Illinois, specifically in the Chicago area, is the focal point for the flow of illicit drugs into the Great Lakes Region. Chicago is the major hub for the delivery and transshipment of drugs throughout the Great Lakes Region and the Midwest. Three major types of trafficking groups are responsible for most of the drugs. Mexican polydrug organizations, Colombian drug organizations trafficking in cocaine and heroin, and Nigerian groups trafficking in Southeast Asian heroin are the major transporters and wholesale distributors of drugs in Chicago. The most common means traffickers use to transport drugs into Chicago are commercial trucks, passenger vehicles, package delivery services, air packages or couriers, and railways. Organized street gangs such as the Gangster Disciples, Vice Lords, and Latin Kings control the distribution and retail sale of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana. Violent crime associated with street gangs, while declining in some major urban areas, is increasing in suburban and rural areas of the State as these gangs expand their drug markets. The nature of the drug threat in Illinois varies by region. The primary drug threats in the Northern and Central Districts and in the urban areas of the Southern District are the availability of powdered cocaine and the distribution and abuse of crack cocaine. Illinois treatment admissions for cocaine abuse more than doubled between 1990 and 1997 and have stabilized at a high level. Crack cocaine abuse by Hispanics, females, and youth is increasing. The increasing availability of high purity heroin and the number of new users represent a secondary threat, particularly in the Chicago areas. Marijuana remains the most readily available and most abused drug. Methamphetamine production and abuse are expanding from States that border Illinois, such as Missouri, Iowa, and Indiana, into rural areas. Other dangerous drugs, such as MDMA, ketamine, and GHB, are becoming increasingly popular, particularly among young people in urban areas and in college towns. Appendix