Marijuana

Marijuana is the most widely available and frequently abused illicit drug in Nebraska. Most of the marijuana available in the state is produced in Mexico, although some cannabis is cultivated locally. Mexican criminal groups transport marijuana from Mexico, California, and southwestern states into Nebraska in private and commercial vehicles. Mexican criminal groups and, to a lesser extent, local independent dealers are the primary wholesale and retail marijuana distributors in the state. Street gangs also distribute marijuana at the retail level. Marijuana typically is packaged in sandwich bags and distributed at the retail level from bars, strip clubs, schools, parking lots, residences, businesses, and at concerts.

Abuse

Law enforcement officials in Nebraska report that marijuana abuse is high. According to responses to the NDTS 2002, of the 18 Nebraska respondents who reported on marijuana abuse in their jurisdictions, 14 indicated that abuse was at a high level. Law enforcement authorities in Beatrice and Saunders County indicated that marijuana abuse was moderate in their areas.

Although marijuana is the most commonly abused illicit drug in Nebraska, marijuana-related treatment admissions to publicly funded facilities decreased from 1997 through 2001. TEDS data indicate that the number of marijuana-related treatment admissions decreased from 1,004 in 1997 to 862 in 2001. (See Table 1 in Overview section.) In addition, survey data indicate that abuse of marijuana in Nebraska is lower than reported rates of marijuana abuse nationwide. According to the 1999 and 2000 NHSDA, 3.5 percent of Nebraska residents reported having abused marijuana in the month prior to the survey compared with 4.8 percent of U.S. residents nationwide.

ADAM data for Omaha indicate that 48 percent of adult male arrestees in 2000 tested positive for marijuana. In 2000 a higher percentage of African American male arrestees (56%) tested positive for marijuana than Caucasian (43%) or Hispanic (27%) male arrestees.

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Availability

Marijuana produced in Mexico is the most widely available form of the drug in the state; however, marijuana produced in Nebraska also is available. According to the NDTS 2002, of the 18 Nebraska respondents who reported on marijuana availability in their jurisdictions, 14 indicated that availability was high and 4 indicated that availability was moderate.

Seizure data reflect the ready availability of marijuana in Nebraska. According to FDSS data, federal law enforcement officials in Nebraska seized 339 kilograms in 1998, 2,120 kilograms in 1999, 1,335 kilograms in 2000, and 438 kilograms in 2001. (See Table 3 in Methamphetamine section.) Law enforcement authorities that reported to Operation Pipeline seized over 2,501 kilograms in 1999 and over 1,009 kilograms in 2000. The Omaha Police Department seized almost 497 kilograms of marijuana in 2001.

The percentage of drug-related federal sentences that were marijuana-related in Nebraska was significantly lower than the national percentage in FY2001. According to USSC data in FY2001, 10 percent of drug-related federal sentences in Nebraska resulted from marijuana offenses compared with 33 percent nationally. (See Table 2 in Overview section.) The number of federal sentences for marijuana violations in Nebraska increased from 17 in FY1997 to 29 in FY2001.

Marijuana prices vary by location and amount sold. In 2003 Mexico-produced marijuana sold for $600 to $1,800 per pound throughout Nebraska. In McCook some marijuana that sold for $1,600 to $1,800 per pound was purchased from Mexican sources in Greeley, Colorado, for $250 per pound. High-potency marijuana from hybrid cannabis plants in western Nebraska was sold to distributors in Colorado for $2,000 per pound. Marijuana sold for $85 per ounce in York.

The average THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) content of marijuana seized in Nebraska is higher than the average THC content nationwide. According to the Marijuana Potency Monitoring Program (MPMP) 2000 report, the average THC level for marijuana (excluding ditchweed) in Nebraska in 1999 was 8.6 percent, while the national average was 4.8 percent. Ditchweed lacks sufficient levels of THC, the compound that gives marijuana its potency, to have value as an illicit drug; however, ditchweed is harvested and mixed with higher-grade marijuana.

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Violence

Violence has been associated with marijuana distribution and abuse in Nebraska, but to a limited extent. According to ADAM data, 40 percent of adult males arrested for violent crime tested positive for marijuana in Omaha in 2000. Domestic cannabis growers often are armed and use booby traps to protect their cultivation sites from law enforcement authorities. Firearms occasionally are seized from cannabis growing sites in Nebraska. Domestic Cannabis Eradication/ Suppression Program (DCE/SP) statistics indicate that law enforcement officials in Nebraska seized 23 weapons in 1998, none in 1999, and 5 in 2000 during marijuana eradication operations. Respondents to the NDIC National Gang Survey 2000 reported that many street gangs that distribute marijuana also commit violent crimes in the state. These gangs include East Side Locos in Grand Island and 18th Street, Bloods, Crips, and Lomas 13 in Lincoln.

