Narcotics/Drugs Prosecutions for May 2026
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during May 2026 the government reported 1080 new narcotics/drugs prosecutions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is down 9.4 percent over the previous month.
The comparisons of the number of defendants charged with narcotics/drugs-related offenses are based on case-by-case information obtained by TRAC under the Freedom of Information Act from the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (see Table 1).
When monthly 2026 prosecutions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of filings was down (-17.9%). Prosecutions over the past year are still much lower than they were five years ago. Overall, the data show that prosecutions of this type are down 31.4 percent from levels reported in 2021.
Figure 1. Monthly Trends in Narcotics/Drugs Prosecutions
The decrease from the levels five years ago in narcotics/drugs prosecutions for these matters is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of narcotics/drugs prosecutions of this type recorded on a month-to-month basis. Where a prosecution was initially filed in U.S. Magistrate Court and then transferred to the U.S. District Court, the magistrate filing date was used since this provides an earlier indicator of actual trends. The superimposed line on the bars plots the six-month moving average so that natural fluctuations are smoothed out. The one and five-year rates of change in Table 1 and in the sections that follow are all based upon this six-month moving average. To view trends year-by-year rather than month-by-month, see TRAC's annual report series for a broader picture.
Within the broad category of narcotics/drugs, cases were classified by prosecutors into more specific types.
Case types within narcotics/drugs are
Drug Trafficking
Simple Drug Possession
Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF)
Major Project Triggerlock Prosecutions (OCDETF)
Other Triggerlock Prosecutions (OCDETF)
The largest number of prosecutions of these matters in May 2026 was for "Drugs-Drug Trafficking", accounting for 93.9 percent of prosecutions. Prosecutions were also filed for "Drugs-Organized Crime Task Force" (6.1%). See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for narcotics/drugs prosecutions in May 2026 was DEA accounting for 46 percent of prosecutions referred. Other agencies with substantial numbers of narcotics/drugs referrals were: FBI (18% ), DHS (17%), ATF (10%), Local (5%). See Figure 3.
Narcotics/Drugs Prosecutions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In May 2026, 278 defendants in narcotics/drugs cases for these matters were filed in U.S. Magistrate Courts. These courts handle less serious misdemeanor cases, including what are called "petty offenses." In addition, complaints are sometimes filed in the magistrate courts before an indictment or information is entered. In these cases, the matter starts in the magistrate courts and later moves to the district court where subsequent proceedings take place.
In the magistrate courts in May the most frequently cited lead charge was Title 21 U.S.C Section 841 involving "Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A". This was the lead charge for 54.3 percent of all magistrate filings in May.
Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy" (21.9%), "21 USC 952 - Importation of controlled substances" (18.7%).
Narcotics/Drugs Prosecutions in U.S. District Courts
In May 2026, 802 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during May there were an additional 256 defendants whose cases moved from the magistrate courts to the U.S. district courts after an indictment or information was filed. The sections which follow cover both sets of cases and therefore cover all matters filed in district court during May.
Top Ranked Lead Charges
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the prosecutions of narcotics/drugs matters filed in U.S. District Court during May 2026.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A 671 1 1 1 More 21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy 245 2 2 2 More 21 USC 952 - Importation of controlled substances 86 3 3 3 More 18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts 16 4 5 6 More 18 USC 924 - Firearms; Penalties 8 5 13 14 More 18 USC 1962 - RICO - prohibited activities 6 6 31 26 More 21 USC 963 - Attempt and conspiracy 6 6 7 8 More 18 USC 1791 - Providing or possessing contraband in prison 3 8 14 17 More 18 USC 1956 - Laundering of monetary instruments 3 8 10 10 More 21 USC 843 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts C 3 8 18 11 More Table 2. Top Charges Filed
"Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A" (Title 21 U.S.C Section 841) was the most frequent recorded lead charge. "Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A" (Title 21 U.S.C Section 841) was ranked 1 a year ago, while it was ranked 1 five years ago.
Ranked 2nd in frequency was the lead charge "Attempt and conspiracy" under Title 21 U.S.C Section 846. "Attempt and conspiracy" under Title 21 U.S.C Section 846 was ranked 2 a year ago, while it was ranked 2 five years ago.
