DEA Offices & Telephone Nos.
Billings406-657-6020
|
State
Facts
Population: 904,433
Law Enforcement Officers: 1,116
State Prison Population: 4,500
Probation Population: 6,248
Violent Crime Rate
National Ranking: 27 |
2003
Federal Drug Seizures
Cocaine: 0.5 kgs.
Heroin: 0.0 kgs.
Methamphetamine: 8.8 kgs.
Marijuana: 107.2 kgs.
Ecstasy: 0 tablets
Methamphetamine Laboratories: 56 (DEA, state, and
local) |
Drug
Situation: Mexican poly-drug trafficking organizations are
responsible for distributing most of the methamphetamine, marijuana,
cocaine and heroin in Montana. These organizations have sources of supply
in Colorado, the Southwest Border, the Pacific Northwest, and Mexico.
Marijuana is also smuggled into Montana across the Canadian border by
smaller organizations. Methamphetamine production and use remains the
primary drug issue faced by law enforcement.
Cocaine:
Cocaine is available in the larger communities of Montana, but not widely
available throughout the state. Billings, Great Falls and the Blackfeet
Indian Reservation are the primary locations for cocaine use. Sources
of supply are usually located in Washington, California, Colorado,
and the Southwest. Crack trafficking in Montana is primarily limited
to the Billings area, where street gangs control the market. These
gangs have sources of supply in California and Chicago.
Heroin:
Heroin is not frequently encountered in Montana. Western Montana, primarily
Missoula, has a higher availability of heroin due to the proximity
to the state of Washington, historically a transshipment point for
heroin in the Pacific Northwest.
![Methamphetamine Labs Seized: 1999=26, 2000=28, 2001=66, 2002=88, 2003=56](/peth04/20041016210122im_/http://www.dea.gov/pubs/states/montana_meth2004.gif) Methamphetamine:
Law enforcement officers across the state identify methamphetamine
as the most significant drug problem in Montana. Mexican trafficking
organizations are responsible for the majority of methamphetamine distribution
in the state. Mexican methamphetamine is most available in western Montana,
due to the proximity to established trafficking routes in the Pacific
Northwest. Beyond organized methamphetamine trafficking, numerous small-scale
local laboratory operators, producing moderate quantities of methamphetamine
for personal use or local distribution, are problematic to law enforcement.
Club
Drugs: Club drugs, such as MDMA, are not widely available
throughout the state but can be found in the larger communities and on
college campuses. Traffickers are typically white males, eighteen to
twenty-five years of age, with sources of supply in the Seattle, Washington,
area. Abuse of other club drugs, such as LSD, GHB, and Ketamine appear
to be limited to college communities.
![photo - marijuana plant](/peth04/20041016210122im_/http://www.dea.gov/pubs/states/cannabis.jpg) Marijuana: Marijuana
is the most widely abused drug in Montana. Most originates in Mexico
and is smuggled into the state by Mexican poly-drug trafficking organizations.
Locally produced marijuana is primarily grown indoors, with grows generally
consisting of less than 100 plants. Potent BC Bud or “Kind Bud” from
the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada is increasing in popularity
and availability. It is often smuggled directly into Montana across
the Canadian border, and from there is often transshipped to other
areas of the United States.
Other
Drugs: Following national trends, OxyContin has become a pharmaceutical
drug of abuse in Montana. Quantities of OxyContin are being illegally
distributed in various areas in the state. Dilaudid and other opiate
pain killers are also in demand on the illicit market.
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
has been one MET deployment in the State of Montana since the inception
of the program: Big Horn.
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 no RET deployments in the State of Montana.
Special
Topics:
The state of Montana participates in the Rocky Mountain High Intensity
Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), which is based in Denver, Colorado.
More information
about the Denver Division Office.
Sources
Factsheet
last updated: 2/2004
Click
here for last year's 2003 factsheet>> |