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National Drug Threat Assessment 2005 Summary Report
February 2005
Heroin
Key Findings
Trends and Developments
Availability
Demand
Production
Transportation
Distribution
While the demand for heroin is significantly lower than for other
drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana, the
consequences of heroin abuse are such that its abuse poses a
significant drug threat. Slightly more than 310,000 persons aged 12
or older report past year heroin use in 2003, considerably lower than
the number of individuals who report past year use of marijuana (25.2
million), cocaine (5.9 million), and methamphetamine (1.3 million).
Figure 8. Numbers of Persons Aged 12 or Older
Reporting Past Year Use in Millions, 2003
Chart showing the number of persons aged 12 or older who reported
past year use of illicit drugs.
d-link
Source: National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
Key Findings
*
The availability of Southwest Asian heroin appears to have
increased slightly in 2003, attributable partly to participation by
certain groups (for example, Nigerian and Russian traffickers) in
heroin transportation and wholesale distribution. However, compared
with other types of heroin available in domestic markets, relatively
little Southwest Asian heroin is destined for the United States, and
preliminary 2004 data indicate that availability of Southwest Asian
heroin may be declining to pre-2003 levels.
*
Despite stable demand for heroin in the United States, the
number of primary heroin treatment admissions continues to increase.
Because heroin abusers typically abuse the drug for several years
before seeking treatment, the increase likely is due to individuals
seeking treatment who began abusing the drug in the mid- to late
1990s, when the demand for heroin increased significantly in the
United States.
*
In 2003 potential worldwide opium production and heroin
production increased significantly, attributable overwhelmingly to
increases in production in Afghanistan. Potential worldwide illicit
opium production in 2003 was estimated at 3,757 metric tons, compared
with 2,237 metric tons in 2002. Worldwide heroin production was
estimated at 426.9 metric tons in 2003, compared with 244.7 metric
tons in 2002. Moreover, 2004 estimates indicate a significant
increase in illicit opium production and potential heroin production.
(See Table 8.)
Figure 9. Heroin Admissions to Publicly Funded Treatment Facilities,
1992-2002
Graph showing number of heroin-related admissions to publicly funded
treatment facilities for the years 1992-2002.
d-link
Source: Treatment Episode Data Set.
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Table 8. Potential Worldwide Heroin Production, in Metric Tons,
1999-2003
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Mexico 8.8 4.5 10.7 6.8 11.9 NA*
Colombia 8.7 8.7 11.4 8.5 7.8 NA*
Afghanistan 218.0 365.0 7.0 150.0 337.0 582.0
Burma 104.0 103.0 82.0 60.0 46.0 28.0
Laos 13.0 20.0 19.0 17.0 19.0 5.0
Pakistan 4.0 19.0 0.5 0.5 5.2 NA*
Thailand 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.9 NA NA*
Vietnam 1.0 1.4 1.4 1.0 NA NA*
Total 358.1 522.2 132.6 244.7 426.9 NA*
Source: Crime and Narcotics Center.
* Estimates for 2004 are not completed.
*
The smuggling of South American heroin across the Southwest
Border--particularly through Texas--increased significantly in 2003.
According to EPIC data, the amount of South American heroin seized in
the U.S. Arrival Zone in Texas surpassed the amount seized in New
Jersey, historically the state reporting the third highest amount of
South American heroin seized, after New York and Florida.
*
Heroin use in Chicago suburban areas has increased, resulting
in a rise in the consequences of heroin abuse in Chicago, a PMA for
multiple types of heroin. This increase is most evident among
suburban users, particularly those under 25 years of age, who are
experimenting with and becoming addicted to heroin.
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Trends and Developments
Availability
The availability of Southwest Asian heroin in the United States
appears to have increased slightly in 2003. According to EPIC,
wholesale Southwest Asian heroin seizures in the U.S. Arrival Zone in
FY2003 exceeded the amount of Mexican heroin seizures, making
Southwest Asian heroin second only to South American heroin in the
amount seized within the U.S. Arrival Zone--an indication of the
increased availability of Southwest Asian heroin. However, anecdotal
law enforcement reporting indicates that, nationally, Mexican heroin
remains much more widely available. Moreover, the amount of heroin
identified as Southwest Asian by the DEA Heroin Signature Program
(HSP)1 increased from 7 percent of the total heroin analyzed by
weight in 2001 to 10 percent in 2002. Finally, reporting from DEA
Field Divisions in Chicago, St. Louis, and New York indicates that
the availability of Southwest Asian heroin has increased in their
jurisdictions.
