Letter to Director Carroll, Office of National Drug Control Policy - Harder Pushes for More Funding to Fight Drug Trafficking in Central Valley

Letter

Director Carroll,

Thank you for your leadership overseeing the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). I appreciate the opportunity to work together to support law enforcement agencies in their fight against drug trafficking. I write today to advocate for funding for the Central Valley California (CVC) High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) that is consistent with our demonstrated needs and brings it closer to the funding levels of other HIDTA regions throughout the country.

The CVC HIDTA is at the center of illicit drug production and sees a high level of drug shipments moving through the region. While HIDTA funds are used statewide, the need for increased federal funds in the Central Valley is particularly acute, as this area faces some of the most serious drug threats in the state and has become a methamphetamine distribution hub for major drug trafficking organizations. In Fiscal Year 2019, the CVC HIDTA received the third-lowest base funding and the fourth-lowest total funding of all twenty-nine HIDTA regions throughout the country despite being one of the most popular methamphetamine (meth) transportation hubs across the state with a 237 percent rise in meth-related fatalities.

These funds provide essential equipment, training, intelligence analysts, and services needed to successfully tackle drug trafficking. Since the establishment of the CVC HIDTA in 1999, meth remains the most significant drug threat to the region with the volume of meth seized averaging 2,700 pounds annually. Dismantling as many of these drug trafficking organizations as possible requires robust funding for CVC HIDTA.

Heroin is another long-term concern for the Central Valley region. The CVC HIDTA team are facing growing amounts of heroin in the area seizing more than 135 pounds of heroin in 2018 -- a 21 percent increase from the previous year. This comes at a time when we expect a surge in cocaine trafficking and abuse in the region, which will require additional funding to address emerging areas of concern.

Given the immense work and coordination needed for the CVC HIDTA, it is critical that the region receives significant focus and funding that provides the Central Valley HIDTA more parity with the rest of the HIDTA regions throughout the country. I look forward to your response and how ONDCP plans to coordinate with the CVC HIDTA.

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