National Drug Intelligence Center   Northwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis 2009   February 2009   UNCLASSIFIED

Production

Methamphetamine production in the Northwest HIDTA region has steadily declined over the past several years as a result of sustained law enforcement interdiction efforts, enhanced precursor chemical controls, increased public awareness campaigns, and rising availability of Mexican ice methamphetamine. However, local production persists; some laboratory operators--usually Caucasian independent producers--continue to operate small-capacity methamphetamine laboratories in rural areas, producing ounce quantities of the drug. These producers typically use anhydrous ammonia (a common crop fertilizer) to produce methamphetamine; the chemical is widely available throughout the region, as it is commonly used for legitimate agricultural purposes. National Seizure System (NSS) data reveal that although laboratory seizures in the region have decreased significantly, the number of seizures is still relatively high, especially in Pierce County. (See Table 1.)

Source: National Seizure System, run date February 2, 2009.

Overall, the state of Washington is one of the top-producing cannabis cultivation areas in the nation and is designated by federal counterdrug officials as an "M7" state.8 Outdoor cannabis eradication in Washington was significant in 2008, with the majority of the cannabis eradicated at outdoor sites located in HIDTA counties. (See Table 2.) Outdoor cannabis cultivation in the HIDTA region is largely controlled by Mexican DTOs and criminal groups. In 2008 more than 315,000 cannabis plants were eradicated from outdoor plots in the HIDTA region--the largest number of cannabis plants ever seized by law enforcement from outdoor plots for any year. Increased eradication is largely attributed to STABOs that are managed by the Washington State Patrol; they are used to increase the ability of law enforcement agencies to combat cannabis cultivation in remote areas of the region by deploying personnel in helicopters to these areas. Local officials report that outdoor cannabis cultivation in the Northwest HIDTA region may increase even further in the near term as the result of a cannabis seed that produces faster-growing plants. These seeds are currently being used by Mexican DTOs in California and Oregon. Law enforcement officials are concerned that Mexican DTOs that operate grow sites in those states may introduce this seed into the Northwest HIDTA region; these plants have a 90-day grow cycle, as opposed to the normal 5- to 6-month grow cycle.

Source: Northwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, run date January 20, 2009.

Outdoor cannabis cultivation operations are commonly located on public lands, adversely affecting national parks, forests, and the mountain areas in the region. Law enforcement officials report that outdoor cannabis grow operations in the Yakima Valley and Tri-Cities9 areas of the region are usually situated in extremely remote locations with limited access. From 2004 through 2008, Yakima County recorded the highest outdoor grow eradication statistics for all counties in the HIDTA region. (See Table 2; see Figure 2.) Grow site operators in these remote locations often contaminate and alter watersheds; divert natural water courses; clear all the native vegetation; poach protected wildlife; discard garbage, nonbiodegradable materials, and human waste when deserting sites; and create wildfire hazards. Moreover, the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) reports that while preparing land for cannabis cultivation, growers commonly clear the forest understory, which allows nonnative plants to supplant native ones, adversely affecting the ecosystem. They also terrace the land--especially in mountainous areas--which often results in rapid erosion. The cost of restoring land damaged by such outdoor cultivation is significant; the National Park Service estimates that for every acre of forest planted with marijuana, 10 acres are damaged, and further, the cost to repair and restore an outdoor cultivation site is approximately $11,000 per acre.

Figure 2. Outdoor cannabis eradication in Washington, 2008.

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Source: Northwest HIDTA.

Indoor cannabis cultivation is prevalent throughout the HIDTA region, particularly in the Puget Sound area. (See Table 3.) Caucasian criminal groups and independent producers and Vietnamese DTOs are the primary cultivators of indoor cannabis in the region. Law enforcement reporting indicates that Vietnamese DTOs are increasingly establishing indoor grow operations in the area. Some Vietnamese DTOs have relocated their high-potency indoor cannabis cultivation operations from Canada to the Puget Sound area, particularly in King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties, resulting in an increase in the availability of high-potency marijuana in local drug markets. In doing so, Vietnamese traffickers seek to capitalize on rising demand for high-potency marijuana in the United States while minimizing their exposure to law enforcement officials at the U.S.-Canada border, including seizure of Canadian marijuana shipments. Additionally, some Vietnamese criminal groups operate garden supply shops in the area to help Vietnamese cannabis cultivators and other growers establish and maintain indoor grow operations. Shop operators typically stock supplies that they acquire from associates in Canada. While the level of indoor cannabis cultivation remains high, the eradication of indoor grows in the HIDTA region decreased from 51,190 cannabis plants in 2007 to 39,081 in 2008.

