Outlook

The abuse and availability of crystal methamphetamine is likely to continue to increase on Guam, leading to more violent crime. A similar pattern of abuse and violence is now occurring in Hawaii and American Samoa. Crystal methamphetamine will continue to be produced in and smuggled to Guam from the Philippines, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, and South Korea.

Marijuana will continue to be commonly abused on Guam. Cannabis most likely will continue to be cultivated for personal consumption, but most marijuana will be transported from the Republic of Palau.

The abuse of heroin will remain low and confined to a small population of local users and tourists. Smugglers are likely to continue to exploit the territory's location to transship Southeast Asian heroin to North America.

The distribution and abuse of cocaine will likely remain limited on Guam. Users will continue to smuggle small quantities of the drug into the territory for personal consumption.

Other dangerous drugs including inhalants and diverted pharmaceuticals will continue to pose a comparatively minor threat; however, law enforcement authorities expect an increase in availability and abuse of MDMA as the drug becomes popular in Asia and Australia.

Intelligence gaps regarding the drug threat in the territory will remain significant. Local authorities recognize that the drug problem is becoming more severe, which hopefully will lead to efforts to better quantify the drug situation on Guam. These efforts, in turn, will yield more comprehensive and accurate information on which to base future assessments.

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