Additionally, marijuana distributors in California have aggressively exploited state medical marijuana laws to facilitate illegal cannabis cultivation. The transportation, multilevel distribution, and high levels of abuse of heroin and cocaine also are significant drug problems in the region. The distribution and abuse of ODDs and diverted pharmaceutical drugs pose fewer significant problems than those of other illicit drugs; however, the threat is increasing in many areas.

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Southeast Regional Overview

Regional Overview

The Southeast (SE) Region encompasses Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. It includes three HIDTA program areas--Atlanta, Gulf Coast, and part of Appalachia. In addition, 20 U.S. Attorneys Districts are located in the region. Atlanta is a national-level distribution center for powder cocaine, ice methamphetamine, and Mexican marijuana; the city also is a regional distribution center for MDMA. The cities of Charlotte, Greensboro, and Raleigh (NC) have emerged as secondary distribution centers for illicit drugs destined for drug markets within the region and other parts of the country.

Figure 8. The Southeast Region.

Map of the Southeast Region showing HIDTAs and U.S. Attorney Districts.
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Drug Threat Overview

The production, abuse, and distribution of illicit drugs pose varying threat levels throughout the Southeast Region. Cocaine poses the most significant threat; the drug is widely abused and frequently associated with violent crime in the region, and availability is typically high. However, in late February 2007 several cocaine markets in the area, including Atlanta, reported atypical decreases in powder cocaine availability. Methamphetamine, primarily ice methamphetamine supplied by Mexican DTOs, is a serious threat to the region and in some areas represents a threat equal to that of cocaine. Precursor legislation has led to declining local powder methamphetamine production in the region. However, Mexican DTOs have supplanted declining local production with increasing quantities of higher-purity ice methamphetamine produced in Mexico. The higher purity of Mexican ice methamphetamine has drawn more abusers to the drug; ice methamphetamine abuse crosses most demographic categories in the region, including teenagers and young adults. Marijuana is the most widely abused illicit drug throughout the Southeast Region. Heroin poses a relatively low threat to most of the region; however, some areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, and North Carolina are experiencing high levels of heroin abuse. ODDs, including MDMA, and pharmaceutical drugs are available and abused to varying degrees and pose a low threat.

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Southwest Regional Overview

Regional Overview

The Southwest Region encompasses Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and the nine southernmost counties in California. Within the Southwest Region are eight HIDTAs--the California Border Alliance Group (CBAG), Los Angeles, Arizona, New Mexico, Houston, North Texas, South Texas, and West Texas HIDTAs--as well as 11 U.S. Attorneys Districts. The Southwest Region, which contains the nearly 2,000-mile-long U.S.-Mexico border, is the principal arrival zone for most illicit drugs smuggled into the United States. Mexican DTOs operating in Mexico and the United States exert nearly total control over drug trafficking operations along the U.S.-Mexico border. The Southwest Region also serves as a significant national money laundering center for the transportation and placement of illicit funds derived from the sale of drugs in the region and throughout the country.

Figure 9. The Southwest Region.

Map of the Southwest Region showing HIDTAs and U.S. Attorney Districts.
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Drug Threat Overview

The drug threat facing the Southwest Region is extensive, encompassing drug production, cross-border smuggling, national drug transportation, multilevel drug distribution, increasing abuse rates, drug-related crime, and money laundering. Methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana, heroin, ODDs, and diverted pharmaceutical drugs pose varying threats to the Southwest Region. Methamphetamine poses the greatest drug threat because of the amount smuggled into the region from Mexico, the high rates of abuse, and the increasing amount of violence and property crime related to the drug. The threat posed by the trafficking and abuse of cocaine is increasing, primarily because Mexican DTOs dominate the cocaine market in the region and have emerged as the primary suppliers of cocaine to other regions of the country. Marijuana is the most readily available drug in the Southwest Region; more marijuana is seized along the Southwest Border than all other drugs combined. Drug traffickers often use marijuana smuggling and distribution to finance other trafficking activities. The trafficking and abuse of heroin also pose significant drug threats because of the large quantities of Mexican black tar and Mexican brown powder heroin that are smuggled into the region from Mexico for local distribution and transshipment to other regions of the country. ODDs and diverted pharmaceutical drugs pose a lesser drug threat to the region, largely because the drugs are transported, distributed, and abused less frequently than other illicit drugs.

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West Central Regional Overview

Regional Overview

The West Central Region is composed of large metropolitan areas as well as expansive, sparsely populated locations that include public and Native American tribal lands within 11 states; the region also shares an international border with Canada. The West Central Region is populated by approximately 22.6 million people; more than 50 percent reside in metropolitan and urban areas. Traffickers distribute large quantities of illicit drugs from St. Louis, Kansas City, Des Moines, Omaha, Denver, and Salt Lake City. These cities facilitate access to markets in the West Central Region and the rest of the country, primarily because of their geographic locations along major interstate highways and other transportation systems.

Figure 10. The West Central Region.

Map of the West Central Region showing HIDTAs and U.S. Attorney Districts.
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Drug Threat Overview

Methamphetamine poses the greatest overall drug threat to the region because of its wide availability and association with violence, identity theft, and property crime. Mexican DTOs have capitalized on declining local methamphetamine production to supply the region's methamphetamine market with low-cost, high-purity ice methamphetamine. The distribution and abuse of powder and crack cocaine and Mexican black tar and brown powder heroin also are significant drug threats. Marijuana is the most widely available and abused drug in the region. The threat posed by ODDs is low and varies by state. The diversion and abuse of pharmaceutical drugs are generally low.

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End Note

26. The State of New Jersey Department of Human Services reports that 5 percent of young adults (ages 18 to 25) in New Jersey report lifetime heroin abuse, compared with 2 percent nationwide.


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