NCJ Number
224680
Date Published
2008
Length
32 pages
Annotation
This 2007 Annual Report of the National Forensic Laboratory Information System (NFLIS) reports on its activities in collecting information that supports the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA's) mission to enforce the controlled substances laws and regulations of the United States, as well as State and local drug control agencies.
Abstract
The report presents national and regional findings on drug cases analyzed by NFLIS during the past year, including drug-seizure information by location. Among the key findings is an overall decrease in total analyzed items for the top four drugs consumed between 2006 and 2007, from 1,555,249 items to 1,461,209 items. Nationally, exhibits that contained methamphetamine decreased 21 percent from 2006 to 2007, from 208,262 items to 165,225 items. Hydroquinone and oxycodone increased in all regions between 2001 and 2007; reports of alprazolam increased in the Midwest, South, and Northeast; and MDMA increased in the Midwest. An estimated 1.8 million drug items were analyzed by State and local laboratories in the United States in 2007, a 7-percent decrease from 2006. In 2007, cocaine was the most frequently identified drug (606,882 items); followed by cannabis/THC (595,775 items); methamphetamine (165,225 items); and heroin (93,327 items). Regionally, exhibits containing methamphetamine decreased in the South from 68.0 items in 2006 to 53.3 items in 2007 per 100,000 people, a 22-percent decrease. Cocaine exhibits decreased in the Midwest between 2006 and 2007, from 128,297 items to 105,418 items, an 18-percent decrease. Extensive figures and tables and appended participating and reporting forensic laboratories, NFLIS benefits and limitations, the NFLIS interactive data site, and the national estimates methodology