NCJ Number
204710
Date Published
June 2002
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This assessment of the status and outlook for the drug threat to Wisconsin considers the threat posed by each drug type or category, taking into account the most current quantitative and qualitative information on availability, demand, production or cultivation, transportation, and distribution, as well as the effects of a particular drug on abusers and society as a whole.
Abstract
The general conclusion of this report is that illicit drugs pose an increasingly serious threat to Wisconsin residents. Mexican drug trafficking organizations and criminal groups are the primary transporters and wholesale distributors of cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana in the State. Dominican drug trafficking organizations and criminal groups dominate the transportation and wholesale distribution of South American heroin; and Nigerian drug trafficking organizations transport and distribute Southeast Asian heroin at the wholesale level. Organized street gangs control the retail distribution of most drugs in urban areas and throughout the State. The most serious illicit drug threat to Wisconsin is the widespread availability and abuse of powdered and crack cocaine. Marijuana is the most widely available and commonly abused illicit drug in the State, making it the second most significant drug threat behind cocaine. Methamphetamine is an increasingly serious threat, with its abuse concentrated in the northwestern part of the State; however, its abuse is now spreading across the State. The increasing availability and abuse of heroin also constitutes an emerging drug threat in the State. In addition, Wisconsin law enforcement officials and health-care professionals are concerned about the increasing abuse of "other dangerous drugs" such as MDMA (ecstasy), GHB, and LSD, as well as the diversion and abuse of pharmaceuticals, particularly OxyContin. Cocaine is expected to remain the primary drug of abuse in Wisconsin, particularly in metropolitan areas such as Milwaukee and Madison. Likewise, marijuana will remain the most commonly available and widely abused drug in the State. 1 table