Throughout Georgia, cocaine and crack cocaine remain among the most widely available drugs. Generally, large quantities of powder cocaine are transported into Georgia. Thereafter, it converted into crack by the local wholesaler or retailer. In certain areas of Georgia, the abuse of heroin seems to be rising.

The most frequently abused drug in Georgia is marijuana. It is easily accessible throughout the state. The most common sources of marijuana that are imported and distributed in Georgia derived from the Mexico and the southwest border. Secret laboratories involved in meth production have decreased in Georgia. This has been happening since 2005, when legislation was enacted to limit the sale of over-the-counter products containing pseudoephedrine, a key chemical used in producing methamphetamine.

In Georgia, MDMA, GHB and ketamine remain popular and stay consistently available in and around young people and in areas such as gyms and college campuses. Pharmaceuticals are commonly available, with Xanax (alprazolam), Valium (diazepam), Dilaudid (hydromorphone), Demerol (meperidine), and Percodan (oxycodone) being the most popular. In Georgia, the problem of the diversion of hydrocodone products (such as Vicodin), OxyContin and pseudoephedrine remain.

Per 2004-2005 data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 195,000 Georgia citizens cited illegal drug abuse or dependence in the past year. Further, 39 percent of Georgia high school students admitted to trying marijuana at least once; 15 percent of Georgia 12th graders admitted to using cocaine at least once.

There are 3 Regional Drug Enforcement Offices and 13 multi-jurisdictional task forces that comprise the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) Drug Enforcement Investigative Division. There were 30,854 full-time law enforcement personnel in Georgia as of October 2006. This included 22,162 officers and 8,692 civilians.

A surge of undocumented immigrants from Mexico has contributed to the Hispanic population growth. Based on current intelligence, the Mexican immigrant community has increased and so has the presence of Mexican traffickers. In 2006, in Georgia, Federal agencies seized more than 1,100 kilograms of cocaine. The DEA and state and local authorities reported 156 meth lab incidents in Georgia. In addition, as part of the DEA's Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program more than 66,000 marijuana plants were destroyed in Georgia.

Indicating Georgia’s problem with drugs, statistics on October 30, 2007 show that there were 227,510 offenders within the Georgia Department of Corrections; 150,463 were probationers; 54,565 were prisoners; and 22,482 were parolees. Data on October 3, 2007, indicate that 18 percent of the Georgia inmates’ primary offenses were drug offenses.