Ranked 3rd was "Importation of controlled substances" under Title 21 U.S.C Section 952. "Importation of controlled substances" under Title 21 U.S.C Section 952 was ranked 3 a year ago, while it was ranked 3 five years ago.
Among these top ten lead charges, the one showing the greatest increase in prosecutions — up 121.4 percent — compared to one year ago was Title 18 U.S.C Section 924 that involves " Firearms; Penalties ". This was the same statute that had the largest increase — 376.9 % — when compared with five years ago.
Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest decline in prosecutions compared to one year ago — down 55.9 percent — was " Firearms; Unlawful acts " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 922 ). Compared to five years ago, the most significant decline in prosecutions — 62.7 percent — was for filings where the lead charge was " Importation of controlled substances " (Title 21 U.S.C Section 952 ).
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In May 2026 the Justice Department's case-by-case records show that the government brought 373.3 narcotics/drugs prosecutions for every ten million people in the United States.
Understandably, there is great variation in the per capita number of narcotics/drugs prosecutions that are filed in each of the nation's ninety-four federal judicial districts.
The districts registering the largest number of prosecutions per capita for these matters last month are shown in Table 3. Districts must have at least 5 narcotics/drugs prosecutions to receive a ranking.
Judicial District Percapita Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago W Virg, N 3,738 29 1 36 39 More Vermont 2,406 13 2 46 74 More Cal, S 2,138 62 3 1 1 More Okla, N 1,497 14 4 65 52 More Wisc, E 1,456 42 5 55 69 More Wyoming 1,430 7 6 71 84 More Ken, E 1,379 26 7 19 45 More Mo, E 1,270 31 8 11 20 More Hawaii 1,245 15 9 79 71 More S Dakota 1,053 8 10 40 28 More Table 3. Top 10 Districts (per ten million people)
The Northern District of West Virginia (Wheeling) — with 3738 prosecutions as compared with 373.3 prosecutions per ten million population in the United States — was the most active during May 2026.
The District of Vermont ranked 2nd.
Southern District of California (San Diego) is now ranking 3rd. The Southern District of California (San Diego) was ranked 1 a year ago, while it was ranked 1 for most frequent use five years ago.
Recent entrants to the top 10 list were Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis), now ranked 8th , and Eastern District of Kentucky (Lexington) at 7th In the same order, these districts ranked 11th and 19th one year ago and 20th and 45th five years ago.
The federal judicial district which showed the greatest growth in the rate of narcotics/drugs prosecutions compared to one year ago — 78.3 percent — was Hawaii . Compared to five years ago, the district with the largest growth — 100 percent — was Eastern District of Kentucky (Lexington).
In the last year, the judicial District Court recording the largest drop in the rate of narcotics/drugs prosecutions — 48.3 percent — was Vermont . But over the past five years, Southern District of California (San Diego) showed the largest drop — 68.8 percent.
Top Ranked District Judges
At any one time, there are about 680 federal District Court judges working in the United States. The judges recorded with the largest number of new narcotics/drugs crime cases of this type during May 2026 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago Hendrix, James Wesley Texas, N 30 1 10 13 More Delgado-Colon, Aida M. Puer Rico 26 2 5 20 More Baxter, Susan Paradise Penn, W 15 3 438 199 More Polster, Dan A. Ohio, N 14 4 146 142 More Ramos, Nelva Gonzales Texas, S 12 5 31 51 More Counts, Walter David, III Texas, W 11 6 37 5 More Mansfield, Kenneth J. Hawaii 10 7 - - More England, John H., III Ala, N 8 8 - - More Hall, James Randal Ga, S 8 8 438 163 More Van Tatenhove, Gregory Frederick Ken, E 8 8 192 224 More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
A total of 2 out of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of narcotics/drugs filings per capita, while the remaining 8 judges were from other districts.
Judge James Wesley Hendrix in the Northern District of Texas (Fort Worth) ranked 1st with 30 defendants in narcotics/drugs cases. Judge Hendrix also appeared in the top ten rankings one year ago (ranked 10).
Judge Aida M. Delgado-Colon in the District of Puerto Rico ranked 2nd with 26 defendants in narcotics/drugs cases. Judge Delgado-Colon also appeared in the top ten rankings one year ago (ranked 5).
Judge Susan Paradise Baxter in the Western District of Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh) ranked 3rd with 15 defendants in narcotics/drugs cases.
Report Generated: August 5, 2026
