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Abuse

Marijuana, cocaine, and heroin are the most widely available and abused illicit drugs in the Ohio HIDTA region. Marijuana is the most often abused drug in the region; however, the abuse of cocaine and heroin poses a more significant concern to public health and law enforcement officials because of the highly addictive nature of these drugs, the costs associated with publicly funded cocaine and heroin treatment, and the violent and property crime attendant to distribution and abuse of the drugs. According to Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services (ODADAS) data, the number of cocaine-related treatment admissions to publicly funded facilities increased 29 percent in the HIDTA region from state fiscal year (SFY)2 2004 (7,167) to SFY2008 (9,215). Despite reporting that cocaine availability has decreased in some areas of the Ohio HIDTA region, cocaine is second only to marijuana as the most commonly reported primary drug of abuse by individuals seeking treatment in the HIDTA region. (See Table 3.) Heroin abuse is rising in the Ohio HIDTA region, particularly among young Caucasians from suburban areas; heroin-related treatment admissions increased 66 percent between SFY2004 (5,267) and SFY2008 (8,731). Additionally, law enforcement officials in Toledo and Fairfield County report that some abusers of controlled prescription opioids are switching to heroin. This switch may be attributed, at least in part, to effects of the Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System (OARRS),3 a prescription drug monitoring program that was fully implemented in October 2006, and to the increasing availability throughout the HIDTA region of Mexican heroin, which is typically lower in price.

Table 3. Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions, by Drug, Ohio HIDTA, SFY2004-SFY2008*

Drug 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Marijuana 9,977 11,402 11,710 13,160 14,073
Cocaine 7,167 8,086 8,390 9,990 9,215
Heroin 5,267 5,991 6,408 7,715 8,731
Amphetamine** 193 304 363 431 314

Source: Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services.
*Data for 2008 are preliminary.
**Amphetamine category includes methamphetamine.

CPDs are abused at high levels throughout the Ohio HIDTA region. OxyContin is often abused in the region, despite reports of decreased availability in some areas. Other commonly abused CPDs include Xanax, Vicodin, and Percocet. Additionally, a recent study by the Ohio Substance Abuse Monitoring (OSAM) Network4 reported instances of Seroquel5 (quetiapine fumarate) abuse in Dayton and Toledo. Crack abusers in the HIDTA region often use Seroquel to help them "come down" from a high.

Methamphetamine, PCP, and MDMA are abused to varying degrees throughout the HIDTA region. Treatment data from ODADAS indicate that the number of amphetamine-related (including methamphetamine-related) admissions is significantly lower than the number of admissions for other drugs of abuse in the region. Furthermore, the OSAM Network indicates a continuing decrease in methamphetamine availability and abuse in most of the HIDTA region. PCP is abused primarily by teenagers in Cleveland, where the OSAM Network indicates high and increasing availability of the drug. MDMA is abused at low levels in the Ohio HIDTA region; however, reporting from the OSAM Network indicates increased availability and abuse of the drug in Cleveland, Columbus, and Toledo. Rising MDMA abuse in Cleveland and Columbus is most likely due to increasing distribution of the drug by street gangs in the cities.

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Illicit Finance

Drug-related money laundering in the Ohio HIDTA region typically entails the transportation of bulk currency from major metropolitan areas in the state to Mexico. Mexican DTOs are the primary transporters of bulk currency, typically using the same private and commercial vehicles used to transport drugs into the area. Law enforcement officials in Columbus report that Mexican DTOs involved in marijuana and cocaine distribution in the city typically transport large amounts of currency in a single shipment, whereas groups involved in heroin distribution usually transport currency in smaller quantities, corresponding to the typical size of shipments for each drug.

Traffickers operating in the Ohio HIDTA region also launder money though various other means, including purchasing real estate and luxury items, using money services businesses (MSBs), structuring bank deposits, and commingling drug proceeds with revenue generated by businesses. Retail-level distributors in the HIDTA region typically use their drug proceeds to purchase luxury items such as real estate, vehicles, and jewelry. Traffickers also move drug proceeds to drug source locations using wire transfers through the many MSBs in the area. Mexican traffickers who distribute drugs at the wholesale level in Montgomery County launder drug proceeds by structuring bank deposits into financial institutions (a practice commonly known as smurfing). These DTOs then provide individuals (known as smurfs) with multiple contacts in Mexico to whom they transfer small amounts of money. Additionally, drug traffickers in Stark County have used legitimate businesses to launder their drug proceeds. For example, in 2007 several traffickers operating in the county provided large sums of money to a local businessman, who used the funds much like an interest-free loan. The businessman used the drug proceeds to purchase used vehicles that he later sold at a significant markup, enabling him to quickly return the initial funds to the traffickers and generating a profit for himself. In an effort to provide legitimacy to the transactions, the money was typically returned to the traffickers in the form of business checks as payment for "consulting fees."


Footnotes

2. Ohio's state fiscal year (SFY) is July 1 through June 30.
3. The Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System (OARRS) is a statewide computerized prescription monitoring program that is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to physicians, pharmacists, and law enforcement personnel via a secure web site.
4. The Ohio Substance Abuse Monitoring (OSAM) Network is sponsored by the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services (ODADAS) and operated by Wright State University, Dayton, and the University of Akron.
5. Seroquel is prescribed to treat symptoms of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder but is not scheduled in the Controlled Substances Act as a controlled substance.


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