Cocaine: Cocaine continues to be readily available throughout New Hampshire. Although kilogram quantities of the drug are available, presently cocaine powder and crack are usually encountered in smaller, retail quantities within the state. Crack cocaine use and distribution is primarily in and around the larger cities of New Hampshire and along the southern border. Dominican narcotics traffickers are currently the principal distributors of cocaine having sources of supply in New York and Lowell/Lawrence, MA. Cocaine availability and prices have remained constant; however an increase in the availability of “crack” cocaine is being reported.

Heroin: Heroin is available in street-level quantities in New Hampshire, supplied primarily by Dominican traffickers with bases of operation in the Lowell/Lawrence, MA areas. The drugs ultimate source center is New York. The State continues to experience increases in heroin availability, particularly along the Seacoast and in the southeast region. Heroin prices on the retail level have declined, attributed to the extremely low cost of heroin in the source areas of Lawrence and Lowell, MA.

Methamphetamine: The State of New Hampshire has experienced a continued growth in availability of Methamphetamine in the past few years, particularly in and around the Seacoast area. Methamphetamine is available throughout the state. Methamphetamine is primarily transported into the state via express mail packages and by common carrier from the West Coast of the United States. Methamphetamine prices have remained stable.

Club Drugs: MDMA usage, particularly among students and in association with the rave environment, is rapidly increasing in the state of New Hampshire. The majority of the MDMA available in the Seacoast area of New Hampshire originates in New York, NY. Some parts of the state are reporting abuse of Coricidin, an over-the-counter cough and cold medicine known to students as Triple C. LSD type hallucinogenic effects are achieved when this medicine is taken in excess dosage. A recent increase in availability of pound-quantities of psilocybin mushrooms has been reported in and around

Marijuana:Marijuana is readily available throughout New Hampshire. Marijuana is the predominant drug of choice in the state. For the past several years, almost all foreign origin marijuana encountered in New Hampshire originated in Mexico with local Caucasian violators traveling weekly or bi-monthly to Arizona and Southern California to obtain 200-300 pound quantities of the drug. The marijuana is usually transported into the state via land vehicle. Marijuana is also being shipped in relatively small quantities (20-50 lb. packages) into the state utilizing U. S. and other mail services. Domestically produced marijuana is also available in New Hampshire, though not as readily in recent years. Because of the rural nature of the state, particularly the northern two thirds, the potential growing areas are limitless and most of the outdoor growers have reduced the size of their plots and increased the variety and scope of their concealment efforts. THC content in excess of 22% has been seen in the state. High potency Canadian grown marijuana is readily available in New Hampshire. This high potency Canadian-grown marijuana’s THC content can range from 15 percent to as much as 25 percent.

Marijuana Legislation:In March 2001, The New Hampshire House of Representatives, by a vote of 223 to 101, rejected a bill that would have legalized marijuana for medical purposes. Modeled after a Hawaii law that allows people to possess and use marijuana to provide relief from illnesses, the bill would have limited patients and their caregivers to a supply of three mature and four immature plants. Doctors would have also been ale to advise patients on the benefits of using marijuana in certain cases. House Bill 653 was introduced in the 2003 session authorizing the production of industrial hemp. If passed, this bill will take effect July, 2003.

Other Drugs: Much of the diversion problem in the State of New Hampshire involves fraudulent prescriptions, dated & duped doctors, mail order pharmaceuticals, illegal & over dispensing, doctor shopping, chemically impaired practitioners, etc. Oxycontin continues to be a pharmaceutical drug of abuse in the state.