OTHER DRUGS OF CONCERN⁺

This round of Pulse Check discussions focused on the illicit or illicitly used drugs described in the previous chapters: heroin, crack cocaine, powder cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, diverted synthetic opioids, and ecstasy. During the course of these discussions, however, sources sometimes mentioned other drugs of concern in their communities.

BENZODIAZEPINES

• Benzodiazepines are mentioned as an emerging drug problem in Boston^E. Alprazolam (Xanax®) and clonazepam (Klonopin®), in particular, are widely abused in Boston methadone programs.
• Benzodiazepines are considered the drugs with the most serious consequences by methadone treatment sources in Baltimore, Honolulu (where they have replaced heroin since the last reporting period), Memphis, and Miami.
• In general, alprazolam is the most frequently mentioned benzodiazepine.
• Benzodiazepine use has increased in Memphis^E, especially among White adult females in rural areas. Dealers are reported as older and more rural than in the past. Alprazolam is particularly common among methadone clients.
• Benzodiazepine abuse has increased somewhat among methadone treatment clients in St. Louis.
• High school students in Miami are increasingly abusing alprazolam, sometimes with ecstasy, sometimes by itself.

CLONIDINE (Catapres®)

• Abuse of clonidine, often prescribed for high blood pressure, is mentioned as an emerging drug problem in Baltimore^M.
• The drug is sold on the streets in New York.

DEXTROMETHORPHAN (DXM)

• Dextromethorphan abuse is reported as an emerging problem in Denver.
• Treatment clients in Sioux Falls^N are increasingly abusing over-the-counter preparations containing DXM, taking 15 or more pills at a time.
• Abuse of such over-the-counter preparations has also increased somewhat in Detroit.

FLUNITRAZEPAM (Rohypnol®, or “roches”)

• Once commonly referred to as “the date rape drug” in many States, epidemiologic, legislative, and law enforcement efforts have paid off. The only Pulse Check sources to mention the drug as an ongoing problem are in El Paso, where it accounts for substantial percentages of treatment admissions.
• In El Paso, the drug continues to be involved in prostitution, gangrelated activity, violent and nonviolent crime, domestic violence, and drug rape.
• The El Paso epidemiologic source notes two changes: users are now selling their product; and, with the aging of the population, more adults older than 30 are involved in sales and use.

GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate)

• GHB is mentioned as an emerging problem in Denver and Los Angeles.
• The drug is reported as widely available in Denver^E, Los Angeles^L, Miami^L, and New Orleans^L. Availability has increased in Los Angeles^L,E, Memphis^L, and Sioux Falls^L. It has declined in Miami^E and St. Louis^L,E.
• Almost anyone can produce GHB because precursors and recipes are available on the Internet.
• Like ecstasy, it is often associated with the club or rave scene.
• GHB sellers tend to be young adults who operate independently and are somewhat likely to use their own drug.
• Some epidemiologic/ethnographic sources note GHB sellers’ involvement in different types of crime: drug rape (in Los Angeles, Memphis, St. Louis, and Sioux Falls), other violent crimes (in Memphis, New Orleans, and Washington, DC), nonviolent crimes (in Detroit, Memphis, and Sioux Falls), domestic violence (in Memphis), and gang-related activity (in Memphis and New Orleans).

What are some street prices of other drugs of concern?

Drug	City	Most common unit sold	Price
GHB	Chicago, ILL	Dosage unit	$5
	Denver, COE	Capful (5 ml)	$5–$20
	Los Angeles, CAL	Capful	$20
	Miami, FLL	Dosage unit	$10
	New Orleans, LAL	Dosage unit	$5–$20
	St. Louis, MOE	Capful 1 oz	$5 $40
	Seattle, WAL	100 dosage units	$100
Ketamine	Boston, MAL	Bottle (1 oz)	$50
	Columbia, SCL	Vial (1/2 oz)	$125
	Philadelphia, PAL	Vial	$10–$20
Rohypnol	El Paso, TXL	Pill (2 mg)	$2
LSD	Philadelphia, PAL	Tab	$3–$5
	Seattle, WAL	Dose	$5
PCP	Honolulu, HIE	1/4 g	$10–$20
	Philadelphia, PAE	Liquid or leaves	$5
	St. Louis, MOE	Fluid oz	$350
	Washington, DCL	1 oz “love boat” (marijuana = 700–800 mg PCP)	$350–$500 $40

KETAMINE (“special K”)

• Ketamine is reported as an emerging or intensifying drug problem during this period in Denver, El Paso, New Orleans, and Sioux Falls. It is increasingly available in Memphis.
• The drug is sometimes associated with the club or rave scene.
• Like GHB sellers, ketamine sellers tend to be young adults who operate independently and are somewhat likely to use their own drug.
• Ketamine is sometimes stolen from veterinarian offices, as reported in New Orleans^L.

KHAT

• A natural stimulant from the Catha Edulis plant, khat is found in a flowering evergreen tree or large shrub from East Africa and Southern Arabia. Its leaves contain psychoactive ingredients structurally and chemically similar to d-amphetamine.
• Khat leaves are widely available in Boston, and availability continues to increase with the continued growth in east African populations who abuse the substance.

LSD (lysergic acid diathylamide)

• No sources report LSD as widely available.
• One source (Miami^E) notes that a supply is no longer seen because people don’t seek out the drug.

PCP (phencyclidine hydrochloride)

• PCP is reported as an emerging problem in Philadelphia and Washington, DC.
• Availability is up in Baltimore, particularly in more rural areas, where the drug is sometimes mixed with crack.

SILDENAFIL (Viagra®)

• Many counterfeit pharmaceutical tablets, particularly sildenafil, continue to be illegally distributed over the Internet. Many of these products contain adulterants.
• In Miami, sildenafil continues to be used together with ecstasy (a combination known as “sextasy” and a practice called “hammerheading”) or with methamphetamine (“tina”).

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⁺ The following symbols appear throughout these Highlights to indicate type of respondent: ^LLaw enforcement respondent, ^EEpidemiologic/ethnographic respondent, ^NNon-methadone treatment respondent, and ^MMethadone treatment respondent.