Overview

The National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) collects drug-related information from state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the country via its annual National Drug Threat Survey (NDTS). The NDTS is vital to the preparation of NDIC's National Drug Threat Assessment, state and regional drug threat assessments, and other strategic drug intelligence reports. In 2003 the NDTS was disseminated to a statistically representative sample of state and local law enforcement agencies at the national, regional, and state levels. A detailed description of NDTS 2003 methodology can be found in Appendix B.

NDTS 2003 recipients were asked to identify the drug that poses the greatest threat, most contributes to violent crime, and most contributes to property crime in their areas. Survey recipients also were asked to rate the overall level of availability (rated on a scale of low, moderate, high, or not available) for powdered cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, MDMA (ecstasy), and other dangerous drugs (ODDs) in their areas. Several survey questions were designed to elicit information regarding the level of involvement of street gangs and outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs) in the distribution of drugs in general and of specific drugs. Other survey questions asked respondents to indicate whether or not cocaine was converted to crack in their areas, the level of methamphetamine production (rated on a scale of low, moderate, high, or not produced), and types of cannabis cultivation in their areas. Recipients also were asked to indicate which precursor chemicals, solvents, and reagent chemicals were diverted in their areas for use in the production of illicit drugs and which pharmaceuticals were commonly diverted or illicitly used in their areas.

This report provides data tables and discussion of NDTS 2003 agency responses at the national and regional levels. Data tables for NDTS 2003 state-level data also are provided. (See Appendix A.)

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Greatest Drug Threat and Drug-Related Crime

NDTS 2003 respondents were asked to identify the drug that poses the greatest threat, most contributes to violent crime, and most contributes to property crime in their areas.

Nationally, 37.0 percent of state and local law enforcement agencies identified cocaine (either powdered or crack) as their greatest drug threat followed by methamphetamine (36.2%), marijuana (13.1%), heroin (8.7%), and MDMA (0.9%); however, there are sharp regional differences. According to NDTS data, cocaine is the predominant drug threat for regions in the eastern half of the country, and methamphetamine is the predominant drug threat for regions in the western half. A higher percentage of state and local law enforcement agencies in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic (11%), Southwest (10.6%), and Great Lakes (9.2%) regions identified powdered cocaine as their greatest drug threat than agencies in the West Central (3.2%), Southeast (2.8%), and Pacific (1.6%) regions.¹ Crack cocaine was identified as the greatest drug threat by more state and local law enforcement agencies in the Southeast (59.1%), Great Lakes (30.4%), and Northeast/Mid-Atlantic regions (28.1%) than agencies in the Southwest (20.2%), West Central (9.0%), and Pacific (3.7%) regions. Methamphetamine was most often identified as the greatest drug threat by agencies in the Pacific (90.9%), West Central (80.2%), and Southwest (51.6%) regions, while a smaller proportion of agencies in the Great Lakes (29.4%), Southeast (28.0%), and Northeast/Mid-Atlantic (2.7%) regions reported methamphetamine as their greatest drug threat. A higher percentage of state and local agencies in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic (23.0%) and Great Lakes (19.7%) regions identified marijuana as their greatest drug threat than did agencies in any other region; the lowest percentage (2.1%) of such agencies was in the Pacific region. Heroin was identified as the greatest drug threat by 28.5 percent of state and local law enforcement agencies in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic region--the highest percentage of any region--compared to less than 1.0 percent in the Pacific, Southeast, and West Central regions. (See Figures 1, 2, and 3, Tables 1 and A1.)

According to NDTS 2003 data, cocaine (either powdered or crack) and methamphetamine are the drugs that most contribute to violent crime. Cocaine (either powdered or crack) was identified by 50.1 percent of state and local law enforcement agencies as the drug that most contributes to violent crime, and methamphetamine was identified by 31.6 percent of such agencies. A relatively small percentage of state and local law enforcement agencies identified marijuana (4.6%), heroin (4.6%), and MDMA (0.2%) as the drugs that most contribute to violent crime. Powdered cocaine was most often indicated in the Southwest (13.8%) and Northeast/Mid-Atlantic (13.6%) regions as the drug that most contributes to violent crime. Most agencies in the Southeast region (70.7%) identified crack cocaine as the drug that most contributes to violent crime, higher than the percentages reported by agencies in any other region. Most agencies in the Pacific (86.3%) and West Central (72.6%) regions identified methamphetamine as the drug that contributes most to violent crime in their areas. (See Tables 2 and A2.)

