National Drug Intelligence Center   Northern California High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis 2009   April 2009

Strategic Drug Threat Developments

• Ice methamphetamine trafficking and abuse are the most significant drug threats to the Northern California HIDTA region. More drug-related crimes, including violent crimes and property crimes, are attributed to methamphetamine trafficking and abuse than to any other illicit drug. Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are the primary transporters and distributors of the drug.
   
• After a steady decline in methamphetamine production in the HIDTA region since 2004, methamphetamine superlab1 seizures increased from one laboratory in 2006 to four laboratories in 2008. Large-scale pseudoephedrine "smurfing"2 operations by Mexican DTOs and criminal groups that employ numerous individuals to purchase cold medications from local retailers are the likely sources of precursor chemical supplies for these superlabs.
   
• Cannabis cultivation has increased dramatically in the Northern California HIDTA region over the last 5 years, making the region one of the most prominent marijuana production areas in the nation. The number of outdoor cannabis plants seized increased each year from 123,801 in 2004 to 985,993 in 2008, while the number of indoor plants seized increased overall from 5,684 in 2004 to 67,953 in 2008.

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HIDTA Overview

The Northern California HIDTA region consists of 10 counties in the San Francisco Bay area--Alameda, Contra Costa, Lake, Marin, Monterey, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sonoma. (See Figure 1.) The region encompasses major metropolitan areas, including Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, and expansive, sparsely populated rural areas. Proximity to illicit drug source areas and an adaptable abuser population have rendered the HIDTA region a national-level transportation center and significant abuse area for illicit drugs supplied by Mexican and, to a lesser extent, Asian DTOs. In addition to supplying drug markets in the region, Mexican and Asian DTOs transport various illicit drugs from the area to markets throughout the United States, including markets in the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest, and Hawaii.

A multifaceted transportation infrastructure links the HIDTA region directly to Mexico and Canada--major illicit drug production and source areas--as well as to methamphetamine production areas in central and southern California and marijuana production areas in central and northern California. This infrastructure also links the HIDTA region to major drug markets throughout the nation. Interstate 80, a major east-west corridor, connects San Francisco to New York, New York. U.S. Highway 101, a north-south corridor, provides direct access to the region from Mexico and Canada. International airports and maritime ports further facilitate illicit drug smuggling into and through the area, particularly from Asia and Europe. The San Francisco International Airport is the fourteenth-busiest airport in the United States and the twenty-third-busiest in the world in the number of passengers processed. The Port of Oakland is one of the five largest container ports in North America and one of the top 20 worldwide.

Footnotes

1. Superlabs are laboratories in which more than 10 pounds of methamphetamine can be produced per production cycle.
2. Methamphetamine producers employ numerous individuals to make multiple purchases of pseudoephedrine at or below the legal limits from various locations, sometimes within numerous jurisdictions. This practice is known as smurfing.

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