Terrorism and Gangs

Via Oxblog, I see a Washington Times article on al-Qaeda's attempts to build ties with organized crime. By coincidence, this same issue arose in William Olson lecture here at UW Monday, so I'm inclined to take it seriously. One issue I haven't heard discussed, however, is how this will affect the application of police powers designed for use in terror-related cases. If a kid buys marijuana from a gang engaged in trafficking terrorists, could he be viewed as someone linked to a terror-related group? These issues are far off my expertise, but I'd like to know more.