NCJ Number
228259
Date Published
April 2009
Length
34 pages
Annotation
This assessment provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the North Texas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA).
Abstract
Reporting suggests that the North Texas HIDTA region, encompassing 15 northern Texas counties, is a national-level drug transportation and distribution center. Drug traffickers routinely use Dallas/Fort Worth as a major staging area for illicit drugs and a consolidation center for bulk currency and monetary instruments. Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs), particularly those associated with the Gulf Cartel, pose an increasing criminal organization threat to the North Texas HIDTA region. Local methamphetamine production is increasing in areas of Oklahoma, including Tulsa County, where local abusers are increasingly using a simplified, portable method to produce the drug. The abuse of "cheese" heroin, acetaminophen, and diphenhydramine poses an ongoing threat to the North Texas HIDTA region. Finally, controlled prescription drugs (CPD) abuse poses a major problem in the North Texas HIDTA region, most notably in Oklahoma, where abusers often ingest combinations of drugs such as Lortab, Xanax, and Soma to achieve heroin-like euphoria. Data were collected using detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. Tables, figures, and list of sources