Production

Most of the marijuana available in Nebraska is produced in Mexico; however, some cannabis is cultivated throughout the state. A large percentage of locally cultivated cannabis is grown outdoors; however, cannabis growers increasingly are using sophisticated indoor cultivation operations. Plants are increasingly cultivated indoors because they generally yield high potency marijuana, which sells for a higher price. Caucasian local independent dealers are the primary cannabis cultivators in the state. Cannabis is cultivated both indoors and outdoors in Lincoln, Norfolk, and Omaha.

In Nebraska outdoor cannabis cultivation sites typically have more than twice as many cannabis plants per site as indoor operations. According to the DCE/SP, law enforcement authorities in Nebraska seized five outdoor plots containing 541 cannabis plants in 1998, three outdoor plots containing 71 cannabis plants in 1999, and seven outdoor plots containing 396 cannabis plants in 2000. The DCE/SP reported that in 1998 indoor grow operations seized at 14 sites yielded 467 plants, 27 sites yielded 656 plants in 1999, and 18 sites yielded 560 plants in 2000.

Cannabis growers often use concealment methods to disguise cannabis plants in an effort to avoid detection by law enforcement authorities. Cultivators in western Nebraska occasionally intermingle cannabis plants with corn crops. Some growers use the land of unsuspecting farmers and plant cannabis throughout the field to minimize the risk of detection. The WING Task Force reports that cannabis growers often cultivate a hybrid plant that does not grow as tall as corn plants and, therefore, remains well hidden from landowners and authorities.

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Transportation

Mexican criminal groups are the primary transporters of wholesale quantities of Mexico-produced marijuana into Nebraska from Mexico, California, and southwestern states. Mexican criminal groups also recruit individuals to transport marijuana to Nebraska from these locations. A common route used to transport marijuana is I-15, which traverses Southern California, Nevada, and the northwestern corner of Arizona, then connects with I-80 in northern Utah.

Local independent dealers and street gangs also transport marijuana to and within the state. For example, law enforcement authorities in Fremont reported that from 1999 through 2000 hundreds of pounds of marijuana were transported by local independent dealers from San Bernardino, California, to Fremont for regional distribution. The Lomas street gang (based in Omaha) transports marijuana from Omaha to Cass County. Native American independent dealers from the Winnebago and Omaha Reservations transport marijuana from the reservations to South Sioux City. Marijuana also is reportedly transported from Norfolk and Omaha to Wayne.

Marijuana typically is transported to Nebraska in hidden compartments within private and commercial vehicles. Marijuana is concealed in boxes, metal containers, duffel bags, and suitcases, as well as in compartments installed in the side panels, floors, and tailgates of vehicles. In February 2002 the Nebraska State Patrol seized 289 pounds of marijuana concealed in the trunk of a private vehicle west of the North Platte interchange along eastbound I-80. In October 2001 the III Corps Drug Task Force in Fremont investigated a marijuana distribution group that transported marijuana via private vehicle from California and southwestern states to Nebraska in 1-pound, machine-sealed aluminum cans. Some of these cans were wrapped in cellophane and covered with a red gel or an oil compound. Machine-sealed cans of the same type also were seized on the Winnebago Reservation.

Marijuana destined for other states often is transported through Nebraska. Transporters frequently travel from California and southwestern states through Nebraska--usually along I-80--en route to destinations in Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio. In November 2002 the Nebraska State Patrol seized 450 pounds of marijuana from a vehicle on I-80 in Douglas County west of Omaha. The marijuana reportedly was being transported from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Minneapolis, Minnesota. In May 2002 the Nebraska State Patrol seized over 800 pounds of marijuana in two separate interdictions on I-80. One vehicle en route from Phoenix, Arizona, to Detroit, Michigan, was stopped near Grand Island with 557 pounds of marijuana concealed in eight duffel bags. The second vehicle, traveling from Los Angeles, California, to Toledo, Ohio, was stopped near Lexington with three suitcases containing 244 pounds of marijuana.

Distribution

Mexican criminal groups and, to a lesser extent, Caucasian local independent dealers are the primary wholesale distributors of Mexico-produced marijuana in Nebraska. Caucasian local independent dealers are the primary wholesale distributors of marijuana produced in the state.

Mexican criminal groups, local independent dealers, and street gangs distribute Mexico-produced and locally produced marijuana at the retail level in Nebraska. Street gangs that distribute marijuana include Bloods, Crips, Lomas 13, and 18th Street in Lincoln; East Side Locos in Grand Island; Gangster Disciple Folks in Fremont; and Florencia in South Sioux City. At the retail level marijuana typically is packaged in sandwich bags and sold at bars, strip clubs, schools, parking lots, residences, businesses, and at concerts.

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