Title:

National Drug Threat Assessment 2003

Publication Date: January 2003

Document ID: 2003-Q0317-001

Archived on:  January 1, 2006. This document may contain dated information. It remains available to provide access to historical materials.

The National Drug Threat Assessment merges foreign and domestic counterdrug intelligence and information on domestic drug trends in a single report. It integrates the most recently available reporting from national-level law enforcement and intelligence agencies with the most current national substance abuse indicator data from public health agencies to accurately and reliably depict the current domestic drug situation. The report also draws on information from nearly 2,900 state and local law enforcement agencies that responded to our National Drug Threat Survey 2002 as well as from more than a thousand personal interviews with law enforcement and public health officials.

Your questions, comments, and suggestions for future subjects are welcome at any time. Addresses are provided at the end of the page.

Contents

From the Director

Executive Summary

Scope and Methodology

Cocaine and Crack
  Availability
  Demand
  Production
  Transportation
     Mexico-Central America Corridor
     Caribbean Corridor
     Direct to the Continental United States
  Distribution
     Primary Market Areas
  Key Developments
  Projections

Methamphetamine
  Availability
  Demand
  Production
     Domestic Production
     Foreign Production
  Transportation
     Transportation of Domestically Produced Methamphetamine
     Transportation of Foreign-Produced Methamphetamine
  Distribution
     Primary Market Areas
  Key Developments
  Projections

Marijuana
  Availability
  Demand
  Production
  Transportation
  Distribution
     Primary Market Areas
  Key Developments
  Projections

Heroin
  Availability
  Demand
  Production
  Transportation
     Mexican Heroin
     South American Heroin
     Southeast Asian Heroin
     Southwest Asian Heroin
  Distribution
     Primary Market Areas
  Key Developments
  Projections

MDMA
  Availability
  Demand
  Production
  Transportation
  Distribution
     Primary Market Areas
  Key Developments
  Projections

Other Dangerous Drugs
  Club Drugs 
     GHB
     Ketamine
     Rohypnol
  Hallucinogens
     LSD
     PCP
     Psilocybin

Pharmaceuticals
  Narcotics
  Depressants
  Stimulants

Money Laundering

Appendix A: National Drug Threat Survey 2002 Methodology

Appendix B: Selected National Substance Abuse Indicators

Sources

List of Tables 

Table A1. NDTS 2002 Sample Design 
Table A2. NDTS 2002 Response Rates by OCDETF Region
Table B1. Percentage of NHSDA Respondents Reporting Use of Specific Drugs in Their Lifetime, by Age Group, 1997-2001
Table B2. Percentage of NHSDA Respondents Reporting Use of Specific Drugs in the Past Year, by Age Group, 1997-2001
Table B3. Percentage of NHSDA Respondents Reporting Use of Specific Drugs in the Past Month, by Age Group, 1997-2001
Table B4. MTF: Trends in Lifetime Prevalence of Use of Various Drugs for Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders, 1998-2002 (%)
Table B5. MTF: Trends in Current Prevalence of Use of Various Drugs for Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders, 1998-2002 (%)
Table B6. MTF: Trends in Past Year Prevalence of Use of Various Drugs for Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders, 1998-2002 (%)
Table B7. PRIDE: Percentage of Past Year Drug Use by Junior and Senior High School Students and 12th Graders, 1997-1998 through 2001-2002 School Years
Table B8. PRIDE: Percentage of Current Drug Use by Junior and Senior High School Students and 12th Graders, 1997-1998 through 2001-2002 School Years
Table B9. DAWN: Estimated Number of Emergency Department Drug Mentions and Mentions of Selected Drugs by Year, 1994-2001
Table B10. Treatment Admissions and Admissions by Selected Primary Substances of Abuse, TEDS 1994-2001

From the Director:

I am pleased to present the National Drug Threat Assessment 2003. Prepared annually by the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) in partnership with federal, state, and local agencies, this report is designed to provide policymakers and law enforcement personnel at all levels with information for their use in formulating counterdrug policy, establishing law enforcement priorities, and allocating resources.

The National Drug Threat Assessment merges foreign and domestic counterdrug intelligence and information on domestic drug trends in a single report. It integrates the most recently available reporting from national-level law enforcement and intelligence agencies with the most current national substance abuse indicator data from public health agencies to accurately and reliably depict the current domestic drug situation. The report also draws on information from nearly 2,900 state and local law enforcement agencies that responded to our National Drug Threat Survey 2002 as well as from more than a thousand personal interviews with law enforcement and public health officials.

I would like to thank all participating agencies and organizations without whose contributions this assessment would not have been possible. The assistance they provided and the detailed information they contributed have been invaluable in the production of this assessment.

I encourage you to review the National Drug Threat Assessment 2003 and provide feedback on the enclosed Reader Comment Card. I appreciate your assistance and look forward to collaborating on future projects.

Michael T. Horn

January 2003

Addresses

National Drug Intelligence Center
319 Washington Street, 5th Floor
Johnstown, PA 15901

Tel. (814) 532-4601
FAX (814) 532-4690
E-mail NDIC.Contacts@usdoj.gov

Tel. (703) 556-8970
FAX (703) 556-7807

Web Addresses

ADNET:  http://ndicosa 
      DOJ:  http://www.usdoj.gov/archive/ndic/
      LEO:  home.leo.gov/lesig/archive/ndic/ 
     RISS:  ndic.riss.net

To Top     To Contents     To Next Page

To Publications Page     To Home Page