Marijuana

The prevalence of marijuana and a continuing high demand for the drug underlie its stability as one of the foremost drug threats. More than 95 percent of state and local law enforcement agencies describe availability of the drug as high or moderate, and 75 percent of illicit drug users aged 12 or older report current use of marijuana.

Trends and Developments

• Marijuana is readily available in drug markets throughout the United States, and interagency estimates as well as law enforcement reporting, drug survey data, and drug seizure data indicate that the availability of the drug is increasing.
• The escalating prevalence of higher potency marijuana such as sinsemilla has resulted in an increase in average marijuana potency; however, high potency marijuana constitutes a relatively small portion of the marijuana available throughout the United States. Commercial-grade marijuana is the most widely available type throughout the country.
• Demand is higher for marijuana than for any other illicit drug; however, marijuana use among eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders as well as college students has declined since peaking in the late 1990s.

Figure 5. Rates of Past Year Use for Marijuana, 2000-2004

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Source: Monitoring the Future.

• Mexico has been the principal source for U.S.-destined foreign marijuana for decades, and already-high production levels escalated in 2003. Mexican DTOs control nearly all marijuana production in Mexico, and an estimated 13,500 metric tons of marijuana were potentially produced in Mexico during 2003--70 percent more than in the previous year. Other major sources of foreign-produced marijuana include Canada, Colombia, and Jamaica. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) estimates Canadian marijuana production at 800 to 2,000 metric tons. Most of the large-scale marijuana production in Canada is controlled by outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs) and Asian criminal groups. Marijuana production in Colombia, which is primarily controlled by Colombian DTOs, continues to be reported at 4,150 metric tons; however, this estimate has not been updated since 1996. Potential marijuana production for Jamaica has not been reported since 1997.
• Domestic marijuana production appears to be increasing, in part because of the rising involvement of U.S.-based Mexican criminal groups in large-scale cultivation operations in the United States. Cannabis cultivation is extensive in certain areas, most notably in the Pacific and Southeast Regions. 
• Marijuana smuggling into the United States via borders with Mexico and Canada appears to have increased overall; however, the volume of marijuana seized along the Southwest Border greatly exceeds Northern Border amounts. 

Figure 6.  Principal Outdoor Cannabis Cultivation Areas

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Table 3. Top Five States for Marijuana Eradication, 2003

Source: Drug Enforcement Administration Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program.

Table 4. U.S. Arrival Zone Seizures of Marijuana in Kilograms*, 2001-2003

	2001	2002	2003
Southwest Border	1,059,037	1,034,635	1,173,128
Northern Border	3,601	8,370	11,183

Source: El Paso Intelligence Center.
* Numbers are rounded.

• PMAs for marijuana include Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Phoenix/Tucson, San Diego, and Seattle. These were determined based on the level of distribution through these markets and, in some cases, the type(s) of marijuana distributed. Use was not a determining factor for any marijuana PMA. The vast majority of foreign-produced marijuana is transported in bulk via the Southwest Border; consequently, marijuana shipments from markets such as Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Phoenix/Tucson occur more frequently and are often larger than other markets. While the volume of marijuana distributed through Chicago, Miami, New York, and Seattle is small compared with markets in the southwestern United States, these markets typically have played an important role in distribution, particularly of marijuana smuggled across the Northern Border, smuggled through the Caribbean, or produced domestically.

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