The Threat Assessment consists of a detailed analysis of 16 drug and crime indicators from law enforcement, criminal justice, treatment, medical, education, and social science sources. Based on this analysis, the Washington/Baltimore HIDTA derived three findings: (1) Drug problems in the Baltimore and Washington areas differ substantially. In most cases, Baltimore's problems are larger in scale, and their rate of escalation is increasing more rapidly; (2) Drug trafficking organizations in the Washington/Baltimore area are, for the most part, small, unsophisticated groups of opportunistic entrepreneurs. There is no evidence of large-scale criminal organizations dominating the area drug trade; and (3) Data available to describe drug trends are poor, and available indicators consistently provide an incomplete picture of problems. This document explains each finding by drawing upon data from a variety of indicators. Following this explanation, the report describes several threat levels. Each section of the document contains a conclusion and recommendations for the Washington/Baltimore HIDTA and the region's law enforcement, treatment, judicial, and prevention professionals. The document also includes an analysis of drug-related crime in the region. Figures, endnotes, bibliography