NCJ Number
228263
Date Published
April 2009
Length
26 pages
Annotation
Based on an analysis of recent law enforcement reports, interviews with law-enforcement and public officials, and statistical data, this report presents an overview of the illicit-drug situation in the Oregon High Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns about the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs.
Abstract
The Oregon HIDTA encompasses eight counties: Clackamas, Deschutes, Douglas, Jackson, Marion, Multnomah, Umatilla, and Washington. Major transportation routes that facilitate the distribution of licit and illicit goods from domestic and foreign source areas transit each of these counties. Widespread trafficking and abuse of methamphetamine are the greatest threats to the Oregon HIDTA region, straining the resources of local law enforcement, public health, and social services agencies, particularly in rural areas. Although local methamphetamine production has declined significantly in most areas of the region, an abundant supply of Mexican ice methamphetamine throughout the HIDTA region has fueled rising methamphetamine abuse since the second quarter of 2008. Marijuana is the most widely available and frequently abused drug in the Oregon HIDTA region. Cocaine is readily available in the HIDTA counties, and in some areas availability is increasing. Heroin trafficking and abuse pose significant drug threats in urban areas such as Portland and Salem; but none of the law-enforcement officials interviewed identified heroin as their greatest drug threat. The abuse of other dangerous drugs is a growing concern to law enforcement in the HIDTA region. These drugs include MDMA (known as ecstasy), GHB, LSD, and ketamine. These drugs are generally abused by teens and young adults at various types of social venues. The abuse of controlled prescription drugs is occurring at relatively high levels in the Oregon HIDTA, with Oregon ranking fourth among all States in the rate of teen abuse of controlled prescription pain relievers. 8 tables, 3 figures, and a list of sources for the data presented