|
![](/peth04/20041017131252im_/http://www.dea.gov/spacer.gif) |
DEA
Offices & Telephone Nos.
Bakersfield661-396-3736
Carlsbad760-931-2666
Fresno559-487-5402
Imperial County760-355-0857
Los Angeles213-621-6700
Oakland510-637-5600
Redding530-246-5043
Riverside909-328-6000
Sacramento916-480-7100
San Diego858-616-4100
San Francisco415-436-7900
San Jose408-291-7235
San Ysidro619-671-4500
Santa Ana714-836-2892
Santa Rosa707-565-5463
Ventura805-383-6454 |
State
Facts
Population: 34,501,130
Law Enforcement Officers: 85,736
State Prison Population: 239,900
Probation Population: 350,768
Violent Crime Rate
National Ranking: 10 |
2003
Federal Drug Seizures
Cocaine: 4,640.7 kgs.
Heroin: 146.7 kgs.
Methamphetamine: 1,576.0 kgs.
Marijuana: 159,759.7 kgs.
Ecstasy: 136,650 tablets
Methamphetamine Laboratories: 1,239 (DEA, state,
and local) |
Drug
Situation: Due to California’s diverse culture and unique
geography, there are many issues that affect the drug situation in California.
Drugs such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana are smuggled
into the state from Mexico; however, methamphetamine and marijuana are
produced or cultivated in large quantities within the state. San Diego
and Imperial Counties remain a principal transshipment zone for a variety
of drugs – cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine – smuggled
from Mexico. Most drug traffickers/organizations that are encountered
by law enforcement continue to be polydrug traffickers rather than specializing
in one type of drug. Since September 11, 2001, greater emphasis has been
placed on carefully screening people and vehicles at all California Ports
of Entry into the U.S. from Mexico. This has forced traffickers to attempt
other means to smuggle their contraband into the U.S., including the
use of tunnels that run underneath the border and more sophisticated
hidden compartments in vehicles. Los Angeles is a distribution center
for all types of illicit drugs destined for other major metropolitan
areas throughout the U.S. as well as locally. Increased security measures
at Los Angeles International Airport continue to deter drug traffickers
from traveling through the airport. Although the northern half of California
is awash in methamphetamine in more rural areas, heroin remains the number
one drug of abuse in San Francisco, heroin and crack cocaine continue
to impact Oakland, and methamphetamine continues in and around Sacramento.
Cocaine:
Mexican trafficking organizations, working closely with Colombian suppliers,
dominate the wholesale cocaine trade. However, the Mexican traffickers
continue to specialize in cross-border cocaine transportation by
air, land and sea. Based on consistent seizures by U.S. Customs personnel
(BICE), the majority of the cocaine destined for the U.S. continues
to enter the country by land conveyance through the Ports of Entry
along the California/Mexico border. Typically, traffickers transport
the cocaine to Los Angeles in vehicles with hidden compartments and
then offload the cocaine into stash houses. Cocaine is readily available
throughout the state with Los Angeles remaining one of the nation’s
largest cocaine transshipment and distribution centers. Cocaine is
also widely available in San Francisco and other areas of northern
California.
Heroin:
California-based law enforcement agencies primarily seize Mexico black
tar heroin throughout the state and Mexican brown tar heroin to a
lesser extent. Mexican black tar heroin is usually smuggled into
the U.S. in amounts of five pounds or less, but occasionally law
enforcement seizes larger amounts. In addition, Southeast Asian,
Southwest Asian, and Colombian heroin seizures periodically occur
throughout the state. The increased availability of high purity heroin
that can be snorted allows a new, younger population to use heroin
without a syringe and needle. Drug treatment specialists stated that
these new heroin users ingest large amounts of heroin and become
quickly addicted. Law enforcement officials normally encounter ethnic
West African and Southeast Asian nationals in the distribution and
transportation of Asian heroin. California does not have any noticeable
heroin abuse in its Asian communities. Reports that high purity Colombian
heroin is now available in the counties surrounding Los Angeles is
supported by the recent seizure of 200 grams of Colombian heroin
by law enforcement in Ventura County. A 40,000 poppy plant grow was
discovered by hikers in the Sierra National Forest in June 2003.
