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National Drug Intelligence Center |
Marijuana is the most widely abused illicit drug in the Lake County HIDTA region. However, the abuse of cocaine and heroin poses a more significant concern to public health and law enforcement officials because cocaine and heroin are more addictive than marijuana, cost more to treat in publicly funded facilities, require longer treatment stays, and are more commonly associated with violent and property crime. According to the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, Department of Mental Health and Addiction (DMHA), approximately 46 percent of the individuals who received treatment in Lake County through the Hoosier Assurance Plan (HAP)1 in 2008 did so for abuse of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine. (See Figure 2.) Of these individuals, approximately 47 percent reported marijuana as their primary substance of abuse, followed by cocaine (31 percent), heroin (22 percent), and methamphetamine (less than 1 percent). The total number of individuals in Lake County receiving services for marijuana abuse through HAP has remained stable for the last 5 years; however, cocaine- and heroin-related treatment has declined approximately 33 percent for each drug from 2006 through 2008. The decrease in the number of individuals seeking treatment for cocaine and heroin is due in part to an 11 percent decrease in the total number of individuals seeking treatment for chronic addictions in Lake County. However, the reason for the decreases is unclear as there was no decrease in funding or treatment resources, according to DMHA officials.
Figure 2. Individuals Receiving Services, Hoosier Assurance Plan, by Drug, Lake County, 2004-2008*
Source: Indiana Family and Social Services Administration Department
of Mental Health and Addiction Community Services Data System.
*Data
are compiled by state fiscal year (July 1 to June 30).
Drug use rates among adolescents in the Northwest region of Indiana (Lake, Jasper, Newton, Porter, Pulaski, and Starke Counties) are significantly higher than statewide rates. According to 2008 survey data from the Indiana Prevention Resource Center (IPRC), twelfth-grade students in the region report higher rates of lifetime, annual, and monthly use of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and MDMA than do their peers statewide. In fact, the reported lifetime, annual, and monthly rates of use for marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and MDMA among twelfth-grade students were higher in the Northwest region than were rates of use in any of the other seven regions in the state. IPRC survey data from 2006 to 2008 of lifetime drug use by twelfth-graders in the Northwest Region show that marijuana is the most widely abused drug among twelfth graders. (See Figure 3.) For example, 42.0 percent of twelfth-grade students surveyed in the Northwest region in 2008 indicated that they have used marijuana in their lifetime, much higher than for cocaine (8.8 percent), MDMA (8.6 percent), or heroin (2.5 percent).
Figure 3. Percentage of Twelfth-Grade Students Reporting Lifetime Drug Use, by Drug, Northwest Region of Indiana, 2006-2008
Source: Indiana Prevention Resource Center.
Drug traffickers in the Lake County HIDTA region launder illicit funds generated by drug sales through a variety of methods. Bulk cash smuggling is the primary method used by Mexican traffickers to move drug proceeds from the HIDTA region to Mexico. Bulk cash is often transported to Chicago for consolidation and concealment in hidden compartments of private and commercial vehicles for eventual transportation to the Southwest Border and Mexico. Money services businesses (MSBs) such as money remitters and check-cashing firms are plentiful in Lake County and are often used by Mexican DTOs to launder drug proceeds. These businesses allow customers to move proceeds outside the United States with relative anonymity in amounts below the threshold set by the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). Drug traffickers also purchase small, cash-based businesses such as restaurants, nail salons, auto body shops, and used car lots that they use to commingle illicit proceeds with legitimate funds. Street gang members and independent dealers launder drug proceeds through the purchase of small, cash-based businesses, luxury items, and real estate. In addition, Lake County has four riverboat casinos, where drug traffickers use illicit proceeds to gamble. Traffickers purchase casino chips and later cash them out, reporting the proceeds as winnings and making them appear to be legitimate.
1. The Hoosier Assurance Plan (HAP) is a mental health services plan funded by the state of Indiana to provide mental health and addiction services to low-income individuals in the state.
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