[2015 Assessment Continued from Part 77]

2015 National Drug Threat Assessment Summary

 DEA-DCT-DIR-008-16

 The US Drug Enforcement Administration 2015 National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA) is a comprehensive report of the threat posed to the United States by the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs, the nonmedical use of CPDs, [Controlled Prescription Drugs] , money laundering, TCOs [Transnational Criminal Organization], gangs  smuggling, seizures, investigations, arrests, drug purity or potency, and drug prices, in order to provide the most accurate data possible to policymakers, law enforcement authorities, and intelligence officials.  

Drug Enforcement Administration

Drug Enforcement Administration

2015 National Drug Threat Assessment Summary

October 2015

DEA-DCT-DIR-008-16

This product was prepared by the DEA Strategic Intelligence Section. Comments and questions may be addressed to the DEA Office of Public Affairs at (202) 307-7977.

Letter from the Acting Administrator…………………………………………………………….iii

Executive Summary………………………………………………………………………………………….v

Transnational Criminal Organizations …………………………………………………………1

Mexican Transnational Criminal Organizations…………………………………………………………1

Colombian Transnational Criminal Organizations……………………………………………………4

Dominican Trafficking Organizations………………………………………………………………………….5

Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations…………………………………………………………….6

Gangs………………………………………………………………………………………….8

Drugs of Abuse………………………………………………………………………………13

Controlled Prescription Drugs………………………………………………………………………13

Heroin……………………………………………………………………………25

Fentanyl…………………………………………………………………………..41

Methamphetamine………………………………………………………….45

Cocaine…………………………………………………………………………..55

Marijuana……………………………………………………………………….65

Synthetic Designer Drugs……………………………………………………79

MDMA (3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine)…………………….85

Phencyclidine (PCP)……………………………………………………………………………89

Illicit Finance…………………………………………………………9393

Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands………………………………….99

Guam……………………………………………………………………….102

Tribal Lands……………………………………………………………………104

Appendix A: Maps………………………………………………………………………………………107

Appendix B: Tables……………………………………………………………………………………….121

Appendix C: Glossary of Acronyms……………………………………….129

Appendix D: Scope and Methodology……………………………………….133

UNCLASSIFIED

ii

UNCLASSIFIED

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

(U) Chart 1. Number of Drug Induced Deaths Compared to the Number of Motor Vehicle and Firearm Deaths, 2004 – 2013

Letter from the Acting Administrator 2015 National Drug Threat Assessment Summary        

I am pleased to present the 2015 National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA) Summary, a comprehensive strategic assessment of the threats posed to our communities by transnational criminal organizations and the illicit drugs they distribute throughout the United States. This annual assessment provides policymakers, law enforcement personnel, and prevention and treatment specialists with relevant strategic drug intelligence to assist in the formulation of counterdrug policies, establish law enforcement priorities, and allocate resources.

The trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs pose a monumental danger to our citizens and a significant challenge for our law enforcement agencies and health care systems. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 46,471 of our citizens died of a drug overdose in 2013, the most recent year for which this information is available. Drug overdose deaths have become the leading cause of injury death in the United States, surpassing the number of deaths by motor vehicles and by firearms every year since 2008. Overdose deaths, particularly from prescription drugs and heroin, have reached epidemic levels.

The most significant drug trafficking organizations operating in the United States today are the dangerous and highly sophisticated Mexican transnational criminal organizations 12 and marijuana. These organizations are responsible for the extreme violence seen in  Mexico, as these groups battle for turf and attack public officials and innocent civilians. Domestically, affiliated and violent gangs are increasingly a threat to the safety and security of our communities. They profit primarily by putting drugs on the street and have become crucial to the Mexican cartels.

In 2014, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigations conducted with local, state, federal and international partners have led to the arrests of major international criminals. The arrests of Mexican Cartel leaders Hector Beltran-Leyva, Servando Gomez-Martinez, and Omar Tevino Morales are significant successes for us and Mexico in the fight against Mexican TCOs. The arrests strike at the heart of the leadership structure of the Knights Templar Cartel, the Beltran-Leyva Organization, and the Los Zetas Cartel and highlight the continuing cooperation between Mexican and US law enforcement.

