National Drug Intelligence Center   North Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis 2008   June 2008

Production

Illicit drug production in the North Florida HIDTA region primarily involves the conversion of powder cocaine to crack, indoor cannabis cultivation, and small-scale powder methamphetamine production. Crack conversion, which principally takes place in urban areas of the region, particularly northwestern Jacksonville, is a significant concern to law enforcement officials because it is associated with high levels of abuse, property crime, and related violence. Retail-level crack cocaine distributors, generally members of African American criminal groups and street gangs, convert powder cocaine to crack in small quantities near intended markets because federal sentences for distribution or possession of crack are more severe than those for powder cocaine.

Most of the marijuana available in the North Florida HIDTA region is produced locally at indoor and, to a lesser extent, outdoor cannabis grow sites; some marijuana available in the region is produced in Canada, Jamaica, and Mexico. Indoor cannabis cultivation is prevalent throughout Florida and the North Florida HIDTA region.⁷ According to Florida's Domestic Marijuana Eradication Indoor Grow Program data, the total number of indoor cannabis plants eradicated in the North Florida HIDTA region increased 277 percent from 2005 through 2007.⁸ (See Table 2.) The Florida Department of Law Enforcement reports that marijuana producers continue to move cannabis cultivation operations indoors to avoid law enforcement detection and to increase the quality of the marijuana produced. The controlled environment, combined with sophisticated growing techniques such as hydroponics, typically yields high-potency marijuana, which commands higher prices.⁹ For example, in Jacksonville the wholesale price for commercial-grade marijuana was approximately $650 per pound in 2007, while the wholesale price for hydroponic marijuana ranged from $2,500 to $4,000 per pound; the retail price for commercial-grade marijuana was $120 per ounce, while the retail price for hydroponic marijuana was $375 per ounce. Moreover, indoor cannabis operations can be conducted year-round, yielding four to six harvests per year, compared with the two harvests per year that are typical for outdoor cultivation. As a result, Florida House Bill 0173 was presented for signature to the governor on June 11, 2008, addressing the increasing use of residences for high-potency cannabis cultivation.¹⁰

Table 2. Indoor Cannabis Plants Cultivation Sites Seized and Plants Eradicated, in North Florida HIDTA Counties, 2005-2007

Source: Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
*Columbia and St. Johns Counties did not participate in Florida's Domestic Marijuana Eradication Indoor Grow Program in 2006.

Most of the indoor cannabis grow sites in the North Florida HIDTA region are established and operated by Cuban DTOs and criminal groups; some Caucasian DTOs and criminal groups cultivate cannabis indoors in the region. For several years Cuban growers cultivated high-potency cannabis at indoor grow sites in southern Florida. Cuban growers have expanded their indoor cannabis grow operations to other parts of Florida as well as other areas of the southeast, such as Georgia and North Carolina. Law enforcement reporting and seizure data indicate that Cuban DTOs are principal producers of indoor cannabis in the southeastern United States. Moreover, intelligence derived from recent law enforcement investigations reveals that cannabis cultivation by Cuban growers has advanced from the operation of a limited number of grows by independent Cuban groups for relatively small profit to a coordinated effort by these groups to operate large-scale indoor cannabis grow sites. In fact, law enforcement reporting indicates that many of the Cuban DTO-operated indoor cannabis cultivation sites in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina may be linked to a single southern Florida-based Cuban DTO. Many of the indoor grow sites in the North Florida HIDTA region are located in residences in suburban and rural communities surrounding Jacksonville. The depressed housing market in Jacksonville has resulted in increased home foreclosures, a circumstance that provides opportunities for Cuban DTOs to acquire bargain-priced properties for use in further expansion of indoor cannabis grow sites in the region. Moreover, Cuban DTOs and criminal groups often require illegal immigrants of various races/ethnicities to live in the residential grow sites to cultivate the cannabis plants and to provide the appearance of typical residential activity in the home. The illegal immigrants are frequently required to reside at these operations as reimbursement for their illegal passage into the United States provided by Cuban DTOs or their associates.

Small-scale powder methamphetamine production takes place in the North Florida HIDTA region. According to National Seizure System (NSS) data, the number of methamphetamine laboratories seized in North Florida HIDTA counties fluctuated but increased overall from 2003 through 2007. Most of the methamphetamine laboratories seized in the region during this period were discovered in Marion County, and an unusually high number of methamphetamine laboratories (10) were seized in Putnam County in 2007. (See Table 3.) Moreover, most of the methamphetamine laboratories seized used the anhydrous ammonia method (commonly referred to as the Birch or Nazi method). Less than 2 ounces of methamphetamine could be produced in these laboratories per production cycle.

Table 3. Methamphetamine Laboratories Seized in the North Florida HIDTA Region, 2003-2008*

Source: National Seizure System, data run on May 14, 2008.
*Partial year data as of May 14, 2008.

End Notes

7. According to Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program (DCE/SP) data, approximately 74,698 cannabis plants were eradicated from 944 indoor grow sites, compared with 9,116 plants eradicated from 263 outdoor sites in Florida in 2007. DCE/SP eradication data are available only at the state level; thus, the number of cannabis plants and grow sites eradicated and seized reflects the entire state of Florida, not only the North Florida HIDTA region. Moreover, DCE/SP changed the methodology for collecting data in 2007 by adding eradication totals from public land agencies. Therefore, 2007 data from outdoor operations cannot be compared with previous years' data.
8. North Florida HIDTA officials report that fluctuations in the number of cannabis plants eradicated each year are frequently the result of available eradication assets and do not necessarily indicate a change in the amount of cannabis cultivated in the region.
9. According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) quantifications of marijuana samples submitted to the University of Mississippi Potency Monitoring Project by federal, state, and local law enforcement officials in 2006 (the latest year for which such data are available) indicate that marijuana produced in Florida had an average THC content of 7.73 percent.
10. Florida House Bill 0173 prohibits the cultivation of cannabis for specified purposes and prohibits owning, leasing, or possessing a place, structure, or trailer, or other described place with the knowledge that it will be used to manufacture, sell, or traffic in a controlled substance; and provides that possession of 25 or more cannabis plants is prima facie evidence of intent to sell or distribute.

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