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NDIC seal linked to Home page. National Drug Intelligence Center
Virginia Drug Threat Assessment Update
June 2003

Marijuana

Marijuana is the most widely abused illicit drug in Virginia. According to TEDS data, there were 4,677 marijuana-related admissions to publicly funded treatment facilities in Virginia in 2002, more than for any other illicit drug and an increase from 3,781 in 2001. According to the 1999 and 2000 NHSDA, 4.1 percent of Virginia residents reported having abused marijuana at least once in the month prior to the survey; this is statistically comparable to 4.8 percent nationwide.

Marijuana is more widely available than any other illicit drug in Virginia. Forty-five of the 47 law enforcement respondents to the NDTS 2002 in Virginia reported that the availability of marijuana was high or medium in their jurisdictions. The Virginia State Police made 14,248 marijuana-related arrests in 2001--57 percent of all drug-related arrests in the state. Despite this, in FY2001 marijuana accounted for only 16 percent of drug-related federal sentences in Virginia, significantly lower than the nationwide rate of 33 percent, according to USSC data.

Marijuana, both commercial- and high-grade, is available in virtually all areas of the state. In Richmond and Roanoke commercial-grade marijuana sold for $700 to $1,000 per pound and $100 per ounce in the third and fourth quarters of FY2002, according to the DEA Washington Division. In Norfolk commercial-grade marijuana sold for $650 to $1,000 per pound and $100 per ounce in the third quarter of FY2002 but increased to $1,000 to $1,200 per pound and $140 per ounce in the fourth quarter of FY2002. Prices for high-grade marijuana were not available.

Cannabis cultivation in Virginia is widespread. Forty-four of the 47 law enforcement respondents to the NDTS 2002 in Virginia reported that cannabis is cultivated indoors and outdoors in their jurisdictions. Hydroponic grow operations, in which cannabis plants are grown without soil but with liquid nutrients, also were identified in the state. Twenty-four of those respondents reported that cannabis is cultivated using all three methods. According to DEA Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program data, federal, state, and local law enforcement officials in Virginia eradicated 13,279 cannabis plants from outdoor cultivation sites and 2,891 cannabis plants from indoor cultivation sites in 2001.

Most of the marijuana available in Virginia is transported from southwestern states. Jamaican criminal groups are the primary transporters of marijuana into the state. Mexican criminal groups based in North Carolina also transport marijuana into Virginia, most frequently to the central and western parts of the state. Further, local independent dealers of various ethnic backgrounds transport marijuana into the state, although to a lesser extent. Marijuana typically is transported via private vehicles and package delivery services. Additional quantities of marijuana are transported into the state via commercial vehicles and couriers aboard commercial aircraft, buses, and trains.

Local independent dealers and criminal groups, primarily Jamaicans and Mexicans, are the principal wholesale- and retail-level marijuana distributors in Virginia. Retail quantities of marijuana usually are packaged in plastic bags or sold as joints and distributed primarily from private residences as well as from bars, nightclubs, and on college campuses.

 


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