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

Drug Threat Overview

Widespread trafficking and abuse of methamphetamine are the greatest threats to the Northwest HIDTA region, straining local law enforcement, public health, and social services resources, particularly in rural areas. Although local methamphetamine production has declined significantly in most areas of the region, an abundant supply of Mexican ice methamphetamine throughout the HIDTA region has fueled rising methamphetamine abuse. According to the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) National Drug Threat Survey (NDTS) 2009,2 26 of the 46 state and local law enforcement respondents in the Northwest HIDTA region identify methamphetamine as the drug that poses the greatest threat to their jurisdictions. Additionally, 33 respondents report that methamphetamine is the drug that most contributes to violent crime in their areas and 42 respondents report the same for property crime.

Mexican DTOs are the primary manufacturers, transporters, and wholesale distributors of ice methamphetamine acquired from production facilities in Mexico and conversion laboratories in California. They have generally supplied sufficient quantities of the drug to meet demand, even in the face of decreased local methamphetamine production. However, in 2007 and early 2008, the availability and purity of Mexican methamphetamine temporarily decreased in some areas of the HIDTA region, particularly at the midlevel and retail level. Restrictions enacted by the government of Mexico (GOM) on the importation and legitimate distribution of precursor chemicals in Mexico temporarily curtailed methamphetamine production in the country, leading to decreased availability of the drug in the HIDTA region throughout 2007 and early 2008. By the second quarter of 2008,3 law enforcement officials reported that methamphetamine availability in the Northwest HIDTA region had returned to previously high levels.

Officials attribute the rebound in availability to increased ice methamphetamine production in Mexico and, to a lesser degree, increased production in the Central Valley of California. Mexican DTOs are circumventing chemical sales and import restrictions and are smuggling precursor chemicals into Mexico to produce ice methamphetamine. Moreover, smurfing4 activity in the Central Valley has led to increased production of methamphetamine in California, some of which is transported to the Northwest HIDTA region.

Marijuana is the most widely available and frequently abused drug in the HIDTA region; 45 of the 46 state and local law enforcement respondents to the NDTS 2009 report that the drug is highly available throughout the area. Mexican DTOs and criminal groups are the primary traffickers of commercial-grade Mexican marijuana. In addition, Mexican DTOs and criminal groups operate most of the large outdoor cannabis grow operations in the HIDTA region; these operations generally are located in counties that have extensive remote locations such as public lands and rural areas. The increasing availability of high-potency marijuana in the region is attributed to the continued smuggling of the drug from Canada and the growing prevalence of indoor cannabis grow sites operated by Asian DTOs and Caucasian independent dealers in the region.

Powder cocaine is readily available throughout the region, despite a temporary shortage of the drug in early 2008.5 Crack cocaine is most prevalent in metropolitan markets such as Seattle, Spokane, and Tacoma, Washington. Many law enforcement officials and treatment providers report a recent increase in powder cocaine abuse in the region. They attribute the increase, in part, to some methamphetamine abusers who switched to cocaine when the availability of methamphetamine temporarily decreased in 2007 through early 2008. According to the NDTS 2009, 36 of 46 state and local law enforcement respondents in the region report that powder cocaine availability is moderate to high in their jurisdictions, and 25 of 46 respondents report the same for crack cocaine availability. Some of the powder cocaine that is transported into the HIDTA region is ultimately smuggled into Canada, where demand for the drug is also high.

Mexican black tar heroin abuse is a significant threat in the Seattle metropolitan area. The number of heroin-related treatment admissions to publicly funded facilities in King County, which encompasses Seattle, is significantly higher than in other counties of the region, according to data from the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse (DASA). Mexican DTOs remain the primary source for black tar heroin in Washington and transport the drug from distribution cities in southern California directly to the HIDTA region.

The distribution and abuse of MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, commonly known as ecstasy) are a growing concern to law enforcement in the HIDTA region. Much of the MDMA manufactured in Canada and destined for U.S. markets transits the Northwest HIDTA region and, as such, poses a risk to the region, particularly in markets like Seattle, where a large college age population may create demand for the drug. Officials in the HIDTA region report that MDMA tablets produced in Canada and distributed in the region often are adulterated with other dangerous substances, including methamphetamine, MDA (3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine), LSD (lysergic acid diethylemide, BZP (N-benzylpiperazine), TFMPP (1-(3-trifluoromethylphenyl)piperazine),6 ketamine, and caffeine. According to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Canada-based DTOs are increasingly producing adulterated MDMA tablets, and in some instances, tablets marketed as MDMA contain little, if any, MDMA. For example, in October 2008, 203,897 tablets that appeared to be MDMA were seized at the Blaine POE; the tablets were later determined to be BZP. Asian criminal groups, Asian gangs, and independent Caucasian distributors are the primary suppliers of MDMA in the region.