NDIC Comment: Law enforcement reporting indicates that the
increased availability of Southwest Asian heroin in 2003 was
attributable partly to participation by certain groups in heroin
transportation and wholesale distribution. For example, West African
traffickers, primarily Nigerians, are responsible for a resurgence in
the availability of Southwest Asian heroin in Chicago. According to
DEA, arrests and seizures over the past few years have significantly
interrupted Nigerian and other West African traffickers' ability to
transport Southeast Asian heroin to Chicago. As a result, these
traffickers more frequently obtain heroin in Pakistan, increasing the
availability of Southwest Asian heroin. According to the DEA St.
Louis Field Division, at least some of the Southwest Asian heroin
available in its jurisdiction is transported to the area from
Chicago. DEA New York reports that the increasing availability of
Southwest Asian heroin in its jurisdiction is due partly to Russian
and East European trafficking organizations. These organizations are
able to obtain Southwest Asian heroin at a price lower than the price
at which their counterparts can obtain South American heroin, and
they can rely on an increasingly dependable network of distributors
in some areas of New York City.
Despite the data and anecdotal reporting that showed increased
availability of Southwest Asian heroin in the United States during
2003, overall availability of Southwest Asian heroin likely remains
far lower than that of South American or Mexican heroin. Moreover,
preliminary 2004 data indicate that availability of Southwest Asian
heroin may be receding to pre-2003 levels.
Demand
National-level drug prevalence studies indicate that the overall
demand for heroin in the United States is relatively stable; however,
the number of primary heroin treatment admissions continues to
increase. According to TEDS data, the number of primary heroin
treatment admissions increased steadily each year since 1992 and
increased from 277,911 in 2001 to 285,677 in 2002.
NDIC Comment: The increase in treatment admissions for heroin
despite stabilizing demand may be due to the fact that heroin abusers
typically abuse the drug for several years before seeking treatment.
Thus, many individuals currently seeking treatment likely began
abusing the drug in the mid- to late 1990s when the demand for heroin
increased significantly in the United States. According to TEDS data,
the average number of years of heroin use for clients entering
treatment for the first time in 2000 and 2001 was 12.9 and 12.3
years, respectively, for abusers whose primary route of
administration was injection, and 11.1 and 11.6 years for users whose
primary route of administration was inhalation.
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Production
After decreasing significantly from 2000 to 2001, worldwide
illicit opium production increased in 2002 and 2003; the production
in 2003 (3,757 mt) was almost double that in 2002 (2,237 mt).
Likewise, potential heroin production decreased from 522.2 metric
tons in 2000 to 132.6 metric tons in 2001 before increasing to 244.7
metric tons in 2002 and 426.9 metric tons in 2003. Moreover, 2004
estimates indicate a significant increase in illicit opium production
and potential heroin production. (See Table 8.)
NDIC Comment: The significant increases in potential worldwide
opium and heroin production estimates for 2002 and 2003 are
attributable overwhelmingly to increases in production in
Afghanistan. Potential opium production in Afghanistan increased from
63 metric tons in 2001, to 1,278 metric tons in 2002, and 2,865
metric tons in 2003. Potential heroin production estimates for
Afghanistan increased from 7 metric tons in 2001, to 150 metric tons
in 2002, and 337 metric tons in 2003. Conversely, potential opium and
heroin production estimates for Burma--the primary source of
Southeast Asian heroin--have decreased each year since 2000. As a
result of these changes, the predominant source of Asian heroin in
the United States appears to be shifting from Southeast Asia to
Southwest Asia. However, the market for white powder heroin will
likely continue to be dominated by heroin from South America. In
fact, the increased heroin production in Afghanistan is not likely to
result in increased heroin availability in the United States because
only a small amount of Southwest Asian heroin is transported to the
United States for subsequent distribution.
Transportation
The amount of South American heroin seized in the U.S. Arrival
Zone along the Southwest Border--particularly Texas--increased
significantly in 2003. According to EPIC, the amount of South
American heroin seized in the U.S. Arrival Zone in Texas surpassed
the amount seized in New Jersey, historically the state reporting the
third highest amount of South American heroin seized, after New York
and Florida.
