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National Drug Intelligence Center
Title:
California
Northern and Eastern Districts Drug Threat AssessmentPublication Date: January 2001
Updated: May 2002Document ID: 2001-S0388CA-001
Archived on: January 1, 2006. This document may contain dated information. It remains available to provide access to historical materials.
This document discusses the abuse, availability, distribution, production, and transportation of cocaine, heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine, and other dangerous drugs and the violence associated with the drug trade in the Northern and Eastern districts of the state of California.
This report is a strategic assessment that addresses the status and outlook of the drug threat in the Northern and Eastern districts of the state of California. Analytical judgment determined the threat posed by each drug type or category, taking into account the most current quantitative and qualitative information on availability, demand, production or cultivation, transportation, and distribution, as well as the effects of a particular drug on abusers and society as a whole. While NDIC sought to incorporate the latest available information, a time lag often exists between collection and publication of data, particularly demand-related data sets. NDIC anticipates that this drug threat assessment will be useful to policymakers, law enforcement personnel, and treatment providers at the federal, state, and local levels because it draws upon a broad range of information sources to describe and analyze the drug threat in the Northern and Eastern districts of the state of California.
Your questions, comments, and suggestions for future subjects are welcome at any time. Addresses are provided at the end of the document.
Contents
Abuse
Availability
Violence
Production
Transportation
DistributionCocaineAbuse
Availability
Violence
Production
Transportation
DistributionAbuse
Availability
Violence
Production
Transportation
DistributionOther Dangerous DrugsAbuse
Availability
Violence
Production
Transportation
DistributionAbuse
Availability
Violence
Production
Transportation
DistributionList of Figures
Chart 1. Treatment Admissions, All Drugs, Northern California, FY1998-1999
Chart 2. Emergency Department Mentions, All Drugs, San Francisco, 1991-1998
Chart 3. Methamphetamine Seizures, California, 1995-1999
Chart 4. Heroin Seizures, California, 1995-1999
Chart 5. Cocaine Seizures, California, 1995-1999
Chart 6. Marijuana Seizures, California, 1995-1999List of Tables
Table 1. Methamphetamine Price and Purity
Table 2. Heroin Price and Purity
Table 3. Cocaine Price and Purity
Table 4. Domestic and Mexican Marijuana Prices
Executive Summary
Key characteristics of the drug situation in the Northern and Eastern U.S. Attorney Districts of California are the following:
- Methamphetamine is the most serious threat in the region, and there are no signs this will change soon.
- The state's proximity to Mexico and its extensive highway system enable groups from Mexico to dominate crucial aspects of the drug trade.
- Nearly every illegal drug is readily available.
Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies have faced the full consequences of the methamphetamine threat for years, but organizations dealing with health, social services, and the environment are just beginning to recognize its severity. While methamphetamine-associated violence is increasing, it is impossible to know the ultimate damage caused by this drug. The effects on users and on the children of those producing and using the drug create a critical social problem that affects this area and, increasingly, the rest of the nation. Operators of clandestine methamphetamine laboratories continue to dump toxic substances into rivers and watersheds, causing significant environmental damage. The costs associated with cleanup are outstripping budgets at every governmental level.
Northern California is home to some of the most productive farmland in the nation and the world. Waves of illegal migrants move northward to work the fields and sometimes participate in the production and transportation of illicit drugs. Close-knit family groups control drug movements from Mexico to Northern California and beyond. The extensive highway system facilitates drug transportation.
Addresses
National Drug Intelligence Center
319 Washington Street, 5th Floor
Johnstown, PA 15901Tel. (814) 532-4601
FAX (814) 532-4690
E-mail NDIC.Contacts@usdoj.govNational Drug Intelligence Center
8201 Greensboro Drive, Suite 1001
McLean, VA 22102-3840Tel. (703) 556-8970
FAX (703) 556-7807
Web Addresses
ADNET: http://ndicosa
DOJ: http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/
LEO: home.leo.gov/lesig/ndic/
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