The DEA produces the NDTA Summary in partnership with local, state, tribal, and federal agencies. To accurately depict a national-level perspective of the drug-specific issues facing the United States, the report integrates the most recently available reporting from law enforcement and intelligence agencies with the most current data from public health agencies regarding national substance abuse. This year’s report also draws on information from more than 1,100 local, state, and tribal law enforcement partners that responded to our 2015 National Drug Threat Survey.

My thanks to all participating agencies and organizations whose contributions continue to make possible this vital report. Their views and opinions are important and help us to best meet the needs of the law enforcement and intelligence communities. I look forward to collaborating on future high-priority strategic counterdrug initiatives that impact our national security interests, at home and abroad.

Respectfully,

Chuck Rosenberg Acting Administrator

Drug Enforcement Administration

Executive Summary 2015 National Drug Threat Assessment Summary

The 2015 National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA) is a comprehensive assessment of the threat posed to the United States by the trafficking and use of illicit drugs. The drug section of this report is arranged in ranking order based on the level of threat each drug presents. The threat level for each drug is determined by strategic analysis of the domestic drug situation during 2014, based on law enforcement, intelligence, and public health data available for the period. For instance, each day in the United States, over 120 people die as a result of a drug overdose. In particular, the number of deaths attributable to controlled prescription drugs (CPDs) has outpaced those for cocaine and heroin combined.

Additionally, some opioid CPD abusers are initiating heroin use, which contributes to the increased demand for and use of heroin. For these reasons, CPDs and heroin are ranked as the most significant drug threats to the United States. Fentanyl and its analogs are responsible for more than 700 deaths across the United States between late 2013 and late 2014. While fentanyl is often abused in the same manner as heroin, it is much more potent. Methamphetamine distribution and abuse significantly contribute to violent and property crime rates in the United States. Further, cocaine distributors and users seek out methamphetamine as an alternative as cocaine availability levels decline. While marijuana is the most widely available and commonly used illicit drug and remains illegal under federal law, many states have passed legislation approving the cultivation, possession, and use of the drug within their respective states. Marijuana concentrates, with potency levels far exceeding those of leaf marijuana, pose an issue of growing concern. Finally, the threat posed by synthetic designer drugs continues to impact many segments of the American population, particularly youth. A full discussion for each of these drugs cannot be undertaken without first examining the criminal groups that supply these substances to distributors and users in the United States.

U) Chart 2. Percentage of NDTS Respondents Reporting the Greatest Drug Threat, 2007 – 2015

Source: National Drug Threat Survey

Mexican transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) remain the greatest criminal drug threat to the United States; no other group can challenge them in the near term. These Mexican poly-drug organizations traffic heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana throughout the United States, using established transportation routes and distribution networks. They control drug trafficking across the Southwest Border and are moving to expand their share of US illicit drug markets, particularly heroin markets. National-level gangs and neighborhood gangs continue to form relationships with Mexican TCOs to increase profits for the gangs through drug distribution and transportation, for the enforcement of drug payments, and for protection of drug transportation corridors from use by rival gangs. Many gangs rely on Mexican TCOs as their primary drug source of supply, and Mexican TCOs depend on street-level gangs, many of which already have a customer base, for drug distribution.

Colombian TCOs supply wholesale quantities of cocaine and heroin, primarily to Northeast drug markets. Typically, Colombian traffickers provide cocaine and heroin to Mexican and Dominican organizations, which then assume responsibility for further transportation and distribution. Prior to 2000, Colombian TCOs dominated the cocaine and heroin markets in the Midwest and on the East Coast; however, Mexican TCOs continue to establish their control over many drug markets in the Northeast and are increasingly serving as sources of supply for Colombian and Dominican organizations. Colombian TCOs have also increased their drug trafficking through the Caribbean over the past three years in order to avoid cartel-related violence in Mexico, increased law enforcement presence in Mexico and at the Southwest Border, and rising pressure against the Mexican drug cartels.

Dominican trafficking organizations are primarily active in the transportation and distribution of cocaine and heroin in cities along the East Coast. Dominican traffickers typically serve as transporters and retail-level distributors of cocaine and heroin for Mexican and Colombian trafficking organizations and recent reporting indicates Dominican traffickers in the Northeast continue this working relationship. Colombian and Mexican trafficking organizations rely on Dominican networks to transport and distribute cocaine and heroin at the retail level.