Cocaine and methamphetamine are frequently identified as the drugs that most contribute to property crime. Nationally, 42.0 percent of state and local law enforcement agencies identified cocaine, particularly crack, as the drug that most contributes to property crime in their areas followed by methamphetamine (29.8%), marijuana (11.8%), heroin (10.9%), and MDMA (0.1%). Regionally, cocaine was most often reported by agencies in the Southeast region (73.2%) as the drug that most contributes to property crime followed by the Great Lakes (44.2%), Northeast/Mid-Atlantic (39.4%), Southwest (38.8%), West Central (16.6%), and Pacific (5.0%) regions. The highest proportion of state and local law enforcement agencies that reported methamphetamine as the drug that most contributes to property crime was in the Pacific region (80.2%) followed by the West Central (73.3%), Southwest (47.3%), Great Lakes (23.0%), Southeast (17.2%), and Northeast/Mid-Atlantic (1.2%) regions. (See Tables 3 and A3.)

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Figure 1. National Drug Threat Survey 2003 Survey Regions

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Figure 2. National Drug Threat Survey 2003 Greatest Drug Threat

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Figure 3. National Drug Threat Survey 2003 Greatest Drug Threat by Region

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Drug Availability

NDTS 2003 recipients were asked to rate the overall level of availability (on a scale of low, moderate, high, or not available) of powdered cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, MDMA, club drugs, hallucinogens, analogs, and illegally diverted prescription pharmaceuticals in their areas.

Nationally, state and local law enforcement agencies report that marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamine are the most available illicit drugs of abuse. NDTS data indicate that 81.7 percent of state and local agencies reported high or moderate availability of powdered cocaine in their areas, while 16.4 percent of the agencies reported low availability. Only 0.5 percent of agencies nationwide reported that powdered cocaine was not available in their areas. The highest proportion of state and local agencies that reported high or moderate availability of powdered cocaine was in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic region (88.4%), and the lowest proportion of agencies was in the Pacific region (63.5%). (See Figure 4, Tables 4 and A4.)

NDTS 2003 data show that 75.0 percent of state and local agencies reported high or moderate availability of crack cocaine in their areas, 21.9 percent reported low availability, and 1.7 percent reported that crack is not available in their areas. Regionally, the highest percentage of agencies that reported high or moderate crack availability was in the Southeast region (95.1%), and the lowest percentage of such agencies was in the Pacific region (46.9%). (See Figure 4, Tables 4 and A5.)

Figure 4. National Drug Threat Survey 2003 Regional Drug Availability

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Gang Involvement in Drug Distribution

Several survey questions were designed to elicit information regarding the level of street gang and OMG involvement (rated on a scale of low, moderate, high, or none) in the distribution of drugs.

Nationally, 25.9 percent of state and local law enforcement agencies reported that street gang involvement in drug distribution in general was moderate or high in their areas. The percentage of agencies reporting moderate or high street gang involvement in drug distribution was highest in the Southwest (39.0%) and Pacific (36.8%) regions and was lowest in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic region (17.9%). For distribution of specific drug types, street gangs appear to be most involved in the distribution of marijuana, cocaine (both powdered and crack), and methamphetamine. The percentage of agencies that indicated high or moderate street gang involvement in distribution of specific drugs was highest for marijuana (32.9%), crack cocaine (29.1%), powdered cocaine (24.8%), and methamphetamine (17.1%) followed by heroin (11.6%), ODDs (9.0%), MDMA (8.5%), and pharmaceuticals (7.0%). (See Tables 7, 8, and A21-A29.)

NDTS 2003 data indicate that, nationally, 11.5 percent of state and local law enforcement agencies reported moderate or high OMG involvement in drug distribution in their areas. The highest percentage of such agencies was in the Pacific region (21.6%) followed by the Great Lakes (13.7%), Southwest (12.6%), Northeast/Mid-Atlantic (10.0%), West Central (9.2%), and Southeast (8.3%) regions. The proportion of agencies that indicated high or moderate OMG involvement in distribution of specific drugs was highest for methamphetamine (17.0%) followed by marijuana (14.1%), powdered cocaine (9.0%), pharmaceuticals (5.0%), heroin (4.8%), ODDs (4.8%), crack cocaine (4.5%), and MDMA (3.3%). (See Tables 9, 10, and A30-A38.)

Drug Production

The NDTS 2003 included several questions related to the production of specific drugs. Survey recipients were asked to indicate whether or not powdered cocaine was converted to crack cocaine, the methods of cannabis cultivation, and the level of methamphetamine production (rated on a scale of low, moderate, high, or not produced) in their areas.

Most agencies (68.0%) indicated that powdered cocaine was converted to crack in their areas. Regionally, more agencies in the Southeast region (88.0%) reported crack conversion in their areas, while the lowest percentages of such agencies were in the West Central (52.4%) and Pacific (47.8%) regions. (See Tables 11 and A39.)

NDTS 2003 data indicate that domestic cannabis cultivation is widespread. Both indoor and outdoor cannabis cultivation was reported by nearly equal percentages of agencies--73.1 percent reported indoor cannabis cultivation in their areas, and 74.0 percent reported outdoor cannabis cultivation. A significantly smaller proportion (39.7%) of state and local law enforcement agencies reported hydroponic cannabis cultivation in their areas, and 9.7 percent indicated that cannabis is not cultivated in their areas. The highest proportion of agencies that reported indoor (89.7%) and hydroponic (55.4%) cannabis cultivation was in the Pacific region, while the highest percentage of agencies reporting outdoor cultivation (82.3%) was in the Southeast region. (See Tables 12 and A40.)

