Strategic Drug Threat Developments

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Law enforcement officials report that the abuse of opioids, particularly South American (SA) heroin and diverted prescription narcotics, has become the primary drug abuse problem in New England. Opioid abuse in the region is driven in part by an increasing number of prescription narcotics abusers who are switching to heroin because it is more potent and less expensive.
Cocaine availability decreased in some parts of the region during the spring of 2007 as a result of large seizures of cocaine in transit to the United States, successful law enforcement efforts against prominent Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs), violent conflicts in Mexico between competing Mexican DTOs, and increased demand for cocaine in foreign drug markets. However, availability has returned to normal levels in most markets.
Canada-based traffickers are smuggling increasing quantities of synthetic drug tablets/capsules to the region, which typically contain multiple substances in various combinations.
Only one notable Asian-operated indoor cannabis cultivation site was seized in the region in 2007, and the total number of indoor cannabis plants eradicated declined significantly between 2006 and 2007. High-potency marijuana remained readily available, however, from foreign and domestic sources of supply.
Violence among street gangs is increasing in the NE HIDTA region, particularly violence associated with territorial disputes. Moreover, street gangs in the region are recruiting new members from middle schools and high schools and are enticing incarcerated gang members back to gang life upon their release from prison.
Gang members are increasingly carrying firearms during the commission of criminal offenses in the HIDTA region. They generally obtain firearms through direct or intermediary purchases, by theft, and in exchange for illicit drugs.
Illicit drug abusers in the NE HIDTA region are unwittingly being exposed to illicit substances they do not intend to ingest, primarily through their use of synthetic drug tablets/capsules, which are becoming increasingly available in the region.

HIDTA Overview

The NE HIDTA region comprises 13 counties in 6 states; approximately 8.7 million individuals reside in the region. (See Figure 1.) Nine of the HIDTA counties are located in Massachusetts and Connecticut, with the remaining four located in Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, respectively. Two primary drug distribution centers are located within the NE HIDTA region--the Hartford, Connecticut/Springfield, Massachusetts, area in the west and the Lowell/Lawrence, Massachusetts, area in the east. Drug traffickers operating in these distribution centers supply most consumer markets in the HIDTA region. The Providence, Rhode Island/Fall River, Massachusetts, area is a secondary distribution center that supplies communities in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, an area that is located outside the NE HIDTA region. Boston, Massachusetts, New England's largest city, is predominantly a consumer market; it is supplied primarily by distributors operating from Lawrence, Lowell, and New York, New York. Some Boston-based distributors sell drugs in communities located in the surrounding metropolitan area, including Braintree, Cambridge, Chelsea, Framingham, Lynn, Quincy, and Weymouth (all in Massachusetts) as well as in Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.

The NE HIDTA region's proximity to New York City and the eastern provinces of Canada facilitates drug smuggling to the region. New York City, the largest drug market in the eastern United States, is the source for most of the SA heroin, cocaine, and commercial-grade marijuana available in New England; traffickers in New York City also are supplying khat to members of Somali communities in Maine and Massachusetts. Moreover, traffickers are increasingly smuggling cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and small quantities of methamphetamine directly from southwestern states to the region, particularly Massachusetts. Additionally, Atlanta has recently emerged as a source city for cocaine, heroin, and marijuana transported to the region, and Florida has emerged as a source for cocaine, diverted pharmaceuticals, and MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as ecstasy).

Canada-based traffickers, who operate primarily from Montreal and Toronto, smuggle significant quantities of marijuana, MDMA, and prescription drugs to the region; they are also smuggling increasing quantities of synthetic drug tablets/capsules that contain multiple substances in various combinations. Moreover, traffickers use the NE HIDTA region as a transit zone for drug shipments from Canada destined for other regions of the United States and for drug shipments (primarily cocaine), drug proceeds, and weapons from the United States destined for Canada.

Drug Tablet/Capsule Combinations and Their Potential Impact on Abusers

Drug tablets/capsules often contain multiple ingredients in various combinations, including substances such as MDMA, MDA (3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine), methamphetamine, amphetamine, BZP (1-benzylpiperazine), caffeine, ephedrine, ketamine, LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), OMPP (ortho-methoxyphenylpiperazine), PCP (phencyclidine), procaine, pseudoephedrine, and TFMPP (trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine). Some synthetic drug tablets available in the NE HIDTA region are presented as MDMA but actually contain methamphetamine--or methamphetamine and MDMA in combination.^a "Mimic" ecstasy tablets containing a combination of heroin, cocaine, and caffeine have also been reported in other regions of the United States. The extent of mimic ecstasy production is not fully known. Testing of seized tablets by law enforcement officials would assist in quantifying this threat.

a. Some laboratory operators who produce synthetic drugs custom-blend drug tablets and capsules in order to provide abusers with a specific physiological effect, and they use information about that effect as a marketing tool. Moreover, methamphetamine, which is less costly to produce, has been used as an adulterant/additive to MDMA tablets for several years. MDMA producers sometimes add methamphetamine during MDMA manufacturing to stretch their supplies and increase their profit margins. Methamphetamine is often more readily available to laboratory operators and less expensive than pure MDMA. Because the chemical structure of MDMA is similar to that of methamphetamine and the two drugs produce similar stimulant effects, producers can sell combination MDMA/methamphetamine tablets to an unsuspecting MDMA user population.

Drug-related violence is increasing throughout much of the HIDTA region, largely because of the proliferation of street gangs, which operate in every New England state. Street gangs are particularly active in major and midsize cities, where they often engage in violent intergang struggles over drug distribution territories.

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