U.S. Department of Justice
National Drug Intelligence Center
North Texas HIDTA Drug Market Analysis 2010
June 2010

Drug Threat Overview

The trafficking and abuse of methamphetamine, primarily ice methamphetamine, pose the most significant drug threat to the North Texas HIDTA region. According to the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) National Drug Threat Survey (NDTS) 2010,b 49 of the 91 federal, state, and local law enforcement respondents in the North Texas HIDTA region identify either ice methamphetamine (35) or powder methamphetamine (14) as the greatest drug threat to their jurisdictions. Fifteen respondents identify cocaine, predominantly crack cocaine (11), as the greatest drug threat, followed by marijuana, CPDs, and heroin. (See Figure 3.) Most respondents also indicate that each of these drugs, with the exception of heroin, is readily available at moderate to high levels in their jurisdictions. Marijuana, CPDs, and ice methamphetamine are the most widely available and abused drugs in the HIDTA region. (See Figure 4.)

Source: National Drug Threat Survey 2010.

Source: National Drug Threat Survey 2010.

The threat posed by the distribution and abuse of methamphetamine in the region is enhanced by the drug's strong association with property crime and violent crime. Of the 91 law enforcement agencies responding to the NDTS 2010, more than half attribute property and violent crime in their jurisdictions to the distribution and abuse of methamphetamine. (See Drug-Related Crime and Figure 5 and Figure 6 in Drug-Related Crime section.) Mexican ice methamphetamine is the dominant form of the drug available in the North Texas HIDTA region, and its availability remains high in most areas, despite a reduction in the quantity of methamphetamine seized in the region in 2009. This reduction in methamphetamine seizure amounts in 2009 from the 2008 total is attributed to the seizure of large amounts of the drug resulting from Project Reckoning in September 2008.c Apart from the high seizure total recorded by the HIDTA initiative in 2008, methamphetamine seizure amounts in the region are trending upward overall since 2007. (See Table 1.) NSS data indicate that seizure amounts of liquid methamphetamine in 2009 totaled 20,817.5 milliliters after none was seized in 2008. (See Table 2.) Also, locally produced powder methamphetamine is increasingly available in the Oklahoma area of the HIDTA region. (See Table 5 in Production section.)

Table 1. Illicit Drug Seizures, North Texas HIDTA Initiatives, in Kilograms, 2005-2009

Source: North Texas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.
du-dosage units
NA-Not applicable.
NR-No seizures reported.
Note: Most seizure amounts are rounded to the nearest tenth.
*The North Texas HIDTA did not include prescription drugs as a category in 2005.

Table 2. Other Drug Seizures in the North Texas HIDTA Region, 2008-2009

Source: National Seizure System, as of April 1, 2010.
kg-kilograms
ml-milliliters
NR - No seizures reported.
Note: Seizure amounts are rounded to the nearest tenth.

The distribution and abuse of cocaine, both powder and crack, are contributing factors to property crime and violent crime in the region, according to state and local law enforcement respondents to the NDTS 2010. (See Figure 5 and Figure 6 in Drug-Related Crime section.) Cocaine is readily available in the region, with a moderate upswing in the demand for powder cocaine noted during the last 6 months of 2009. Crack cocaine conversion, distribution, and abuse are most problematic in low-income urban areas of Dallas, Fort Worth, Lawton, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa.

Marijuana availability has increased in the region, resulting in increased treatment admissions for the drug, primarily in the Oklahoma counties. For example, mentions of marijuana in Tulsa County increased from 310 treatment admissions in 2008 to 531 admissions in 2009. (See Table 6 and Table 7 in Abuse section.) The demand for hydroponically grown marijuana is increasing in the region, particularly in North Texas. North Texas HIDTA task force initiatives seized more hydroponic marijuana in 2009 than in the previous 4 years combined. Additionally, a variety of marijuana called popcorn is available in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. This type of marijuana, which is grown in Chihuahua, Mexico, consists primarily of the buds of the cannabis plant and is slightly greasy or oily to the touch because it is grown under pine trees.

Heroin, primarily Mexican black tar, is widely available, and the demand for the drug remains stable. Heroin-related treatment admissions in the region increased marginally in 2009. In Texas counties, heroin-related treatment admissions increased from 2,697 in 2008 to 2,850 in 2009, and in Oklahoma counties, admissions increased from 148 to 174 during the same period.

The abuse of diverted CPDs--notably hydrocodone, oxycodone, and alprazolam products--poses a serious and growing threat to the entire HIDTA region, but especially to Oklahoma and Tulsa Counties. CPDs are readily available, abused at high levels, and associated with more than 80 percent of the drug overdose deaths (248) in the HIDTA region's Oklahoma counties. (See paragraph 3 in Abuse section.)

Other drugs such as MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as ecstasy), PCP (phencyclidine), and khat pose low threats to the North Texas HIDTA region. However, the availability and abuse of MDMA present a growing concern, specifically in the Dallas/Fort Worth area as well as in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. (See Figure 4.) In addition, seizures of a counterfeit MDMA in both North Texas and Oklahoma have caused further concern. Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Crime Laboratory data indicate that in 2009 approximately 30 percent of all evidentiary drug submissions represented as MDMA were BZP (N-benzylpiperazine) and TFMPP (1-(3-triflouromethylphenyl)piperazine).d The counterfeit MDMA was marked, embossed, and tinted to simulate MDMA and was distributed as that drug. Increased seizure amounts of PCP in 2009 indicate growing availability of the drug. Law enforcement authorities in Nacogdoches and Angelina Counties in Texas (located near Smith County in the North Texas HIDTA region) report increased demand for PCP in their jurisdictions. Khat seizures totaled more than 89 kilograms in 2009 after none was seized in 2008. (See Table 2.) Khat use in the Dallas/Fort Worth area is prevalent among immigrants from African countries such as Somalia and Ethiopia.

Footnotes

b. NDTS data for 2010 cited in this report are as of March 3, 2010. NDTS data cited are raw, unweighted responses from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies solicited through either NDIC or the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) HIDTA program. Data cited may include responses from agencies that are part of the NDTS 2010 national sample and/or agencies that are part of HIDTA solicitation lists.
c. Project Reckoning was a 15-month multiagency investigation that targeted the Gulf Cartel and its smuggling operations. As part of Project Reckoning, federal, state, and local law enforcement officers (in the jurisdiction of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas) conducted Operation Dos Equis and Operation Vertigo, both of which focused on Gulf Cartel members who operated cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking cells in the North Texas area. The two operations resulted in the arrests of more than 30 drug traffickers and the seizure of more than $1 million in cash, 300 kilograms of cocaine, 360 pounds of ice methamphetamine, numerous weapons, and an explosive device. A second phase of Project Reckoning led to the arrests of more than 40 drug traffickers with links to the Gulf Cartel in several states, including Texas and Oklahoma.
d. BZP is a stimulant that produces euphoria and cardiovascular effects and is approximately 10 to 20 times less potent than amphetamine in producing these effects. BZP tablets, especially those that contain the hallucinogen TFMPP, are often sold as MDMA or promoted as an alternative to MDMA.

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