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

Strategic Drug Threat Developments

• Methamphetamine trafficking and abuse pose the primary drug threats to the Rocky Mountain HIDTA region, despite declines in local methamphetamine production that have resulted from successful precursor chemical control legislation, law enforcement operations, and public awareness campaigns. Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) have offset the decline in regional powder methamphetamine production by supplying significant quantities of high-purity ice methamphetamine to the region.
   
• Law enforcement officials report an increase in powder cocaine abuse in the HIDTA region. Some methamphetamine abusers have switched to powder cocaine, which may be due in part to a concerted public awareness campaign alerting users to the short- and long-term consequences of methamphetamine abuse.
   
• Rising demand for high-potency marijuana has resulted in increased production of the drug in the HIDTA region. Some cannabis cultivators in Colorado use state medical marijuana provisions as a pretext for maintaining illicit grow sites.
   
• The trafficking and abuse of MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as ecstasy) are increasing in the HIDTA region, particularly in the Denver area. Asian DTOs and criminal groups are smuggling increasing amounts of MDMA from Canada and California for regional and nationwide distribution.
   
• The distribution and abuse of diverted pharmaceutical drugs pose a significant and increasing threat in some areas of the HIDTA region. Law enforcement officials report that prescription drugs such as OxyContin, Percocet, and Percodan (oxycodone); Valium (hydrocodone); and Lortab (diazepam) are widely abused in the region.

To Top     To Contents

HIDTA Overview

The Rocky Mountain HIDTA encompasses 34 designated counties in Colorado, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming. The region contains large metropolitan areas as well as expansive, sparsely populated areas, including public and tribal lands. (See Figure 1.) The HIDTA region is located between major drug source areas in Mexico and Canada and is linked by interstate highways to major domestic drug markets across the United States. Denver and Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Salt Lake City, Utah, are the three largest metropolitan areas and serve as distribution centers for other regional drug markets as well as transshipment points for drugs supplied to markets in the Midwest and the eastern United States.

Rural areas in the HIDTA region, including 34 national forests, provide traffickers with an opportunity to avoid detection as they engage in illicit activities, such as drug smuggling, cannabis cultivation and, to a lesser extent, powder methamphetamine production. Drug smuggling from Canada through remote areas of the HIDTA region is a particular concern for law enforcement agencies. The 585-mile U.S.-Canada border in Montana has 15 official ports of entry (POEs)¹ as well as hundreds of easily accessible, unofficial crossings that are often used by traffickers to transport drugs from Canada into the region using private and commercial vehicles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), snowmobiles, private aircraft, and couriers who transport the drugs on foot. For example, the Kootenai National Forest, located on the U.S.-Canada border in northwestern Montana and northeastern Idaho--commonly referred to as "The Yaak"--is often used by drug smugglers because of the many off-road routes and packing trails that cross the border.

End Note

1. The ports of entry (POEs) are based on those listed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Border Patrol as of November 15, 2004.

To Top     To Contents     To Next Page

To Publications Page     To Home Page

End of page.