National Drug Intelligence Center   Northern California High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis 2008   June 2008

Production

Methamphetamine production in the Northern California HIDTA region has declined significantly since 2004, largely as a result of successful law enforcement operations and regulatory efforts in the United States and Mexico to control precursor chemicals. According to the National Seizure System (NSS), only 11 methamphetamine laboratories were seized in the HIDTA region in 2007, a decrease from 24 laboratories in 2006, 36 in 2005, and 55 in 2004. While the seizure of laboratories is decreasing, HIDTA officials note an increase in methamphetamine conversion laboratories in which powder methamphetamine is converted to ice and ice methamphetamine of poor quality is "cleaned." Three conversion laboratories capable of producing multipound quantities of ice methamphetamine were seized in Santa Clara County in 2007.

HIDTA officials have noted that some Mexican DTOs are attempting to circumvent California state precursor chemical restrictions by employing large groups of individuals to purchase or "smurf" cold medications containing pseudoephedrine from local retailers across the HIDTA region. Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine smurfing is a method used by some methamphetamine traffickers to acquire large quantities of precursor chemicals that are used in the production of methamphetamine.

Cannabis cultivation is prevalent throughout the Northern California HIDTA region. In some areas cultivation is increasing. As a result, the region has emerged as one of the most significant cannabis cultivation areas in the nation. According to Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program (DCE/SP) data, nearly 5 million cannabis plants were eradicated in California in 2007 from outdoor and indoor grow sites.⁵ This figure represents a 28 percent increase from the 3.8 million plants seized in 2006. DCE/SP data also show that the number of plants seized at both outdoor and indoor grow sites in the HIDTA region increased overall during the last 4 years. The number of outdoor plants seized increased each year from 123,801 in 2004 to 924,827 in 2007, while the number of indoor plants seized increased overall from 5,684 in 2004 to 28,263 in 2007. (See Table 1.)

Figure 2. Cannabis plants eradicated by HIDTA county in 2007.

d-link

Source: San Francisco Field Division/DCE/SP, and California's Campaign Against Marijuana Planting.

Table 1. Cannabis Plants Seized in the Northern California HIDTA Region, 2004-2007

Source: Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program.
* In 2006 federal prosecution in San Francisco of several indoor marijuana grow cases from Elk Grove, California, contributed to this anomalous increase.

To Top      To Contents

Outdoor cannabis cultivation is increasing significantly in the HIDTA region. Mexican DTOs operate a majority of the large outdoor grow sites in the region; they generally establish such grow sites in counties that encompass extensive remote locations, public lands, and rural areas such as Lake, Sonoma, and Santa Clara Counties. These counties rank among the top 10 counties in the state for cannabis cultivation. Mexican DTOs typically employ illegal aliens to tend crop sites, provide protection from intruders (including law enforcement officers), and harvest the cannabis. According to law enforcement officials, many of the illegal aliens working for Mexican DTOs are doing so as payment for their entry into the United States. Law enforcement officials report that approximately 60 percent of the outdoor cannabis cultivation operations discovered during 2007 involved Mexican illegal aliens tending grow sites on federal public lands. Additionally, law enforcement reporting reveals that some Mexican DTOs are beginning to plant their crop earlier in the season to allow time for replanting in the event of eradication by law enforcement officials. In addition, the DTOs are attempting to complete the growth cycle and harvest prior to the commencement of marijuana eradication efforts. Law enforcement reporting further reveals that most traffickers believe that law enforcement officials will not revisit a previously eradicated grow site in the same season.

The environmental damage caused by outdoor cannabis cultivation, particularly on public lands, is extensive. (See Figure 3 and Figure 4.) According to the National Forest System and California's Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP), law enforcement officers are encountering increasing numbers of dumpsites containing highly toxic insecticides, chemical repellants, and other poisons. These toxic chemicals enter and contaminate ground water, pollute watersheds, kill fish and other wildlife, and eventually enter residential water supplies. Redirecting natural water sources leads to erosion and impacts native vegetation.

Figure 3. Outdoor marijuana grow encampment.

Source: DEA, San Francisco

Figure 4. Barriers used to contain a red diesel fuel spill from an outdoor generator into a natural waterway.

Source: DEA, San Francisco

To Top      To Contents

Law enforcement officials are also encountering an increasing number of large cannabis plants, some of which are more than 8 feet tall and require a chainsaw to cut them down. According to the officials, such plants produce approximately 8 pounds of processed marijuana. In August 2007 federal law enforcement officials in Santa Rosa seized 330 plants from an outdoor grow site; the plants averaged 8 to 10 feet tall and weighed a total of 7,000 pounds. Approximately $470,000 (concealed in guano buckets) and 32 firearms were also seized at the site. (See Figure 5.)

Figure 5. Large cannabis plants seized from an outdoor grow site.

Source: DEA, San Francisco

Indoor cannabis cultivators typically establish grow sites in multiple residences, often using hydroponics technology, sophisticated lighting, and irrigation systems. Indoor growers prefer the controlled environment because they can avoid intensified outdoor eradication efforts while achieving higher profits because of the year-round cultivation season; a new crop of higher-potency marijuana can be turned out every 90 days. Cannabis cultivators who operate large-scale indoor grows often modify electrical circuitry in the houses or bypass meters, creating hazardous conditions that can result in electrical shock or fire. In addition, they often use exhaust systems that are insufficient to vent the carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide generated from cultivation activities. Moreover, as a result of the prolonged high humidity at indoor grow sites, the buildings that contain them can be rendered uninhabitable as a result of the growth of toxic molds. Additionally, grow sites are often booby-trapped to ward off thieves and law enforcement officers.

Caucasian criminal groups and independent dealers are the predominant indoor cannabis cultivators in the HIDTA region and are also the primary producers of high-grade marijuana. Asian DTOs and criminal groups are becoming more involved with large-scale indoor cannabis cultivation and are beginning to produce significant quantities of high-grade marijuana in the region; many of these traffickers commenced cannabis cultivation operations in the region over the past few years by establishing small indoor grow sites with limited marijuana production capabilities.

According to law enforcement officials, some cannabis cultivators use California Proposition 215 as a pretext for conducting indoor grow operations in which high-grade marijuana is produced for distribution through cannabis clubs. Additionally, some cannabis cultivators are adding marijuana and cannabis derivatives such as hashish and hash oil to baked goods, candy, soda, and other food items in order to attract customers who may want an alternative to smoking marijuana. This practice poses a particular danger for young people who may consume marijuana- or hashish-laced items in the belief that the product is harmless because of its legitimate appearance. Treatment providers report that marijuana/cannabis-laced products often contain a high THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) content, increasing the possibility of marijuana-related addiction and adverse physiological effects from marijuana abuse, including arrested brain and central nervous system development.

End Note

To Top      To Contents     To Previous Page      To Next Page

To Publications Page     To Home Page

End of page.