Title:

Minnesota Drug Threat Assessment

Publication Date:  August 2001
Update: June 2002

Document ID: 2001-S0382MN-001

Archived on:  January 1, 2006. This document may contain dated information. It remains available to provide access to historical materials.

This report is a strategic assessment that addresses the status and outlook of the drug threat in Minnesota. 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 Minnesota.

Your questions, comments, and suggestions for future subjects are welcome at any time.  Addresses are provided at the end of the page.
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Contents

Executive Summary

Overview
  Fast Facts

Cocaine
  Abuse
  Availability
  Violence
  Production
  Transportation
  Distribution

Methamphetamine
  Abuse
  Availability
  Violence
  Production
  Transportation
  Distribution

Heroin
  Abuse
  Availability
  Violence
  Production
  Transportation
  Distribution

Marijuana
  Abuse
  Availability
  Violence
  Production
  Transportation
  Distribution

Other Dangerous Drugs
  Abuse
  Availability
  Violence
  Production
  Transportation
  Distribution

Outlook

Sources

Chart 1. Drug Arrests, Minnesota 1990-1999
Chart 2. Cocaine Emergency Department Mentions, Minneapolis, 1992-1999
Chart 3. Cocaine Treatment Admissions Minnesota and United States, 1993-1998
Chart 4. Methamphetamine Laboratory Seizures, Minnesota, 1994-2000  

List of Tables

Table 1. Illicit Drug Use, Past Month, United States and Minnesota, 1999
Table 2. Average Methamphetamine Purity Minnesota, 1995-1999 
Table 3. Emergency Department Heroin Mentions per 100,000, Minneapolis, 1995-1999
Table 4. Marijuana Use, Past Month, United States and Minnesota, 1999

Executive Summary

Drug use is a growing concern in Minnesota. More people were arrested for drug violations in 1999 than in any previous year. The Minneapolis/St. Paul area is the destination of most of the drugs entering the state because of its large population and transportation infrastructure. Mexican polydrug trafficking groups are the primary suppliers of cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine. Private vehicles and mail parcels are the most common methods of transporting drugs into the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Street gangs such as the Gangster Disciples and Vice Lords control distribution and retail sales in this area, but they are migrating to smaller cities in search of higher profits.

Powdered cocaine and crack cocaine pose the primary drug threats to Minnesota. Cocaine is the drug of choice in urban areas and accounts for more hospital emergency department mentions than any other drug in Minneapolis. Most powdered cocaine comes from the Southwest Border, while crack is converted locally or is transported from midwestern cities such as Chicago or Milwaukee.

Methamphetamine has surpassed cocaine as the primary drug of abuse in many areas of the state; law enforcement seized more methamphetamine in 1999 than in any previous year. Mexican drug trafficking organizations supply an estimated 80 percent of the methamphetamine, which is shipped from Mexico and California. However, methamphetamine laboratories are becoming more common in Minnesota. The number of laboratories seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration rose from 21 in 1997 to 138 in 2000.

Abuse of heroin and other opiates traditionally has been low in Minnesota, but use has risen consistently since the mid-1990s. There were 36 heroin-related deaths in the Minneapolis area through September 2000, compared with 27 in all of 1999. Heroin treatment admissions and hospital emergency department mentions reached all-time highs in 1999. Mexican black tar heroin, the most common type of heroin in the state, is transported from the Southwest Border and Chicago. White heroin is becoming more common in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Opium is used primarily by Minnesota's Southeast Asian population.

Marijuana is the most widely available and commonly abused drug in Minnesota and is responsible for more treatment admissions than any other drug. More teenagers and young adults are using marijuana than in previous years. According to the 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, Minnesota ranked eighth in the nation in the percentage of 12- to 17- and 18- to 25-year-olds in past 30-day marijuana use.

Other dangerous drugs, such as MDMA and GHB, are popular with teenagers who frequent nightclubs and all-night dance parties called raves. Abuse of these designer drugs is increasing, and MDMA has been linked to several deaths in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.

Diverted pharmaceuticals continue to be a problem in most areas of Minnesota. Prescription drugs are illegally obtained primarily through forged prescriptions and theft. Some of the most commonly diverted prescription drugs are Darvocet, methadone, Percocet, Ritalin, Valium, and Vicodin.

Addresses

National Drug Intelligence Center
319 Washington Street, 5th Floor
Johnstown, PA 15901

Tel. (814) 532-4601
FAX (814) 532-4690
E-mail NDIC.Contacts@usdoj.gov

Tel. (703) 556-8970
FAX (703) 556-7807

Web Addresses

ADNET:  http://ndicosa 
      DOJ:  http://www.usdoj.gov/archive/ndic/
      LEO:  home.leo.gov/lesig/archive/ndic/ 

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