National Drug Threat Assessment Summary
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UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED This page intentionally left blank. UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED Drug Enforcement Administration 2016 National Drug Threat Assessment Summary November 2016 DEA-DCT-DIR-001-17 This product was prepared by the DEA Strategic Intelligence Section. Comments and questions may be addressed to the Chief, Analysis and Production Section, at [email protected]. UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED This page intentionally left blank. UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED 2016 National Drug Threat Assessment Summary Table of Contents Letter from the Acting Administrator....................................................................................iii Executive Summary..................................................................................................................v Transnational Criminal Organizations ..............................................................................................1 Mexican Transnational Criminal Organizations................................................................................1 Colombian Transnational Criminal Organizations..........................................................................10 Dominican Transnational Organizations...........................................................................................14 Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations.....................................................................................15 Gangs ....................................................................................................................................................17 Drugs of Abuse...................................................................................................................... 25 Controlled Prescription Drugs...............................................................................................25 Heroin........................................................................................................................................41 Fentanyl....................................................................................................................................65 Methamphetamine.................................................................................................................73 Cocaine.......................................................................................................................................87 Marijuana................................................................................................................................105 New Psychoactive Substances (NPS)................................................................................127 Illicit Finance.........................................................................................................................135 Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands..........................................................................................................144 Guam.........................................................................................................................................................................147 Tribal Lands.............................................................................................................................................................149 Appendix A: National Drug Threat Survey.....................................................................................................152 Appendix B: Additional Tables and Figures.................................................................................................171 Appendix C: Additional Figures.......................................................................................................................176 Appendix D: Acronym Glossary.......................................................................................................................178 UNCLASSIFIED i UNCLASSIFIED 2016 National Drug Threat Assessment Summary This page intentionally left blank. ii UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED 2016 National Drug Threat Assessment Summary (U) Letter from the Acting Administrator I am pleased to present the 2016 National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA) Summary. Produced in partnership with local, state, tribal, and federal partners, this comprehensive annual assessment provides a national-level perspective of the illicit and remarkably dangerous drug threats facing the United States. The trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs are enormous threats to our children, neighbors, colleagues, and citizens. While we struggle with an opioid epidemic, the threat to our nation from other drugs is also significant. This assessment gives you timely and relevant strategic drug-related intelligence to formulate counterdrug policies. Further, it helps law enforcement personnel, educators, and prevention and treatment specialists establish priorities and allocate resources. Thank you to our partners for their contributions, which continue to make this report possible and valuable. Through robust enforcement, public education, prevention, treatment, and collaboration with our partners, we can protect our citizens from dangerous drugs and their dire consequences. Finally, thank you to the men and women of the DEA. I admire their dedication, integrity, compassion, and commitment to this important mission. Respectfully, Chuck Rosenberg Acting Administrator Drug Enforcement Administration UNCLASSIFIED iii UNCLASSIFIED 2016 National Drug Threat Assessment Summary iv UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED 2016 National Drug Threat Assessment Summary Executive Summary Executive Summary The 2016 National Drug Threat Assessment is a comprehensive strategic assessment of the threat posed to the United States by the trafficking and abuse of illicit and prescription drugs. This report combines federal, state, and local law enforcement reporting; public health data; news reports; and intelligence from other government agencies to provide a coordinated and balanced approach to determining which substances represent the greatest drug threat to the United States. Over the past 10 years, the drug landscape in the United States has shifted, with the tripartite opioid threat (controlled prescription drugs, fentanyl, and heroin) having risen to epidemic levels, impacting significant portions of the United States. While the current opioid crisis has deservedly garnered significant attention, the methamphetamine threat has remained prevalent; the cocaine threat was in a state of steady decline, but appears to be rebounding; and due in part to the national discussion surrounding legalization efforts, the focus of marijuana enforcement efforts continues to evolve. Drug poisoning is the leading cause of injury death in the United States. Drug poisoning deaths are currently at their highest ever recorded level and, every year since 2009, drug poisoning deaths have outnumbered deaths by firearms, motor vehicle crashes, suicide, and homicide. In 2014, approximately 129 people died every day as a result of drug poisoning (see Figure 1). Analyst Note: The information in this report is current as of August 2016. Figure 1. Number of Injury Deaths by Drug Poisoning, Suicide, Homicide, Firearms, and Motor Vehicle Crashes in the United States, 1999-2014a,b Source: Centers for Disease Control Prevention a The suicide and homicide data includes deaths by drug poisoning or firearms. b Not all drug poisoning deaths specify the drug(s) involved, and a death may involve more than one specific substance. UNCLASSIFIED v UNCLASSIFIED 2016 National Drug Threat Assessment Summary The sections of this report are arranged by severity of threat based on a strategic analysis of the domestic drug situation in 2015. Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) supply illicit substances to distributors and users in the United States. As such, a full discussion of each illicit drug cannot be undertaken without first examining these criminal groups.TCOs continue to form relationships with gangs, who in turn commit violent crimes and serve as retail-level drug distributors for TCOs, presenting a serious risk to public health and safety. The number of deaths attributed to controlled prescription drugs (CPDs) continues to outpace those for cocaine and heroin combined. Additionally, some CPD abusers are initiating heroin use, which contributes to the increased demand for and use of heroin. Synthetic opioids, which include fentanyl and tramadol, were responsible for 5,544 drug poisoning deaths in 2014. While fentanyl is often abused in the same manner as heroin, it is much more potent. For these reasons, CPDs, heroin, and fentanyl are ranked as the most significant drug threats to the United States. Methamphetamine distribution and abuse significantly contribute to violent crime rates in the United States. Cocaine availability and abuse are showing the first signs of a possible increase in the United States since 2007. Marijuana remains the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States, but recent and ongoing state legalization actions and shifting priorities are changing how many law enforcement agencies perceive marijuana as a threat. Finally, new psychoactive substances (NPS), such as synthetic cannabinoids and synthetic cathinones, continue to impact many segments of the American population, particularly youth. Mexican TCOs: Mexican TCOs remain the greatest criminal drug threat to the United States; no other group is currently positioned to challenge them. These TCOs maintain territorial influence over large