Arizona Laws and Programs

Types of Drugs Used in Arizona

Cocaine is widely available in Arizona and in larger cities and some small communities crack is also available. Heroin availability, most commonly Mexican black tar heroin, continues to increase, although currently it is the least common drug of abuse in Arizona. Both domestic and Mexican-produced marijuana is widely available (the Drug Enforcement Administration seized over 82,000 cultivated marijuana plants from 46 outdoor and 13 indoor operations in 2006) and it is considered the most widely used illegal drug in the state. Methamphetamine found in Arizona is primarily produced in Mexico, as shown in decreasing meth lab incidents (119 in 2003 versus only 8 in 2007).

However, as in many other states, the move away from large home-based methamphetamine labs to mobile “shake-and-bake” labs that produce small quantities of methamphetamine may make this apparent decrease in production misleading. Nevertheless, Mexico is a primary supplier of methamphetamine in Arizona. Diversion of prescription drugs, most commonly oxycodone and hydrocodone, is also a problem.

[Page 69]In 2005–06 over 8 percent of Arizona residents age 12 and older reported using an illegal drug in the previous month, with marijuana use the most common (5.18 percent). About 9 percent reported using marijuana in the past year and 5.65 percent reported using a pain reliever for non-medical use in the past year. In 2006 over half of 12th graders in Arizona reported illicit drug use during their lifetime: the most common drugs were marijuana (42.6 percent), prescription drugs (20.0 percent), sedatives (17.4 percent), and inhalants (9.8 percent).

In 2006 a total of 24,145 adults and 5,225 juveniles were arrested for drug offenses in Arizona (out of a population of about 6.5 million). Marijuana was by far the most common drug for adults with 13,202 arrests for possession and 1,162 arrests for sale. It was also the most common drug for juveniles with 3,565 arrests for possession and 4,692 for sale. The second most common drug category for adults was other dangerous non-narcotics (6,526 for possession, 830 for sale or manufacturing) while 731 juveniles were arrested for possession and 46 for sale or manufacturing of other dangerous non-narcotics. That year 4,225 adults were also arrested for possession of synthetic narcotics (drugs similar to narcotics but produced in the laboratory, such as meperidine, fentanyl, and butorphanol) as were 726 for sale or manufacturing and 233 juveniles for possession and 46 for sale or manufacturing.

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