The National Drug Intelligence Center, a component of the Department of Justice, released the National Drug Threat Assessment 2006 which details national drug trafficking and abuse trends within the United States.

The assessment identifies the primary drug threats to the nation, monitors fluctuations in consumption levels, tracks drug availability by geographic market, and analyzes trafficking and distribution patterns of illicit drugs within the United States. It evaluates the threat posed by illegal drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana, heroin, MDMA, pharmaceuticals and other dangerous drugs, comparing availability, production and cultivation, transportation, distribution, and demand.

Key findings of the report are as follows:

• Significant progress has been made by counterdrug agencies in reducing demand for marijuana, heroin, and MDMA. Additionally, the availability of LSD and GHB – drugs that have appealed particularly to adolescents – has decreased significantly, and heroin availability appears to be declining as well. However, the distribution and abuse of cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine continue to pose considerable threats to communities throughout the nation.

• For the second consecutive year, a higher percentage of state and local law enforcement agencies nationwide (39.2%) identified methamphetamine as the drug that poses the greatest threat to their area; this is higher than the percentage of agencies that identified any other drug, according to the National Drug Threat Survey 2005.

• Mexican drug trafficking organizations and criminal groups are the most influential drug traffickers in the United States, and their influence is increasing. They are the predominant smugglers, transporters, and wholesale distributors of cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, and Mexico-produced heroin in the country; they are expanding their control over the distribution of these drugs in areas long controlled by Colombian and Dominican criminal groups.

• Canada-based Asian criminal groups with access to MDMA from Canada and Europe have surpassed Russian-Israeli drug trafficking organizations as the primary suppliers of MDMA to U.S. drug markets; they are also positioned to become the predominant transporters and distributors of high potency, Canada-produced marijuana.

• Many street gangs, prison gangs, and outlaw motorcycles gangs have evolved from loosely organized, turf-oriented entities to well-organized, profit-driven criminal enterprises whose activities include not only retail drug distribution but also other aspects of the trade, including smuggling, transportation, and wholesale distribution.

• Currently available national-level data and law enforcement reporting suggests stable domestic cocaine availability, even in smaller drug markets. However, Office of National Drug Control Policy analysis of preliminary retail-level cocaine purity and price data indicates that the purity of cocaine is starting to decline, possibly due to the effects of significant declines in estimated cocaine production and increases in cocaine interdiction.

• Decreases in domestic methamphetamine production – a result of increased law enforcement pressure, public awareness campaigns, and regulation on the sale and use of precursor and essential chemicals used in methamphetamine production – have been offset by increased production of the drug in Mexico. Moreover, illicit methamphetamine production capacity in Mexico appears sufficient to offset further reductions in domestic methamphetamine production.

• Mexican drug trafficking organizations and criminal groups have emerged as the primary wholesale drug money launderers in the country because of the increasing influence they are exerting on domestic drug trafficking. Mexican traffickers typically transport drug proceeds from U.S. market areas to areas in proximity to the U.S.–Mexico border. These proceeds are aggregated and eventually smuggled in bulk into Mexico for repatriation or for further transport to South America.

The National Drug Intelligence Center produces the National Drug Threat Assessment in partnership with federal, state, and local agencies. This year's report draws on information from more than 3,400 state and local law enforcement agencies that responded to our National Drug Threat Survey 2005 as well as thousands of personal interviews with law enforcement and public health officials.

A copy of the National Drug Threat Assessment 2006 can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic under NDIC Products.