NCJ Number
204705
Date Published
March 2002
Length
45 pages
Annotation
This document provides an assessment on the status and outlook of the drug threat to the State of Virginia.
Abstract
The production, distribution, and abuse of illicit drugs, as well as the diversion and abuse of pharmaceuticals, pose a serious threat to Virginia. Cocaine abuse is associated with more drug-related admissions to publicly funded treatment facilities than is abuse of any other drug. Nearly two-thirds of all drug-related Federal sentences in Virginia in fiscal year 2000 were cocaine-related. Crack cocaine is the drug most often associated with violent crime in the State. Marijuana is the most widely available and frequently abused drug. The number of admissions for marijuana abuse to publicly funded treatment facilities was second only to cocaine each year from 1995 through 1999. The nature of the drug threat varies throughout the State. Cocaine is readily available and is the principal drug threat to the heavily populated areas of Northern Virginia and urban centers elsewhere in the State. Heroin is increasingly available and is the primary drug threat to the Central Virginia and Tidewater areas and is an emerging threat to Winchester. Most new heroin users are young adults that snort the drug rather than inject it. Heroin was a factor in more drug-related deaths in 2000 than any other drug. Other dangerous drugs, particularly MDMA, are an increasing threat primarily to the Northern Virginia and Tidewater areas. The diversion and abuse of OxyContin are the principal threats to southwestern Virginia. Caucasian criminal groups and local independent dealers are the principal distributors of diverted pharmaceuticals. Methamphetamine poses a low but increasing threat to the State. Levels of availability and abuse have increased in the Shenandoah Valley, and the drug is an emerging threat to southwestern Virginia.