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U.S. Department of Justice
National Drug Intelligence Center
Los Angeles HIDTA Drug Market Analysis 2010
May 2010
NDIC analysts expect Mexican DTOs to continue their dominance over wholesale trafficking of cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine in the Los Angeles HIDTA region. Hispanic street gangs, closely affiliated with the La Eme prison gang, will maintain control over retail-level drug distribution throughout both urban and rural areas of the region. Drug-related crime in the region is expected to remain at high levels as street and prison gangs, DTOs, and criminal groups use violence to protect drug distribution operations and to intimidate competitors.
The availability of Mexican methamphetamine in the HIDTA region is expected to increase if Mexican producers can continue to circumvent restrictions on precursor chemicals required for methamphetamine production by smuggling ephedrine and pseudoephedrine into Mexico from Asian and South American countries. As such, methamphetamine prices will remain low, and the number of local methamphetamine laboratories needed to meet demand for the drug will continue to decrease. Higher cocaine availability is expected to translate into lower wholesale cocaine prices in the coming year. The availability of commercial-grade Mexican marijuana and locally produced, high-potency marijuana will remain at high levels, keeping prices stable. NDIC analysts expect the abuse of Mexican heroin to increase as more OxyContin abusers switch to cheaper and more available heroin.
UNCLASSIFIED
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