National Drug Intelligence Center   Oregon High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis 2009   April 2009

Strategic Drug Threat Developments

• Since the second quarter of 2008,1 Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) have increased the supply of ice methamphetamine from production areas in Mexico and, to a lesser extent, the Central Valley of California to the Oregon region.
   
• Outdoor cannabis plant seizures in the Oregon HIDTA counties decreased 90 percent in 2008. Law enforcement authorities attribute the decrease to cultivators' use of smaller, multiple grow sites to limit detection, budget cuts that have limited law enforcement resources, and inclement weather conditions.
   
• The abuse of controlled prescription drugs (CPDs)2 is rising in the Oregon HIDTA region, particularly among teenagers and young adults. The leading illicit methods used to obtain CPDs in the HIDTA region are doctor-shopping, theft, and the use of Internet pharmacies.

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HIDTA Overview

The Oregon HIDTA region encompasses eight Oregon counties--Clackamas, Deschutes, Douglas, Jackson, Marion, Multnomah, Umatilla, and Washington. Major transportation routes that facilitate the distribution of licit and illicit goods from domestic and foreign source areas transit each of these counties. Interstate 5 offers a direct north-south route from Canada to Mexico and traverses six of the eight HIDTA counties (Clackamas, Douglas, Jackson, Marion, Multnomah, and Washington). Interstate 84 crosses the state in an east-west direction, connecting the HIDTA counties of Multnomah and Umatilla to drug markets in other states, particularly Idaho. U.S. Highway 97, a north-south route from the U.S.-Canada border to northern California, crosses the state in Deschutes County and is a favored alternative route for drug traffickers attempting to avoid law enforcement scrutiny on I-5. (See Figure 1.) In addition to these roadways, drug traffickers use the state's airways, railways, seaports, and waterways to transport drugs to and through the HIDTA region.

Footnotes

1. The second quarter of 2008 is composed of April, May, and June.
2. Not all prescription drugs are controlled prescription drugs (CPDs) under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). However, many prescription drugs are listed in Schedules I through V of the CSA because of their high potential for abuse or addiction. Schedule I through V prescription drugs are primarily narcotic pain relievers and central nervous system depressants and stimulants. A complete list of controlled prescription drugs, by schedule, is available on the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Office of Diversion Control web site: http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/schedules/schedules.htm.

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