According to NDTS data, nearly half (48.8%) of state and local law enforcement agencies rated the level of methamphetamine production in their areas as either high or moderate. NDTS 2003 data further indicate that 27.2 percent of state and local law enforcement agencies rated the level of methamphetamine production in their areas as low, while only 23.2 percent reported that methamphetamine was not produced in their areas. The highest percentage of state and local law enforcement agencies that reported moderate or high methamphetamine production levels was in the West Central region (81.2%) followed by the Pacific (76.5%), Southwest (71.2%), Southeast (61.5%), Great Lakes (43.4%), and Northeast/Mid-Atlantic (7.2%) regions. (See Tables 13 and A41.)

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Chemical Diversion

NDTS 2003 recipients were asked to identify the chemicals commonly diverted in their areas for use in the production of illicit drugs.

Nationally, ephedrine (55.1%) and pseudoephedrine (49.0%) were the precursor chemicals most often identified by state and local law enforcement agencies. Agencies in the West Central region were most likely to report the diversion of ephedrine (83.1%) and pseudoephedrine (85.7%) in their areas followed by agencies in the Pacific region, with 77.6 percent reporting ephedrine and 68.2 percent reporting pseudoephedrine diversion. Acetone (48.1%) and anhydrous ammonia (44.6%) were the most commonly diverted reagents and solvents identified by state and local law enforcement agencies, according to NDTS 2003 data. Agencies in the Pacific (78.6%) and West Central (78.3%) regions were most likely to report the diversion of acetone in their areas, while agencies in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic region (14.8%) were least likely to report acetone diversion. Anhydrous ammonia diversion was reported most often by agencies in the West Central region (76.5%) and least often by agencies in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic region (7.8%). (See Tables 14, A42 and A43.)

Pharmaceutical Diversion/Illicit Use

NDTS 2003 recipients were asked to identify the pharmaceuticals commonly diverted or illicitly used in their areas.

Nationally, OxyContin (67.0%) was the pharmaceutical narcotic most often identified by state and local agencies as a commonly diverted or illicitly used pharmaceutical in their areas. Other narcotics identified by more than half of the state and local law enforcement agencies were Vicodin (62.8%), oxycodone (58.4%), hydrocodone (55.6%), Percocet (52.2%), and codeine (50.4%). Regionally, OxyContin was reported as a commonly diverted or illicitly used pharmaceutical by a higher percentage of state and local law enforcement agencies in the Southeast (83.9%) and Northeast/Mid-Atlantic (75.0%) regions than in the Great Lakes (65.4%), West Central (61.8%), Pacific (56.9%), and Southwest (28.6%) regions.

According to NDTS 2003 data, Valium (72.8%) and Xanax (65.7%) were identified by agencies as commonly diverted or illicitly used pharmaceutical depressants in their areas more frequently than any other pharmaceutical depressants. Regionally, the highest proportion of agencies that reported Valium as a commonly diverted or illicitly used pharmaceutical was in the Southeast region (83.3%), and the lowest proportion of such agencies was in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic region (64.5%). The highest percentage of agencies that reported Xanax as a commonly diverted or illicitly used depressant was in the Southeast region (86.7%), and the lowest percentage of such agencies was in the Southwest region (41.5%).

State and local law enforcement agencies nationwide most frequently identified Ritalin (51.1%) as a commonly diverted or illicitly used pharmaceutical stimulant in their areas. Regionally, a higher percentage of agencies in the Great Lakes (57.9%) and West Central (57.3%) regions reported that Ritalin was a commonly diverted or illicitly used pharmaceutical stimulant followed by the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic (49.9%), Southeast (48.4%), Southwest (41.4%), and Pacific (41.1%) regions. (See Tables 15, A44, and A45.)

Summary

NDTS 2003 data collected from a representative sample of state and local law enforcement agencies provide insight into the availability, production, distribution, and overall threat posed by the trafficking and abuse of cocaine (powdered and crack), methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana, MDMA, ODDs, and pharmaceuticals. The valuable data presented in this report reflect the state, regional, and national responses to numerous questions posed to state and local law enforcement agencies. These data are analyzed and incorporated into strategic drug intelligence reports.

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* Marked columns represent a U.S. response rate of less than 0.1%; all other columns with 0.0% represent no responses in that category.
**No Response

* Marked column represents a U.S. response rate of less than 0.1%; all other columns with 0.0% represent no responses in that category.
**No Response

* Marked columns represent a U.S. response rate of less than 0.1%; all other columns with 0.0% represent no responses in that category.
**No Response

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End Notes

1. NDTS data do not imply that there is only one drug threat per region. A percentage given for a region represents the estimated proportion of state and local law enforcement agencies in that region that identified a particular drug as their greatest threat.

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