NDIC Comment: South American heroin typically is smuggled into
the United States by couriers aboard commercial flights to
international airports in New York and Miami. However, law
enforcement reporting indicates that traffickers are transporting
increasing amounts of South American heroin across the Southwest
Border. Law enforcement reporting indicates that Colombian DTOs are
increasingly relying on Mexican DTOs and criminal groups to transport
South American heroin to the United States much as they rely on
Mexican DTOs to transport cocaine. Most of the South American heroin
transported across the Southwest Border likely is destined for
markets in the eastern United States, including Chicago and New York.
Distribution
Heroin distribution in Chicago, a PMA for multiple types of
heroin, has expanded to many outlying communities, resulting in an
increase in the consequences of heroin abuse in the Chicago area. In
fact, national-level consequence data indicate that rates of heroin-
related treatment admissions, ED mentions, and deaths in Chicago are
among the highest in the nation and continue to increase.
NDIC Comment: A primary factor contributing to increasing
consequences of heroin abuse in Chicago is the increase in the number
of suburban users, particularly those under 25 years of age, who are
experimenting with and becoming addicted to heroin. The number of
suburban users began to increase in the early 1990s, when high purity
South American heroin became available in Chicago. Because of the
high purity, new users were able to snort the drug, avoiding the
stigma and health consequences associated with injection drug use.
However, TEDS data show that injection drug use increased
significantly in the Chicago metropolitan statistical area from 1997
through 2000, possibly the result of these suburban users
transitioning to injection. Although the majority of injection drug
users were over 35, the largest increase in the rate of injection
drug use was for those aged 24 and younger. Injection drug use
results in serious health consequences that have contributed, and
will continue to contribute, to the increasing number of heroin-
related treatment admissions, ED mentions, and deaths in the Chicago
area.
Heroin Primary Market Areas
Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York are the three PMAs for heroin
distributed throughout the United States because abuse levels are
high in these cities and because wholesale quantities of heroin are
distributed from these cities to heroin markets throughout the
country. Other cities that are not PMAs but are significant markets
in terms of abuse or distribution include Baltimore, Detroit, Miami,
Newark, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.
Boston also is a very significant heroin market and previously was
designated a PMA for the drug; however, Boston does not appear to be
a heroin distribution center equal to Chicago, Los Angeles, and New
York. In fact, law enforcement reporting indicates that most
wholesale and midlevel heroin distributors in New England states are
supplied directly by New York City-based wholesale distributors
rather than Boston-based wholesalers.
Chicago. The consequences of heroin abuse in Chicago and the
surrounding area are reflected in high rates of ED mentions, heroin-
related overdose deaths, treatment admissions, and arrestees testing
positive for opiates. Colombian criminal groups are the primary
wholesale distributors of South American heroin in Chicago, although
they increasingly rely on Mexican DTOs and criminal groups to
transport and distribute wholesale quantities of the drug. Nigerian
criminal groups are the primary wholesale distributors of Southeast
Asian and, increasingly, Southwest Asian heroin.
Los Angeles. Although Los Angeles historically has demonstrated high
levels of heroin abuse, some data indicate that the effects of that
abuse have lessened over the past several years. Mexican criminal
groups are the primary wholesale distributors of Mexican heroin in
Los Angeles.
New York. The negative effects of heroin abuse are significant in New
York as evidenced by emergency department, mortality, treatment, and
arrest data. Colombian criminal groups are the primary wholesale
distributors of South American heroin in New York. Dominican criminal
groups and, increasingly, Mexican criminal groups also are
significant transporters and wholesale distributors of South American
heroin. Ethnic Chinese and West African criminal groups are the
primary wholesale distributors of Southeast Asian heroin, and
Pakistani criminal groups are the primary wholesale distributors of
Southwest Asian heroin in New York.
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End Note
1. Under the Heroin Signature Program (HSP), the DEA Special Testing
and Research Laboratory analyzes heroin samples from POE seizures, as
well as a random sample of other seizures and purchases submitted to
DEA laboratories, to determine source areas. Although HSP results do
not directly correspond to an assessment of the market share in the
United States, they provide indicators of market trends.
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