Asian TCOs operate mainly on the West Coast, but are expanding their operations throughout the United States. Asian TCOs are responsible for trafficking a variety of drugs, primarily marijuana and MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), with smaller-scale dealings in cocaine and methamphetamine.

State, local, and federal law enforcement reporting indicates that gangs in the United States continue to expand, develop, and grow more sophisticated in their criminal enterprises. The National Gang Intelligence Center (NGIC) assesses that the US gang composition is approximately 88 percent street gang members, 9.5 percent prison gang members, and 2.5 percent outlaw motorcycle gang (OMG) members. There are approximately 1.4 million active street, prison, and OMG gang members comprising more than 33,000 gangs in the United States. Though gangs are involved in a multitude of criminal activities, street-level drug trafficking and distribution continues to be their main source of revenue, and they commit violent crimes, such as robbery, assault, threats, and intimidation, in furtherance of those ends.

Drug overdose deaths have become the leading cause of injury death in the United States. Each day in the United States, over 120 people die as a result of a drug overdose. The number of drug poisoning deaths in 2013, the latest year for which data is available, involving opioid analgesics (16,235) is substantial and outpaces the number of deaths for cocaine and heroin combined (13,201). While recent data suggest that abuse of these drugs has lessened in some areas, the number of individuals reporting current abuse of CPDs is more than those reporting use of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, MDMA, and phencyclidine (PCP) combined. With the slightly declining abuse levels of CPDs, data indicate there is a corresponding increase in heroin use. Some opioid CPD abusers begin using heroin as a cheaper alternative to the high price of illicit CPDs or when they are unable to obtain prescription drugs.

The threat posed by heroin in the United States is serious and has increased since 2007. Heroin is available in larger quantities, used by a larger number of people, and is causing an increasing number of overdose deaths. Increased demand for, and use of, heroin is being driven by both increasing availability of heroin in the US market and by some opioid CPD abusers using heroin. CPD abusers who begin using heroin do so chiefly because of price differences, but also because of availability, and the reformulation of OxyContin®, a commonly abused prescription opioid.

Heroin overdose deaths are increasing in many cities and counties across the United States, particularly in the Northeast, as well as areas of the Midwest. Possible reasons for the increase in overdose deaths include an overall increase in heroin users; high purity batches of heroin reaching certain markets, causing users to accidentally overdose; an increase in new heroin initiates, many of whom are young and inexperienced; abusers of prescription opioids (drugs with a set dosage amount and no other adulterants) initiating use of heroin, an illicitly-manufactured drug with varying purities, dosage amounts, and adulterants; and the use of highly toxic heroin adulterants such as fentanyl in certain markets. Further, heroin users who have stopped using heroin for a period of time (due to treatment programs, incarceration, etc.) and subsequently return to using heroin are particularly susceptible to overdose, because their tolerance for the drug has decreased.

Fentanyl is a Schedule II synthetic opioid that is approximately 80 to 100 times stronger than morphine, and 25 to 40 times more potent than heroin. Fentanyl was developed for the pain management treatment of cancer patients; however, its powerful opioid properties have made it an attractive drug for abusers. There were over 700 deaths related to fentanyl and its analogs between late 2013 and early 2015. Clandestinely-produced fentanyl is sometimes added to heroin to increase its effects, or mixed with adulterants and diluents and sold as heroin; many users believe they are purchasing heroin and have no knowledge of the presence of fentanyl. Clandestinely-produced fentanyl is primarily sourced from Mexico; fentanyl analogs and precursor chemicals are obtained from distributors in China. Pharmaceutical fentanyl is also diverted for abuse, but at much lower levels.

Methamphetamine seizures, survey data, price and purity data, and law enforcement reporting indicate methamphetamine continues to be readily available throughout the United States. Most of the methamphetamine available in the United States is clandestinely produced in Mexico and smuggled across the Southwest Border. Although domestic production does occur at small levels, it has declined, most likely due to restrictions on precursor chemicals in the United States and the increasing availability of high-purity, high-potency Mexican methamphetamine.