The abuse of CPDs is also rising in the region. Prescription narcotics, primarily oxycodone products (OxyContin, Percocet, and Percodan) and hydrocodone products (Vicodin and Lortab), are the most abused CPDs in Washington and pose a growing abuse problem for young adults in the HIDTA region, primarily individuals from ages 18 to 25 in King County. These young adults can often acquire the drugs without leaving their homes by placing orders on Internet pharmacy web sites, a practice that is illegal.7

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Drug Trafficking Organizations

Mexican DTOs and criminal groups are the dominant illicit drug producers, transporters, and wholesale distributors in the HIDTA region. Their influence in the area is unrivaled and presents law enforcement with numerous challenges. Members of Mexican DTOs and criminal groups, which tend to be insular and family-based, easily blend with the region's sizable Hispanic population. Mexican traffickers in the HIDTA region generally obtain illicit drugs from Mexican DTOs operating in Mexico, California, and southwestern states. They supply the drugs to distributors throughout the area. Additionally, law enforcement officials report that some members of Mexican DTOs and criminal groups also exploit Native American reservations in the region by befriending and living with female tribal members in order to establish drug distribution networks on tribal lands.

Asian DTOs and criminal groups, predominantly Vietnamese criminal groups, operate throughout the Northwest HIDTA region; they are involved primarily in indoor cannabis cultivation and high-potency marijuana production. These traffickers often attempt to shield themselves from law enforcement detection by employing other criminal groups, such as Indo-Canadian drug transportation organizations, to conduct some high-risk operations on their behalf, particularly cross-border smuggling. Asian DTOs and criminal groups routinely contract with Indo-Canadian transporters to smuggle Canadian marijuana and MDMA into the United States and cocaine and bulk cash into Canada through Washington POEs. According to law enforcement officials, the transporters are prone to violence and are adept at changing their modes of operation to avoid law enforcement detection.

Street gangs distribute a variety of illicit drugs throughout the Northwest HIDTA region--particularly at the retail level. For example, African American street gangs dominate retail drug distribution in parts of the Puget Sound area (see Figure 1), while Hispanic street gangs control such distribution in Spokane. Regardless of which street gang dominates a particular market, the large number of street gang members in the region--as well as their willingness to violently defend their drug distribution areas--renders street gangs a significant threat to the region and a rising concern to law enforcement.

Members of outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs), particularly some members of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) OMG, transport illicit drugs into the region, principally from Canada, and distribute them in various drug markets. For instance, law enforcement officials report that some HAMC members smuggle significant quantities of high-potency Canadian marijuana and MDMA into the region.

Footnotes

2. National Drug Threat Survey (NDTS) data for 2009 cited in this report are as of February 12, 2009. NDTS data cited are raw, unweighted responses from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies solicited through either the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) or the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program. Data cited may include responses from agencies that are part of the NDTS 2009 national sample and/or agencies that are part of HIDTA solicitation lists.
3. The second quarter of 2008 is composed of April, May, and June.
4. Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine smurfing is a method used by some methamphetamine traffickers to acquire large quantities of precursor chemicals. Methamphetamine producers purchase the chemicals in quantities at or below legal thresholds from multiple retail locations. Methamphetamine producers often enlist the assistance of several friends or associates in smurfing operations to increase the speed of the operation and the quantity of chemicals acquired.
5. Cocaine supplies to six of the eight key drug markets in the Pacific Region (Las Vegas, Nevada; Portland, Oregon; Oakland, Sacramento, and San Francisco, California; and Seattle, Washington) were interrupted for at least part of the second quarter of 2008, probably because of decreased availability in Los Angeles, California, which is a major source of the region's cocaine. By the end of the second quarter, cocaine had become more available in much of the region; only three markets (Las Vegas, Oakland, and Sacramento) were assessed to have availability levels below 2006 levels, while Honolulu, Hawaii; San Francisco; and Seattle were assessed to have overall availability levels comparable with 2006 levels. Various factors contributed to the cocaine availability shortage in Los Angeles and the HIDTA region, including large seizures of cocaine in transit to the United States, successful law enforcement efforts against prominent Mexican DTOs (the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) region's primary source of cocaine), violent conflicts among competing Mexican DTOs, and increased competition from non-U.S. markets.
6. BZP is a common name for the synthetic stimulant N-benzylpiperazine. BZP tablets, especially those that also contain the hallucinogen TFMPP (1-(3-trifluoromethylphenyl)piperazine), are often sold as MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as ecstasy) or promoted as an alternative to MDMA. BZP is abused primarily by teenagers and young adults. The drug is often used at raves, nightclubs, private parties, and other venues where the use of club drugs, particularly MDMA, is well-established. The risks associated with BZP abuse are similar to those associated with amphetamine abuse.
7. For a prescription to be valid under federal and state law there must be a bona fide doctor-patient relationship, which requires the physician and patient to meet in person. Completing a questionnaire that is then reviewed by a physician hired by an Internet pharmacy is not considered the basis for a doctor-patient relationship in the United States.

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