NCJ Number
227607
Date Published
March 2009
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This overview of the illicit drug situation in the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) highlights significant trends and law enforcement concerns related to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs.
Abstract
The Appalachia HIDTA region consists of 65 counties in Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia. The diversion, distribution, and abuse of controlled prescription drugs (CPDs) are significant threats in the Appalachia HIDTA region. These drugs include OxyContin (oxycodone), Vicodin (hydrocodone), and Valium (diazepam). Traffickers and abusers illicitly obtain CPDs though traditional diversion methods that include doctor-shopping, theft, forged prescriptions, and unscrupulous physicians and pharmacists who work alone or in association. These drugs are generally obtained in Florida, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. Substantially more cannabis was eradicated in the Appalachia HIDTA region in 2008 than in 2007. Cannabis growers have apparently adapted to the severe drought conditions by establishing their grow sites closer to natural water sources. Data on methamphetamine laboratory seizures suggest that methamphetamine production has risen in the region. The number of reported meth lab seizures in the region decreased overall from 2004 through 2007; however, 2008 data indicate that meth production is increasing, largely due to individuals and criminal groups circumventing State and Federal pseudoephedrine sales restrictions. In responding to the decreased availability of heroin in the area, many abusers have reverted to abusing prescription narcotics such as OxyContin; however, the availability and abuse of Mexican black-tar heroin has increased. Effective law enforcement investigations in 2008 resulted in the arrests of local heroin distributors and subsequent decreases in the availability and abuse of Mexican black-tar heroin. Mexican drug trafficking organizations and criminal groups are the principal wholesale drug distributors in the Appalachia HIDTA region. 3 figures, 3 tables, and a listing of data sources for the report