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

Abuse

Drug-related treatment admissions to publicly funded facilities in the region are at relatively high levels and, in most instances, are rising. According to data from the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, the number of methamphetamine-related treatment admissions has steadily increased over the past few years, from 5,913 in 2004 to 7,687 in 2006, the latest year for which such data are available. (See Table 7.) According to law enforcement officials, methamphetamine abuse is increasing throughout the region as a result of the rising availability of Mexican ice methamphetamine in the area.

Table 7. Drug-Related Treatment Admissions to Publicly Funded Facilities, Northwest HIDTA Region, SFY2004-2006*

Source: Washington State Department of Social and Health Services,
Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse.
* State fiscal year is from June 30 to July 1.

The number of marijuana-related treatment admissions to publicly funded facilities has also increased and is only slightly less than the number of methamphetamine-related treatment admissions. In 2004, 6,461 marijuana-related treatment admissions were reported by the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services; thereafter, such treatment admissions increased to 6,700 in 2005 and then to 7,425 in 2006. (See Table 7.) According to public health officials, increasing abuse of high-potency marijuana is a proximate cause for the increase in marijuana-related treatment admissions. Cocaine-related treatment admissions have similarly increased, from 2,998 in 2004 to 4,028 in 2006. According to law enforcement officials, cocaine abuse in the region is increasing as some methamphetamine abusers, faced with diminished supplies of the drug, are substituting cocaine.

Table 8. Drug-Related Treatment Admissions to Publicly Funded Facilities, Northwest HIDTA Counties, SFY2006*

Source: Washington State Department of Social and Health Services.
* State fiscal year is from June 30 to July 1.

Heroin abuse is prevalent in urban areas of the HIDTA region such as Seattle, Spokane, and Tacoma. However, the number of heroin-related treatment admissions to publicly funded facilities decreased in 2006 (3,302) after peaking in 2005 (3,554). ODDs, including MDMA, LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), psilocybin mushrooms, ketamine, and GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate), are commonly distributed and abused within the region. Diverted prescription drugs, particularly prescription narcotics, are also commonly abused throughout the region by a diverse user group. Abusers and distributors acquire prescription drugs through a variety of means including doctor shopping, drug theft, prescription fraud, and Internet purchase.

Illicit Finance

Traffickers launder illicit drug proceeds generated in the HIDTA region using various money laundering methods, based on the traffickers' level of sophistication. Mexican DTOs and criminal groups generally transport the proceeds they generate in the region in bulk to Mexico, where they are often deposited into a Mexican bank or a casa de cambio (exchange house) and then repatriated to the United States. Mexican traffickers also transport cash in bulk to southwestern states, where the funds are typically aggregated and eventually smuggled to Mexico. Asian DTOs and criminal groups also use bulk cash smuggling to launder their illicit proceeds; they typically transport funds to Canada through POEs along the U.S.-Canada border in private vehicles.

Traffickers operating in the HIDTA region also structure drug funds⁴ through electronic wire transfer services and domestic banks, commingle drug proceeds with funds from cash-intensive businesses, use casinos to mask the nature of illicit proceeds, and use their funds to purchase real estate and luxury items, such as automobiles and jewelry. For example, Spokane law enforcement officials report that members of Mexican criminal groups frequently use front businesses such as restaurants, cleaning services, and landscaping firms to launder drug proceeds.

End Note

4. A person structures a transaction if that person, acting alone, or in conjunction with or on behalf of other persons, conducts or attempts to conduct one or more transactions in currency, in any amount, at one or more financial institutions, on one or more days, in any manner, for the purpose of evading the reporting requirements under Title 31. "In any manner" includes but is not limited to the breaking down of a single sum of currency exceeding $10,000 into smaller sums, including sums at or below $10,000. The transaction or transactions need not exceed the $10,000 reporting threshold at any single financial institution on any single day in order to constitute structuring within the meaning of this definition.

To Top      To Contents     To Previous Page      To Next Page

To Publications Page     To Home Page

End of page.