State
Facts
Population: 2,688,418
Law
Enforcement Officers: 7,061
State Prison Population:
8,544
Probation Population: 17,767
Violent Crime Rate
National Ranking:
26 |
2001
Federal Drug Seizures
Cocaine: 305.5 kgs.
Heroin: 1.7 kgs.
Methamphetamine:
17.5 kgs.
Marijuana: 2,539.4 kgs.
Clandestine
Laboratories: 819 (DEA, state, and
local) |
Top 7 cities in KansasShawnee
Lawrence
Olathe
Topeka
Kansas City
Overland Park
Wichita
The production, distribution,
and abuse of illicit drugs pose a serious threat to Kansas drug rehab efforts.
Dodge City, Garden City, Liberal, Kansas City, Topeka, and Wichita are drug
distribution centers in the state and also serve as transit areas for drugs
being transported to other states.
  Methamphetamine:
Methamphetamine is a principal
drug threat to Kansas drug rehab center concerns, primarily because of the
drug’s ready availability as well as the violence and environmental harm
that often result from its production and abuse. Methamphetamine produced by
Mexican criminal groups in Mexico, California, and southwestern states is the
predominant type available in Kansas drug rehab center concerns, although the
availability of locally produced methamphetamine is increasing. The number of
methamphetamine laboratories seized in Kansas more than quadrupled from 1998
through 2001, and many law enforcement agencies report that they are witnessing
an adverse environmental impact from the presence of methamphetamine
laboratories. Caucasian local independent producers, who generally use the
Birch reduction method, are the primary in-state methamphetamine producers.
  Cocaine:
Cocaine,
particularly crack, poses a significant drug threat to Kansas drug rehab
program planning largely because of crack’s highly addictive nature and
association with violent crime. Crack cocaine is available primarily in
metropolitan areas, and powdered cocaine is available throughout the state.
 Marijuana:
Marijuana is the most widely
available and frequently abused illicit drug in Kansas. Marijuana abuse is
associated with more drug-related admissions to publicly funded treatment
facilities than any other illicit drug. Most of the marijuana available in the
state is produced in Mexico, although some cannabis is cultivated locally.
Other dangerous drugs pose an increasing threat to Kansas drug rehab efforts.
 Club Drugs:
Other dangerous
drugs include the stimulant MDMA; the depressant GHB and its analogs; the
hallucinogens LSD, PCP, psilocybin, and ketamine; and diverted pharmaceuticals
including opioids (narcotic analgesics) such as codeine, Darvocet, Dilaudid,
hydrocodone (Lortab, Vicodin), methadone, oxycodone (OxyContin, Percocet,
Percodan), and sedative hypnotics (benzodiazepines) such as Valium and Xanax.
Other dangerous drugs are becoming increasingly available in some areas of the
state, especially in cities with colleges or universities. Other dangerous
drugs are sold primarily by Caucasian local independent dealers and are abused
by young adults.
 Heroin:
Heroin poses a low threat to
Kansas addiction treatment requirements. Mexican black tar heroin and brown
powdered heroin are available on a limited basis in metropolitan areas of the
state such as Kansas City and Wichita. Mexican criminal groups are the primary
transporters of heroin to drug markets in Kansas. Kansas drug rehab Population
served(2001) 2,694,641 U.S. population ranking 32nd Median household income
(2001) $41,415 Unemployment rate (2001) 4.3% Land area 81,815 square miles
Capital Topeka Other principal cities Kansas City, Olathe, Overland Park,
Wichita Number of counties 105 Principal industries Agriculture, aircraft
manufacturing, meatpacking.
Drug-related Kansas drug rehab
admissions to publicly funded facilities increased in Kansas from 1997 through
2001. According to the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), the number of
addiction treatment admissions for most major drug categories—including
methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana—increased overall during that
period. The percentage of Kansas residents who report abusing illicit drugs,
many of which actually need drug rehab programs, is lower than the percentage
nationwide. According to the 1999–2000 National Household Survey on Drug
Abuse (NHSDA), 5.1 percent of individuals in Kansas reported having abused an
illicit drug in the month prior to the survey compared with 6.3 percent of
individuals nationwide. In fiscal year (FY) 2001 the percentage of federal
sentences that were drug-related in Kansas was higher than the national
percentage, and the percentage of federal sentences that were
methamphetamine-related was significantly higher than the percentage
nationwide. According to the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC), drug-related
sentences represented 47 percent of all federal sentences in the state in
FY2001 compared with 41 percent nationally. Almost 35 percent of all
drug-related federal sentences in Kansas were methamphetamine-related compared
with 14 percent nationally.
Violent crime associated with
drug-related activity is a particular concern in Kansas. Criminal groups and
street gangs commit violent crimes in connection with drug debts and
territorial disputes. Many methamphetamine and cocaine abusers commit violent
crimes and property crimes to support their drug addictions and should be
participating in Kansas drug rehab programs to thwart the demand for the drug.
The
financial impact on the Kansas government from substance abuse-related costs is
significant. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia
University reported that in 1998 (the most recent year for which data are
available) Kansas spent in excess of $584 million—approximately $223 per
resident—on substance abuse-related costs including drug rehab and
addiction treatment centers. This figure accounted for 9.4 percent of the
state’s total expenditures. There are countless reasons for an increase in
Kansas drug rehab programs and centers to begin to heal this broken population.
Drugs and Addiction Treatment Centers
Drug Situation: Methamphetamine,
both imported and domestically produced, is a principal drug of concern in the
state of Kansas. Cocaine, particularly crack cocaine, is also readily available
throughout the state, primarily in major urban areas such as Kansas City,
Topeka, and Wichita. In addition, Kansas is a transshipment point for drugs
being transported to the eastern United States via Interstates 35 and 70 from
the southwest border and west coast cities.
Other Drugs: PCP is available
primarily in the Kansas City Metropolitan area. The PCP is delivered via parcel
services from traffickers based in California. DEA Kansas City continues to
coordinate the multi-division investigation of a large LSD laboratory
discovered in Wamego, Kansas, in November 2000. Kansas treatment centers are
reporting that many of their new clients are seeking drug addiction treatment
for OxyContin addiction. Lawrence, Kansas, reports that it is the most abused
pharmaceutical drug in the area and is available for $40 a tablet.
 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 has been one Mobile Enforcement Team (MET)
deployment in the State of Kansas since the inception of the program. The MET
deployment to Topeka, Kansas, resulted in 18 arrests and the seizure of 2.3
pounds of cocaine, 2.7 pounds of crack cocaine, 75.9 pounds of marijuana, .1
pound of Percocet, and 9.8 pounds of methamphetamine. Also seized were 6
weapons, 9 vehicles, and over $108,000 in U.S. currency.
Special Topics: During 2001,
there were 75 Operation Pipeline interdictions reported to EPIC in the state of
Kansas, leading to the seizure of nearly 100 kilograms of cocaine, over 4,500
pounds of marijuana, six kilograms of methamphetamine and nearly $3 million
dollars.
Addiction Treatment Centers Needed:The increased abuse of illegal
drugs and the ever-increasing abuse of prescribed medications leads to an
increase in the number of addicted individuals in the state. Effective
treatment must be available to these individuals so they may become productive
members of their communities and contribute to the welfare of the state.
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