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Alaska Drug Alcohol Addiction Recovery and Treatment Programs and Centers
Because Alaska is located far from the rest of the United States and shares the border with Canada, it is both a transshipment state and a consumer state for drugs. In Alaska, cocaine continues to be imported into the state and is easily accessible. Despite the fact that methamphetamine lab seizures have decreased, methamphetamine imported into Alaska continues to be accessible. In Alaska, drug trafficking organizations also engage in money laundering by utilizing various strategies to legitimize illegal proceeds. In Alaska, there are several organizations involved in trafficking cocaine. Crack cocaine also continues to be a problem in the state of Alaska with many distributors selling cocaine and crack. To obtain cocaine, these organizations purchase from the lower 48 states. Because of Alaska’s remote geographical location, these organizations have the ability to resell cocaine in the state at grossly inflated prices. In Alaska, heroin continues to be accessible. Many different organizations import and sell heroin to various users. In Alaska, different forms of heroin are available, including Mexican, Colombian, and Southeast Asian. Alaska has two types of methamphetamine; locally manufactured methamphetamine, produced in clandestine methamphetamine labs; and methamphetamine that is imported into the state. Following the national trends, clandestine lab-related incidents in Alaska have decreased, particularly when compared to prior years. A main cause was the legislation targeted at keeping precursor chemicals from being so easily accessible, resulting in an 87 percent decline in the amount of clandestine lab-related incidents occurring over the past three years. Still, methamphetamine continues to be accessible because it is frequently shipped through the parcel service. In Alaska, drug trafficking organizations obtain most of their methamphetamine for sale from sources in the lower 48 states.
MDMA (street name Ecstasy) is accessible in Alaska. Drug trafficking organizations distributing cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana are obtaining small quantities of MDMA for sale purposes. LSD and GHB are also accessible in Alaska on a limited scale. Marijuana is the most abused and easily accessible drug in Alaska. In 2006, Alaska governor, Frank Murkowski signed HB149 re-criminalizing marijuana use and possession. In Alaska, nearly all of the marijuana grown is harvested via indoor operations. In the Anchorage area, marijuana cultivated in British Columbia, Canada remains accessible. In Alaska, the main methods of diversion of legitimate pharmaceuticals remains illicit prescriptions by physicians, illegal distribution by pharmacists, prescription forgery, doctor shopping, and prescription drug thefts from pharmacies, nursing homes, and hospitals. Pharmacy burglaries are also detected in Alaska. Diversion Investigators are also investigating pharmaceuticals that have been bought over the Internet without a physician’s prescription. Oxycodone (OxyContin, Percocet, and Percodan), hydrocodone (Vicodin and Lortab) and anabolic steroids abuse and shipment remain a concern. In response to the surging issue of drug-related violent crime in areas across the nation, the DEA Mobile Enforcement Teams (MET) was implemented in 1995. MET is a cooperative program with state and local law enforcement counterparts. Since the birth of the MET Program, 473 deployments have been completed nationwide, causing 19,643 arrests. In Alaska, there have been no MET deployments.
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