Ohio Laws and Programs

[Page 610]Ohio's largely rural nature and border with Canada as well as the presence of several interstate highways connecting major cities with the Canadian border facilitate drug production and trafficking. Several types of criminal organization are involved. Mexican criminal groups are the primary transporters and wholesale distributors of multi-kilogram quantities of powder cocaine. Heroin from South America is distributed in Ohio primarily by Dominican groups, Mexican black tar heroin is brought into the state by Mexican groups, and retail distribution is controlled by African American, Dominican, and Mexican criminal groups. Marijuana is grown locally (often using hydroponic methods, which produce a high THC content) as well as being brought into the state from the southwestern United States by Mexican gangs. Methamphetamine is supplied primarily by ...