Drug Threat Overview

The distribution and abuse of cocaine, particularly crack, pose the greatest drug threat to the Ohio HIDTA region, largely because of violent crime and property crime attendant to distribution and abuse of the drug, as well as the significant strain on public health resources occasioned by cocaine abuse. Powder cocaine and crack cocaine are widely available; however, crack cocaine is preferred by most abusers in the region. Mexican DTOs are the primary wholesale distributors of powder cocaine, while African American criminal groups and street gangs are the principal retail distributors of both powder cocaine and crack.

The trafficking of marijuana and heroin and the diversion of pharmaceutical drugs also pose a threat to the HIDTA region. Commercial-grade Mexican marijuana is widely available and is supplemented by local production. Heroin availability is increasing in the area, primarily through the efforts of Mexican traffickers who have become more prominent in the transportation and distribution of illicit drugs in the HIDTA region. The diversion, distribution, and abuse of pharmaceutical drugs, particularly OxyContin and Percocet (oxycodone) and Xanax (alprazolam), have been long-standing problems; however, the diversion and abuse of pharmaceutical drugs are escalating in some areas of the HIDTA region, including Columbus and Toledo.

Other drugs such as methamphetamine, PCP (phencyclidine), MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as ecstasy), and GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate) are available to varying degrees throughout the HIDTA region but pose a much lesser threat than cocaine, heroin, and marijuana. Local methamphetamine production has decreased significantly in the HIDTA region since FY2005, although safety and environmental concerns regarding the remediation of clandestine laboratories remain. Mexican methamphetamine availability has increased slightly but remains limited in the HIDTA region. PCP is available primarily in Cleveland and occasionally transits the HIDTA region en route to eastern destinations such as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. MDMA is available primarily in urban areas and on college campuses. GHB is available in limited quantities in Columbus.

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