That was the only poppy grow located in California in recent history.
![Methamphetamine Labs Seized: 1999=2,584, 2000=2,204, 2001=1,885, 2002=1,758, 2003=1,239](/peth04/20041017131252im_/http://www.dea.gov/pubs/states/california_meth2004.gif) Methamphetamine:
Methamphetamine is the primary drug threat in California. Mexican organizations
continue to dominate the production and distribution of high-quality
meth, while a secondary trafficking group, composed primarily of
Caucasians, operates small, unsophisticated laboratories. Clandestine
laboratories can be found in any location: high density residential
neighborhoods, sparsely populated rural areas, remote desert locations
in the southern portions of California, and the forested areas in
northern California. In recent years, there has a decrease in the
number of meth labs seized in California and an increase in the number
of meth labs just south of the border in Mexico. Rural areas in the
Central Valley are the source of much of the meth produced in California
and seized elsewhere. Regardless, there has been not been a decrease
in the availability of methamphetamine originating from (or transshipped
through) California and seized elsewhere in the U.S. Within California
itself, Hispanics and Caucasians are the almost exclusive consumers
of meth. Purity levels of meth have ranged from a low of ten percent
to a high of 100 percent purity. As the supply of pseudoephedrine
from Canada has diminished after successful law enforcement operations,
there has been a noticeable increase in pseudoephedrine and ephedrine
seized that originated from China.
Club
Drugs: Although MDMA or Ecstasy was considered
the most popular “club drug” in the state among
teens and young adults, there are indicators that its use may
be decreasing across the board, yet consistently available in
geographical pockets. First, the Partnership for a Drug Free
America conducted a study released in February 2004 which stated
the use of Ecstasy
among teenagers “had dropped 25 percent in the last two
years, (that) decrease translates into an additional 770,000
teens rejecting the once trendy drug.” Second, law enforcement
has targeted rave promoters in the San Diego county area, resulting
in their inability to hold such events and thereby decreasing
the possibility for distribution of Ecstasy through that channel.
Recent studies indicate that use of MDMA is expanding from raves
and clubs into schools, malls and residences. Although Israeli
and Russian organized crime still dominate the importation and
distribution of MDMA, primarily from the Netherlands, new poly-drug
trafficking organizations are also emerging. Specifically, Asian
groups that are producing MDMA in Canada and Vietnam and smuggling
the drug into California have recently been encountered by law
enforcement. MDMA is widely available in Los Angeles, which
is one of three major gateway cities for the influx of MDMA
into the U.S. (Miami and New York are the other two cities).
Compton (near Los Angeles) remains a primary source of PCP throughout
the U.S. Street gangs continue to control both production and
distribution of PCP. Though not as widely popular as most rave
drugs, LSD remains readily available throughout the Los Angeles
area. The ample supply of LSD is due to the number LSD laboratories
operating in remote areas of Northern California, which has
been the center of LSD production since the 1960’s. Internet
sales of GHB and GBL persist.
Prescription
Drugs:
Due to the discrepancy in national laws between the U.S. and Mexico,
the prolific “border pharmacies” within walking distance
across the border in Tijuana and other Mexican border towns remain the
primary source of controlled substances in the San Diego metropolitan
area. Doctor shopping and prescription forgery are the primary methods
of prescription drug abuse in the Los Angeles and San Francisco metropolitan
areas. In Northern California, OxyContin, Vicodin, benzodiazepines and
carisoprodol are most commonly abused. In the Los Angeles area, Demerol,
Dilaudid, Diazepam, Hydrocodone and steroids remain the principal drugs
abused. The San Diego area prescription drugs of choice are Vicodin,
VicodinES, Lortab, and Vicoprofen. Rohypnol remains readily available
throughout the Los Angeles area, due primarily to the city’s proximity
to Mexico.
