Appendix C. OCDETF Regional Summaries

Pacific Regional Overview

Regional Overview

The Pacific Region encompasses northern and central California (including all counties except the southernmost nine), Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, as well as the U.S. territories of Guam and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The region includes the Central Valley California, Hawaii, Nevada, Northern California, Northwest, and Oregon HIDTAs as well as 10 U.S. Attorney Districts. The region's access to major illicit drug production and source areas in Mexico and Canada as well as in Asia and Europe facilitates smuggling of illicit drugs into the United States through the region for distribution to drug markets located throughout the country. Several areas in the Pacific Region have emerged as regional and national distribution centers for wholesale quantities of illicit drugs. Distribution centers include Central Valley (CA) (most notably Bakersfield, Fresno, and Modesto), Las Vegas (NV), Portland (OR), Puget Sound (WA) (most notably Seattle and Tacoma), San Francisco Bay Area (CA), and Yakima Valley/Tri-Cities (WA).

Mexican DTOs and criminal groups are the most influential illicit drug producers, transporters, and wholesale distributors of methamphetamine, cocaine, and Mexico-produced marijuana and heroin in the Pacific Region. The growing influence of Asian DTOs and criminal groups, particularly Vietnamese groups, is one of the most significant drug-related issues in the Pacific Region. These groups are expanding illicit drug operations in the Pacific Region to include increased production of high potency marijuana, increased transportation of BC Bud and MDMA into the region, and increased distribution of these drugs from the region to drug markets throughout the country.

Drug Threat Overview

Methamphetamine is the primary drug threat to the Pacific Region, arising in large part from the high levels of violence and crime associated with the trafficking and abuse of the drug. Increased production, trafficking, and abuse of high potency marijuana also create significant problems for citizens and law enforcement agencies in the Pacific Region as does the multilevel distribution and high abuse levels of heroin and cocaine. The distribution and abuse of ODDs, including MDMA, and diverted pharmaceuticals pose less significant problems than those of other illicit drugs; however, the threat is increasing in many areas.

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Strategic Regional Developments

Methamphetamine is increasingly available in the region. Domestically produced methamphetamine had been the primary type of methamphetamine available in the region; however, decreased production in the United States and increased production in Mexico has resulted in Mexican methamphetamine, mostly ice, emerging as the most prevalent type available in the region.

• Methamphetamine production has decreased significantly, largely as a result of successful law enforcement operations and regulatory efforts to control precursor chemicals. Most states in the region have enacted legislation to regulate the sale of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, and several states have scheduled the substances to further restrict their use.

• Cannabis cultivation and marijuana production have increased significantly throughout the region. Mexican DTOs and criminal groups have significantly increased large-scale outdoor cannabis cultivation and marijuana production operations in the Pacific Region; some groups have shifted resources from methamphetamine to marijuana production, and some have broken away from larger groups to establish their own large-scale operations.

• Some Mexican DTOs and criminal groups are producing marijuana with significantly higher THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) levels than in the past.

• Powder cocaine availability is increasing throughout much of the Pacific Region. Law enforcement agencies in California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington report increases in both the number and the size of cocaine seizures.

• Heroin abuse is increasing slightly in some areas, such as central California. For instance, law enforcement and treatment providers report that heroin use is increasing among some pharmaceutical abusers who first used Vicodin or OxyContin and then switched to heroin because it is cheaper and easier to obtain.

• MDMA availability and abuse are increasing in the Pacific Region, largely because of increased transportation of the drug from Canada, lowered perception of risk by some users, and increased distribution of the drug in the region.

• Many areas of the region, including central California and southern Nevada, report increased abuse of pharmaceuticals. In the San Francisco Bay Area, users purchase pharmaceuticals when they are unable to obtain their drug of choice. Asian DTOs are illicitly obtaining pharmaceuticals from pharmacists in San Francisco and distributing them in the Las Vegas area.

• Casinos in the region afford traffickers potential opportunities to launder drug proceeds. Nevada is the only state that allows commercial casinos; however, four other states in the region--California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington--have casinos owned and operated by Native American tribes. Some of these casinos have reportedly been used by traffickers to launder illicit drug proceeds generated in the region.

Variations From National Trends

• The level of methamphetamine availability and abuse in the region is among the highest in the country. In Hawaii, methamphetamine is more commonly abused than marijuana--one of the few areas in the country where marijuana is not the most abused drug.

• Some areas of the region have noted a decrease in methamphetamine purity. Law enforcement officials in California, Hawaii, and Nevada have reported lower purity methamphetamine, particularly at midlevel and retail level. It is unclear if this is a long-term trend (an indication of stretched supply) or a temporary condition as local production is supplanted by Mexico-based suppliers.

• Cocaine availability and abuse have increased in many areas of the Pacific Region, quite likely a result of law enforcement efforts to combat methamphetamine trafficking and changing user preferences. Some methamphetamine users are switching to cocaine largely because of the belief that cocaine is safer than methamphetamine.

• MDMA has historically been distributed at clubs, residences, and school campuses; however, it is now distributed at open-air markets in central California by street dealers who employ distribution methods similar to those used for other illicit drugs.

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