Cocaine: The majority of cocaine found in Minnesota is purchased from sources of supply in California, Chicago, and Detroit. Some traffickers obtain cocaine directly from sources of supply along the Southwest Border and transport the cocaine to Minnesota themselves. Mexican traffickers control the transportation, distribution, and bulk sales of cocaine. At the retail level, independent African-American traffickers, African-American street gangs (specifically the Gangster Disciples, the Vice Lords, and Crips), Hispanic street gangs (specifically the Latin Kings), Native-American groups, and independent white groups purchase cocaine from Mexican traffickers and distribute it throughout Minnesota. In the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, crack cocaine is controlled by independent African-American traffickers and African-American street gangs.

Heroin:Heroin distribution and use have not been significant problems in Minnesota, but recent reports indicate there has been an increase in heroin use, especially in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. At the wholesale level, sources of supply include Nigerian/West African traffickers operating from Chicago and New York, African-American street gangs with ties to Chicago, and Mexican traffickers operating from the Southwest Border and from Chicago. At the retail level, heroin is distributed primarily by Hispanic and African-American street gangs.

Methamphetamine: The meth threat in Minnesota is a two-pronged problem. First, large quantities of meth produced by Mexican organizations based in California are transported into and distributed throughout the state. Second, meth increasingly is being produced in small laboratories, capable of producing only a few ounces at a time. Mexican groups, who receive their product from the West Coast, control distribution of the drug. These traffickers typically send meth from California through the U.S. mail, via Federal Express, and by courier. Meth-related emergency room mentions in Minneapolis-St. Paul reported by Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) increased from 112 in 1999 to 153 in 2000, an increase of 36 percent.

Club Drugs:Club drugs, including MDMA (Ecstasy), Ketamine, GHB, GBL, Rohypnol, LSD, PCP, methamphetamine, nubain, and, to a lesser extent, psilocybin mushrooms, have been reported in Minnesota. Club drugs are most prevalent in Minneapolis' gay population, and to a lesser extent, among young people at raves and nightclubs in suburban areas. Prior to its placement in Schedule I in February 2000, Minnesota placed state controls on the possession of GHB. Ketamine ("Special K") use first appeared in Minnesota in 1997 among adolescents and young adults. Public awareness of the growing prevalence and dangers of club drug use has been heightened by several recent incidents: five deaths involving MDMA, the meth-related death of a teenager, several large law enforcement cases involving GBL, and a police-related incident involving a youth on LSD. You may or may not want to mention that even more so than with the young college kids.

Marijuana: Marijuana remains the most commonly used and readily available drug
in Minnesota according to public health officials. The importation of bulk marijuana shipments into the state of Minnesota is controlled by Mexican drug trafficking organizations. Hispanic street gangs are the major distributors of marijuana at the retail level. Marijuana is readily available from local cultivators in addition to the supplies emanating from the Southwest Border. In 2002, 5,427 cultivated plants were seized from 15 indoor grow operations, and 1,238 cultivated plants were eradicated from 16 outdoor plots. Last year over 3 million ditchweed plants were eradicated. According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network, the number of marijuana-related hospital emergency department mentions in Minneapolis increased 200 percent between 1994 and 2001. The DAWN marijuana emergency department mentions increased from 803 in 2000 to 1200 in 2001, an increase of nearly 50 percent in one year.

Other Drugs: The use of diverted controlled substances in Minnesota continues to be a problem. The most commonly diverted controlled substances from the licit market are nubain, dilaudid, ritalin, vicodin (hydrocodone), oxycontin, codeine combination products, the benzodiazepines, and the anorectic drugs phentermine and phendimetrazie. Nubain is a prescription narcotic that has recently emerged in the Minneapolis area. This narcotic is being used by body builders who mistakenly believe it acts as a steroid. Four deaths have occurred in the Minneapolis area as a result of nubain being taken with MDMA, and OxyContin being mixed with cocaine. According to local addicts, Klonopin is more readily available than in the past from illegal sources and prescriptions are easily obtained from some doctors. In rural Minnesota it has also appeared under its international, non-United States trade name, "Rivotril," which suggests its importation from foreign sources. Flunitrazepam, trade name "Rohypnol," is a long-acting benzodiapine that is typically combined with alcohol or other drugs to produce incapacitation and memory loss similar to an alcohol-induced blackout. Minnesota law enforcement agencies encountered only small amounts of the drug. Its use as a "date rape" drug is not widespread in Minnesota.