NCJ Number
218862
Date Published
August 2006
Length
32 pages
Annotation
This 2005 Annual Report of the National Forensic Laboratory Information System (NFLIS) presents national and regional data on drug cases analyzed during 2005, including city and county data on drug seizure locations.
Abstract
An estimated 117 million drug items were analyzed by State and local laboratories in the United States in 2005. Cannabis/THC was the most frequently identified drug (573,904 items), followed by cocaine (570,176), methamphetamine (247,288), and heroin (87,402). Nationally, cannabis/THC, heroin, and MDMA cases declined significantly from 2001 to 2005. On the other hand, methamphetamine, oxycodone, and hydrocodone items increased significantly. Regionally, methamphetamine cases increased significantly in the South, more than doubling over the 5-year period. Cocaine and heroin cases declined. Methamphetamine also increased in the Northeast, and heroin declined. Among other drugs in the top 25, oxycodone, hydrocodone, and alprazolam -- all of which are available in pharmaceutical products--increased significantly in the Northeast between 2001 and 2005. In addition, oxycodone increased in the West and Midwest, and hydrocodone increased in the South and Midwest; alprazolam increased in the Midwest. Hydrocodone (39 percent) and oxycodone (30 percent) accounted for just over two-thirds of all identified narcotic analgesics, and alprazolam accounted for 61 percent of reported benzodiazepines. MDMA (ecstasy) accounted for 84 percent of reported club drugs. Extensive tables and figures and appended listing of participating and reporting forensic laboratories, a discussion of NFLIS benefits and limitations, a description of NFLIS' data Web site, and a description of national estimates methodology