...a path through the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands?
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National Drug Intelligence Center
Northern Mariana Islands Drug Threat Assessment
October 2003
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Marijuana is the most widely abused illicit drug in the CNMI; however, the abuse of crystal methamphetamine increased dramatically during the last decade. Nearly all of the recent drug investigations conducted in the Pacific Islands involved the distribution of crystal methamphetamine. Most of the crystal methamphetamine smuggled into the CNMI is produced in Asian source areas; however, law enforcement investigations have revealed ties to crystal methamphetamine distributors in California.
Other drugs also are available in the CNMI. Heroin and cocaine are available, although abuse is minimal. Authorities recently revealed that smugglers brought cocaine to the CNMI and distributed free samples of the drug in a failed attempt to establish a market. Law enforcement agencies reported only one LSD investigation in the CNMI during 1999. They increasingly note the abuse of common household products being used as inhalants by young people in the CNMI.
Law enforcement authorities are concerned about an increase in violence linked to illicit drugs, especially crystal methamphetamine. Drug distribution and abuse have precipitated an increase in the commission of crimes including assault, burglary, robbery, extortion, and murder. In 2000 the Department of Public Safety on Saipan recorded 13 drug-related arrests and 83 offenses in which drugs were involved.
Intelligence Gaps in Drug Abuse Data
Intelligence gaps concerning the threat of illegal drugs in the CNMI are numerous and wide-ranging. The government of the CNMI lacks the resources necessary to track trends in drug trafficking and abuse and indicates that the picture of the drug situation in the CNMI is incomplete. Most national data sets, including the Treatment Episode Data Set, the Drug Abuse Warning Network, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, and the Monitoring the Future study, do not include the CNMI in their data collection, and other studies give the commonwealth only cursory mention, making quantification of the drug threat difficult.
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http://www.justice.gov/ndic/pubs5/5047/overview.htm