Add North Florida to the list of high density drug trafficking areas next to South Florida, Texas and Southern California. In a drug supply and demand briefing Tuesday at City Hall, State Sen. Jim King and a panel of professionals from state and local agencies discussed the current drug situation.
“We have been deemed as one of the hot spots in the United States for supply, demand and addiction,” said King before an audience of about 100.
Last January, the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy declared North Florida a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, encompassing Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam, St. Johns and Marion counties. With 6,007 square miles, 140 miles of coastline, three interstate highways, two seaports, one international airport and countless inconspicuous private air strips, the NFHIDTA has the infrastructure and land conducive to drug smuggling.
“Jacksonville is a major metropolitan center but it has a lot of rural area, which is exactly what drug traffickers need to operate,” said Ed Williams, director of the NFHIDTA. “It also has a major metropolitan base with a demand for drugs.”
Williams identified drugs in order of threat priority beginning with cocaine, which accounts for the highest number of drug-related deaths. Marijuana claims second priority and is identified as North Florida’s drug of choice. Club drug MDMA (Ecstasy) is on the rise and is replacing cocaine and LSD as a popular party stimulant. Florida leads the nation in the number of MDMA tablets seized. Deaths from the prescription pain killer OxyContin rose 14 percent from 1999 to 2000 and related prescription fraud is also on the rise. While street availability of heroin rose slightly last year, demand is limited due, in part, to its price of around $300 per gram. Methamphetamines represented NFHIDTA’s lowest threat priority.
From 1998 to 2000, MDMA submissions to the Jacksonville Regional Crime Laboratory increased 287 percent with marijuana up 72 percent and cocaine marking a five percent decline. Morphine topped the list with a 600 percent increase.
Although firm numbers are difficult to gauge, Williams estimated that about 83 organizations are actively trafficking in the area. He also predicted an increase in club drugs, indoor cultivation of marijuana and Internet marketing of drugs.
Jacksonville Sheriff Nat Glover offered his assessment of the situation.
“I see it like trying to empty a bathtub with a tea cup and the tap on,” he said of the influx of drugs to the area. “We’re just trying to get that tap off.”
Despite the efforts of government, businesses and others to stop the supply and manufacture of drugs in the United States, demand still drives the market. Private and other non-profit groups offer drug assistance and intervention programs. Duval County public schools offer dozens of substance abuse and prevention programs aimed at keeping children off drugs. Although drug use in children grades 6 through 12 declined in various degrees in the late 1990s, 2000 saw sharp increases in several areas.
In 1999, the number of children who reported use of an over-the-counter drug within the last 30 days was 19.8 percent. In 2000 it shot up to 43.7 percent. Alcohol and marijuana also saw similar increases.
While money continues to be poured into agencies to counter drug trafficking and programs to stress prevention, the panel’s general outlook was that of a long, hard road ahead.
“I hate to be negative,” said Laura Starrett, director of special prosecutions for the State Attorney’s Office. “But the problem is just so massive.”