location and multi-faceted transportation infrastructure. Drug trafficking and use in the Chicago area are at very high levels. According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network, Chicago leads the nation in the estimated number of cocaine-, heroin-, and PCP-related hospital emergency room mentions, and was second in the nation in the estimated number of marijuana-related mentions during 2000.

There are three general classes of trafficking groups responsible for the bulk of the drugs distributed in Illinois: Mexican poly-drug trafficking organizations, Colombian cocaine and heroin trafficking organizations, and Nigerian criminal groups trafficking in Southeast and Southwest Asian heroin. Organized Chicago-based street gangs such as the Gangster Disciples, Vice Lords, and Latin Kings control the distribution and retail sale of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana.

Cocaine: Crack cocaine abuse is the most serious drug problem in Illinois, particularly in Chicago and other urban areas. According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network, there were an estimated 14,871 cocaine-related hospital emergency room mentions in Chicago—the highest in the nation—during 2000. Treatment admissions for cocaine abuse more than doubled in Illinois since 1990, according to the Illinois Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse. More than 58 percent of the 879 drug-related deaths in Chicago during 1998 were cocaine-related.

Heroin: Over the past decade, heroin distributors in the Chicago area have established strong links with traffickers from all four source areas—Mexico, South America, Southeast Asia, and Southwest Asia. In effect, these distributors have access to a steady supply of high purity, white heroin at competitive prices from multiple suppliers. The Chicago Police Department rates heroin as the second greatest drug threat in its jurisdiction, due to increased sales and abuse. According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN, there were an estimated 12,564 heroin-related hospital emergency department mentions during 2000, the highest in the nation for a third year in a row. Larger numbers of new suburban users are contributing to the resurgent popularity of heroin. These newer users travel from the suburbs to Chicago’s West Side to purchase the drug. Heroin is only sporadically available in other parts of the state.

Methamphetamine: Chicago remains relatively meth-free. However, Mexico-based poly-drug groupss are attempting to introduce the product for local consumption. Chicago remains an important transshipment point of Canadian pseudoephedrine, which supply “superlabs” in the western United States and Mexico. In central and southern Illinois, outlaw motorcycle gangs participate in manufacture, transportation, and distribution of methamphetamine.

Club Drugs: The popularity of club drugs has increased in large part due to their hallucinogenic and stimulating effects that purportedly enhance the rave experience. Law enforcement sources in urban areas and in college towns located in the Northern and Central Districts report an increase in the abuse of these drugs. MDMA is smuggled from the Netherlands, via the Israelis and/or Russians, to Chicago, where it is distributed to Polish, Eastern Europeans, Israelis and Russians for street-level distribution. During the past year, the DEA and the U.S. Customs Service seized over 250,000 pills originating from Amsterdam destined for Chicago. Three overdose deaths in the towns of Naperville, Lisle, and McHenry, Illinois, in May 2000 were caused by an MDMA analog known as PMA. It was revealed that the pills that caused the deaths in Illinois were manufactured in clandestine laboratories in Poland, and were related to other PMA overdose deaths in North America, Australia, and several European countries. Ketamine is growing in popularity as a club drug, and its use is spreading from major metropolitan areas to smaller towns. Currently, the availability of Rohypnol is limited in the Chicago area. LSD and PCP are available in Chicago and throughout the state.

Marijuana: Marijuana remains the most widely available and abused drug in Illinois. According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network, Chicago trailed only Los Angeles in the estimated number of marijuana hospital emergency room mentions during 2000. Marijuana abuse spans a wide spectrum of age, racial, and socioeconomic groups. Marijuana seizures at all levels of law enforcement have increased over the past ten years. Commercial-grade marijuana produced in Mexico is the most widely available type in Illinois. Despite a limited growing season, the fertile soil and large, sparsely populated rural areas of Illinois attract cannabis growers.

Other Drugs: The diversion of legitimate pharmaceuticals is a significant problem in Illinois. Ritalin, a controversial drug prescribed for attention deficit disorder in children, may be gaining popularity as a recreational drug for teenagers. A central Illinois sheriff’s department reports that children with prescriptions for Ritalin are selling the drug to other children in school. The most commonly diverted pharmaceutical drugs continue to be those containing hydrocordone, alprazolam, and phentermine. There has been a notable rise in the number of reported incidents of diversion of pseudoephedrine and, as a result, the number of investigations in this area is on the rise. In early 2001, officials in Illinois’ Lake County linked two overdose deaths to OxyContin, a prescription painkiller that has become widely abused as a substitute for heroin in several eastern states since its introduction in 1996. In late March 2001, a federal grand jury indicted a downstate Illinois physician on charges of illegally obtaining OxyContin, Illinois’ first known case involving physician abuse of the drug.

DEA Mobile Enforcement Teams: This cooperative program with state and local law enforcement counterparts was conceived in 1995 in response to the overwhelming problem of drug-related violent crime in towns and cities across the nation. There have been 359 deployments completed resulting in over 14,456 arrests of violent drug criminals as of April 1, 2002. There are currently fourteen drug courts in existence in Illinois. One additional court is planned for the end of this year if funding remains available. The state drug courts are administered by the State’s Attorneys Office. The Illinois General Assembly has recently established the Drug Court system in state statute.