Cocaine availability in the United States appeared to have stabilized at “new normal” levels in 2014— still well below the availability levels observed prior to 2007, when cocaine availability first began to decline significantly. Abuse indicators also show a steady decline in cocaine use in the United States when compared to the previous 10 years. The majority of the cocaine smuggled into the United States is transported over the Southwest Border with a smaller percentage transported through the Caribbean corridor. Mexican TCOs continue to dominate cocaine transportation in the United States with little to no competition.

Marijuana is the most widely available and commonly used illicit drug in the United States. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law; however, many states have passed legislation approving the cultivation, possession, and use of marijuana within their respective states. The disparity between federal law and state laws authorizing the use of “medicali” or “retail” marijuana poses a challenge for federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement efforts given the different regulatory regimes at the state level. Likewise, the increased production and use of marijuana in those states with medical or retail marijuana laws is adversely affecting states in which marijuana remains an illegal substance.

Marijuana concentrates such as hashish, hash oil, and keif have been used for centuries; however, marijuana concentrates are gaining popularity in the United States, as indicated by the increasing volume of law enforcement and open source reporting. Marijuana concentrates are extracted from leafy marijuana in many ways, but the most frequently used, and potentially most dangerous, method is butane extraction. The butane extraction method uses highly flammable butane gas and has resulted in numerous explosions and injuries, particularly on the West Coast, where production is most common.

Footnote One. i When the term “medical marijuana” is used in this publication, it is exclusively in reference to state-approved “medical marijuana.” Marijuana is a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substance Act with no accepted medical use in the United States.

The first DEA reporting of the THC extraction process using butane was in 2005 in Oakland, California. However, as the use of marijuana concentrates has increased, the number of laboratory-related explosions has also increased.

Synthetic designer drugs mimic the effects of controlled substances, and are oftentimes unscheduled and unregulated. While there are a variety of synthetic designer drugs, the two most commonly used synthetic designer drugs in the United States are synthetic cannabinoids and cathinones. Synthetic cannabinoids, also commonly known as “Spice” or “K2,” are chemicals synthesized in laboratories and mimic the biological effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Cathinones, also commonly known as “bath salts” and “molly,” can produce pharmacological effects substantially similar to methcathinone, MDMA, amphetamine, methamphetamine, and cocaine. Synthetic cannabinoids and cathinones are typically manufactured in China and then imported into the United States through mail services; they are also sold in convenience stores and via the Internet. The negative effects of these drugs are severe and can include psychosis, heart attack, seizures, convulsions, and kidney and liver failure. Of note, on October 1, 2015, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security (MPS) Narcotics Control Bureau announced the sale and distribution of 116 chemical compounds used in the production of synthetic drugs will be regulated in China, including acetyl-fentanyl. Chinese officials declared these compounds were found to have no known legitimate use and therefore will be controlled administratively by the MPS.

MDMA, a synthetic Schedule I drug commonly referred to as “ecstasy” or “molly,” is available throughout the United States. Compared to marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and other illicit drugs, the MDMA market in the United States is small. Most of the MDMA seized in the United States is manufactured in clandestine laboratories in Canada and smuggled across the Northern Border. Canada-based Asian TCOs are the primary suppliers of MDMA in the United States, producing tens of millions of tablets for the US market. Often, tablets sold as “ecstasy” or “molly” may not be MDMA at all, but another chemical, such as cathinones, or a mixture of various chemicals, which may or may not contain MDMA. Additionally, “molly” has played a role in several overdose illnesses and deaths.

PCP poses a low threat to the United States due to relatively low levels of use. PCP use is highest in the Washington, DC area, and the majority of PCP available in the United States is produced in the Los Angeles, California area.

As federal money laundering laws become more stringent and financial institutions implement enhanced anti-money laundering measures, TCOs are increasingly creative in their efforts to evade laws and regulations. TCOs employ a wide array of money laundering tactics to move drug proceeds into, within, and out of the United States. However, the more commonly used methods have remained the same over the past several years. These methods include: bulk cash smuggling, trade-based money laundering (TBML), black market peso exchange (BMPE), structured deposits, and wire transfers.

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[2015 Assessment Continues to Part 79]

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