Marijuana:
Marijuana remains the most widely available and abused illicit substance
in California. Large quantities of low-grade marijuana are smuggled
into the state from Mexico. Highly potent Canadian marijuana, commonly
referred to as “BC bud” is also smuggled into the state.
Potent domestic marijuana is also cultivated in sophisticated indoor,
hydroponic gardens throughout the state.
Crack:
Los Angeles based gangs dominate the street level distribution of crack
cocaine throughout the Los Angeles and San Diego metropolitan areas.
Cocaine bought by the gangs is “rocked” or converted
into crack cocaine in the Los Angeles area (including Santa Ana and
Riverside) and then sold locally or distributed to other cities in
California and nationally. These organizations frequently use intimidation
and violence to facilitate their narcotics trafficking activities.
Gang members involved in the street distribution of crack are often
armed and have a propensity towards violence against other gang members
whom they feel are invading their areas of control.
![Drug-Violation Arrests: 1997=4,068, 1998=4,487, 1999=4,461, 2000=4,339, 2001=3,651](/peth04/20041017131252im_/http://www.dea.gov/pubs/states/california_arrests2004.gif) Other
Drugs:
Vicodin, Ritalin, Rohypnol, Ketamine, and Valium are commonly diverted
pharmaceutical narcotics. Many of these narcotics are used by teens and
young adults frequenting the club scene. Rohypnol is available without
a prescription at pharmacies throughout Mexico. The Los Angeles area,
specifically Compton, California, is the primary source for the majority
of PCP found in the United States. Consequently, PCP remains readily available.
DEA
Mobile Enforcement Teams: This cooperative program with state
and local law enforcement counterparts was conceived in 1995 in response
to the overwhelming problem of drug-related violent crime in towns and
cities across the nation. There have been 409 deployments completed resulting
in 16,763 arrests of violent drug criminals as of February 2004. There
are three DEA Division offices in California: Los Angeles, San Diego,
and San Francisco. Combined, these three divisions have completed 63
Mobile Enforcement Team (MET) deployments throughout the State of California
since the inception of the program. These cities are: San Luis Obispo
(2), Oxnard/Ventura, Gardena, Century, Rampart (2), Antelope Valley,
El Monte, Santa Maria, Quad Cities in Los Angeles, Coachella Valley,
Wilshire, Pico Rivera, Hawthorne, Inglewood, Santa Paula, Hollenbeck,
Devonshire, Ontario, Pasadena, Baldwin Park, Bell Gardens, Garden Grove,
Oceanside (2), El Cajon, Chula Vista, National City (2), Vista, San Diego
(2), La Mesa, Escondido, San Marcos, Spring Valley, Richmond (2), Vallejo,
Seaside (2), Merced (2), Modesto, Oakland (2), West Contra Costa County,
Eastern Kern County, Yuba County, San Jose, Stanislaus County, Woodland
(2), Salinas, Santa Cruz (2), Monterey, Sacramento, South Bureau LAPD,
Corona, Azusa, and Yolo County.
DEA
Regional Enforcement Teams:
This program was designed to augment existing DEA division resources
by targeting drug organizations operating in the United States where
there is a lack of sufficient local drug law enforcement. This Program
was conceived in 1999 in response to the threat posed by drug trafficking
organizations that have established networks of cells to conduct drug
trafficking operations in smaller, non-traditional trafficking locations
in the United States. Nationwide, there have been 22 deployments completed
resulting in 608 arrests of drug trafficking criminals as of February
2004. There have been four RET deployments in the State of California
since the inception of the program: Hayward, San Francisco (2 Phases),
Riverside/Santa Ana, and San Jose.
More information
about the San Diego, Los
Angeles, and San Francisco Division Offices.
Sources
Factsheet
last updated: 2/2004
Click
here for last year's 2003 factsheet>> |