Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem says drugs are a growing problem in North Dakota – especially in the oil patch.
Stenehjem told the Legislature’s interim Judiciary Committee – the number of drug arrests nearly doubled between 2009 and 2013 – and will likely be up at least another 20 percent in 2014.
"Illicit drugs are coming in directly from Mexico," Stenehejem told the committee. "They're coming in enormous quantities. And they're coming in with people who bring them right in from the cartels. Increasingly, they are armed and dangerous individuals."
Stenehjem says very little of it is "home cooked" meth.
"The meth lab busts are down by about 97 percent," said Stenehjem. "In exchange for that, what we got is the current situation with the cartels. That's a concern."
Stenehjem says local, state and federal law enforcement are coordinating their efforts to fight the importation of meth and other drugs. He says he will probably be asking the 2015 Legislature for more resources to combat the drugs.
Meanwhile, Stenehjem says statistics from the 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Survey show young people in North Dakota are using less alcohol and tobacco then they have been.
Stenehjem told the Legislature’s interim Judiciary Committee the rates among middle and high school students who binge drink, drive after drinking or get into a car with someone else who had been drinking have dropped significantly.
"It wasn't that long ago, when it came to binge drinking, and young people would get into a car with someone who had too much to drink, or those kinds of things -- we were at the top of the nation," said Stenehjem. "We were the worst. Now we're seeing that trending down. That means -- this is no time to let up."
The study also showed marijuana use by young people has remained steady – but there was a slight increase in youth who misuse prescription drugs.
