The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has worked to bring down drug trafficking and eliminate drug crime in the United States. The key to this massive undertaking is to eliminate the problem at the source by targeting things like drug labs. The team at Joslyn Law Firm studied drug lab raids specifically to pinpoint on a map the cities that have had the highest number of raids. They used ten years of data to determine the highest concentration of raids.
These were the top ten cities:
- Kalamazoo, MI
- Akron, OH
- Milton, FL
- Houston, TX
- Port Huron, MI
- Jackson, MI
- Christianburg, VA
- Flint, MI
- Battle Creek, MI
- Rockingham, NC
They also used the data to determine which states had the most raids:
- Michigan
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Illinois
- California
- Pennsylvania
- Florida
- South Carolina
- Kentucky
- New York
There are things we can learn from these numbers. For example, Michigan has the highest number of raids, and authorities know there is a long history of drug activity in this state. As for why, check Michigan’s border. Canada is to the north and the border cuts through multiple Great Lakes. The lake borders make it easier for traffickers to bring drugs in and out of the country. There’s a lot of economic strain in Michigan with fewer job opportunities and unfortunately, more people turn to drug use and sales in these conditions. Finally, Michigan produces a lot of the chemicals used in making drugs, so it’s easier for the labs to buy material used to make their product.
Ohio has drug problems for similar reasons. Akron specifically is a major hub of fentanyl creation, a dangerous drug used to increase potency. Stopping the drug trade is a major undertaking but data can help get the job done.