Source: Northwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, run date January 20, 2009.

According to law enforcement officials, some cannabis cultivators are exploiting Washington's medical marijuana law as a pretext for conducting indoor grow operations. Washington's Chapter 69.51A Revised Code of Washington (RCW) was enacted by voters in 1998 as an initiative that allowed doctors to legally recommend the use of marijuana to patients for some medical conditions.10 Under state law, patients were permitted to possess a 60-day supply of medical marijuana based on a doctor's written recommendation. However, a 60-day supply was not defined in law or rule. In an attempt to clarify the situation, the Washington State Department of Public Health issued a new rule (Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 246-75-010, effective November 2008) that defines a 60-day supply as 15 plants and 24 ounces of smokable marijuana.

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Transportation

The Northwest HIDTA region's proximity to illicit drug source areas and a multifaceted transportation infrastructure enable traffickers to transport significant quantities of illicit drugs into the area. Major highways in the region, such as I-5, provide traffickers with direct access to drug sources in California, Mexico, and Canada. Traffickers also exploit Washington's 430-mile border with Canada to smuggle drugs. Fifteen POEs are located along the U.S.-Canada border, through which traffickers transport illicit drugs by vehicle. A significant portion of the border is a vast, dense forest that provides excellent cover for trafficking operations. Several waterways are also located at the border, through which traffickers smuggle illicit drugs into the region. In crossing forestlands, traffickers often use all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), snowmobiles, and couriers with backpacks; they generally use small boats and kayaks to negotiate waterways.

Mexican DTOs and criminal groups are the dominant transporters of powder cocaine and Mexican marijuana, black tar heroin, and ice methamphetamine to and through the HIDTA region. These groups obtain illicit drugs from other Mexican DTOs and often coordinate receipt of drug shipments through family members or associates in Mexico, California, or other Southwest Border states. Mexican traffickers generally transport illicit drugs to the region in private and commercial vehicles, traveling on I-5. Their vehicles are typically equipped with false compartments that range, in terms of sophistication, from false gas tanks and hollowed-out tire wells to electronically coded access hatches.

Vietnamese DTOs and criminal groups transport high-potency Canadian marijuana and MDMA to the region, particularly to the Puget Sound area. They often employ Indo-Canadian criminal groups to transport the drugs across the U.S.-Canada border through land POEs, especially the Blaine POE. (See Figure 1.) These traffickers capitalize on the high volume of traffic at POEs, which limits close inspection of vehicles and cargo. (See Table 4.) Additionally, some Canada-based traffickers smuggle precursor chemicals used in methamphetamine production, such as pseudoephedrine and ephedrine, from Canada into Washington for use at laboratories in the region and elsewhere. However, there is no large-scale smuggling of precursor chemicals into the HIDTA region, according to the Northwest HIDTA.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, run date February 13, 2009.
*POE not listed for this category.

Some DTOs and criminal groups operating in the HIDTA region also use maritime and air cargo to move illicit drugs to the region, according to law enforcement reporting. However, the extent to which such modalities are used by traffickers is relatively unknown because of the inherent difficulty that law enforcement officials experience in inspecting the large volume of maritime and air cargo that passes through seaports and airports in Washington. For instance, the Port of Seattle alone handled approximately 14,584,816 metric tons (MT) of containerized cargo during 2008, while roughly 319,013 MT of air cargo passed though the Seattle International Airport; 31,296,628 passengers also passed through the airport in 2008.

Footnotes

8. M7 states are identified by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) as the seven primary cannabis cultivation and marijuana production states in the nation; in 2007 the M7 states were California, Hawaii, Kentucky, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington, and West Virginia.
9. The Tri-Cities area comprises Richland, Pasco, and Kennewick.
10. The law allows patients with terminal or debilitating illnesses to use marijuana as a medical treatment under their physician's care. Some of the illnesses are chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting in cancer patients, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Wasting Syndrome, severe muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis and other spasticity disorders, epilepsy, acute or chronic glaucoma, and some forms of intractable pain.

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