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New Federal Drug Reports Out

By Jeralyn

The National Drug Intelligence Center issued its annual "market analyses" on illicit drug seizures, arrests, and trends in the 32 so-called High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTAs).

Drug Market Analyses examine the market dynamics and the trafficking, distribution, and abuse patterns associated with cocaine, heroin, marijuana, MDMA, methamphetamine, and other dangerous drugs within United States High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTAs).

Some interesting tidbits from my neck of the woods:

[More...]

• Utah leads the nation in nonmedical painkiller abuse

• The Mexicans are blamed for pot. ("Mexican marijuana is the most widely available and abused illicit drug in the HIDTA region." And,

  The high demand for marijuana has prompted Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) to continue to transport large quantities of marijuana from Mexico and to expand their cannabis cultivation operations in the HIDTA region. Mexican criminal groups operate large outdoor cannabis plots, often composed of several thousand plants, particularly on public lands. As such, Mexican traffickers are able to respond to market demands and achieve higher profit margins.

• Ecstasy is the fault of the Asians.

  Asian criminal groups, Asian gangs, and independent Caucasian distributors are the primary suppliers of MDMA. The Metro Gang Task Force in Denver continues to seize large amounts of MDMA (seizures of 10,000 dosage units are not uncommon) from sources in California, particularly Los Angeles, Oakland, and San Francisco.

• Blame the Outlaw bikers for Meth.

  OMGs, particularly Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC), Outlaws, Bandidos, and Sons of Silence, distribute ice methamphetamine and high-potency marijuana in some areas of the region. These OMGs obtain methamphetamine from Mexican traffickers and also transport the drug from California and southwestern states.

• And, local Hispanics for all drugs:

  Hispanic street gangs, primarily affiliates of Sureños and Norteños, are midlevel and retail distributors of ice methamphetamine, powder cocaine, marijuana, black tar heroin and, to a lesser extent, crack cocaine throughout the area. Hispanic gangs are responsible for most of the assaults, home invasion robberies, and homicides that take place in major metropolitan areas of the region, such as Denver, Colorado Springs, and Salt Lake City.

• African-Americans get the nod for crack and PCP:

  African American street gangs, most notably affiliates of Bloods and Crips, are the primary converters and retail distributors of crack cocaine and PCP (phencyclidine). They often convert crack cocaine locally and occasionally transport small quantities into the region after obtaining it from gang contacts in southern California.

Considering drugs are illegal, and a drug transaction has to involve at least two people, is there anyone dealing drugs who wouldn't fall into one of their overbroad categories of "Drug Trafficking Organizations, Criminal Groups, and Gangs"?

Drug trafficking organizations are complex organizations with highly defined command-and-control structures that produce, transport, and/or distribute large quantities of one or more illicit drugs.

Criminal groups operating in the United States are numerous and range from small to moderately sized, loosely knit groups that distribute one or more drugs at the retail level and midlevel.

Gangs are defined by the National Alliance of Gang Investigators' Associations as groups or associations of three or more persons with a common identifying sign, symbol, or name, the members of which individually or collectively engage in criminal activity that creates an atmosphere of fear and intimidation.

What about Caucasians?

Caucasian criminal groups and local independent dealers also distribute MDMA and high-potency marijuana, some of which is produced from cannabis cultivated in local indoor grow operations.

[Hat tip to Grits for Breakfast, which examines the Texas stats.]

Full post as published by TalkLeft on June 14, 2009 (boomark / email).