Highlights
The Pulse Check is a report of national trends in illicit drug abuse and drug markets issued by the Office of National Drug Control Policy. The Pulse Check draws on conversations with ethnographers and epidemiologists working in the drug field, law enforcement agents, and drug treatment providers across the country. Below are highlights of this issue of the Pulse Check:
Heroin
- Sources in most areas report that the market for heroin is up or stable, although some report that its rate of growth seems to be slowing. Availability of heroin is high, though purity varies from region to region. Street level purchases are generally in 1/8th to 1/10th gram units that cost between $10 and $25.
- Most heroin users are the traditional group of older, long-term addicts. However, many sources (Bridgeport, New York, Denver, Chicago, Trenton San Antonio, San Diego, and Newark) report an increasing number of young users. These young users are primarily from inner city areas, and they may be using heroin because they feel it is more manageable than crack.
- "Double-breasted dealing" -- dealing both heroin and cocaine -- continues in many areas. In some, it is conducted by organized "crews" of young distributors who deliver relatively small purchase amounts to both inner city and suburban buyers. These crews of distributors have developed more efficient routes of distribution than heroin dealers of the past, and they often use beepers to communicate.
- Sources report that more users are injecting, rather than inhaling heroin, even in areas where high purity heroin is available. This could show that users have become habituated through inhalation, and have switched to injection, which is more efficient. Alternatively, it could mean that more users start out injecting when they initiate use. Sources note that users are less scared that injection drug use will lead to HIV infection.
Cocaine
- The market for cocaine is generally stable, though some sources say
that cocaine powder availability is low, while the availability of crack
is stable everywhere. Prices range from $50-$150/gram for cocaine powder
and from $3-$40/rock or vial of crack. Purity is described as "good"
to "fair" at the street level.
- The popularity of both forms of the drug is down, particularly among
young users who disdain crack as a "ghetto drug" or find it unmanageable.
- Innovative methods of cocaine use have been reported by several sources.
Some users have started to combine cocaine powder or crack with heroin
in a "speedball"; some have started to cook their own crack from
cocaine powder; and some dissolve crack into a liquid to inject it.
- Only sources in Birmingham report that cocaine use is rising. While
previously it had only been popular in the inner city areas, it is now
more popular in the suburbs.
- Treatment providers in all areas except the West and Southwest continue to report that cocaine is the most commonly cited drug of abuse among their clients. The majority of cocaine treatment clients smoke crack and are likely to be older, poly-drug users.
Marijuana
- Several varieties of marijuana are available in most areas, and prices are within reach of teens and young adults. Marijuana continues to be highly popular with a wide variety of users, particularly young users.
- Marijuana is typically used with alcohol, hallucinogens, cocaine, or sometimes methamphetamine. In Miami, marijuana and cocaine are rolled into cigarettes called "lace," and in Texas and San Diego, it is combined with crack and called a "primo."
- The percentage of clients entering treatment with marijuana as the primary drug of abuse rose slightly. Marijuana treatment clients are predominantly white, and a quarter to a third of them is less than 20 years of age. The majority of marijuana treatment clients have problems with alcohol abuse, but have had no prior treatment experience.
Emerging Drugs
- Methamphetamine continues to be a problem in the West and parts of
the South. With lowered prices, methamphetamine may be a substitute for
cocaine, but it also has a strong independent following. It is the primary
problem of clients entering treatment in many areas of the Southwest and
West.
- "Club drugs" (e.g., MDMA, Ketamine, GHB, LSD, and illegally used prescription drugs) are part of the drug scene in most areas. While the mix of club drugs varies between regions, "cafeteria use" -- the use of a number of hallucinogenic and sedative/hypnotic club drugs -- is reported almost everywhere. Many treatment providers report that teens and young adults enter treatment with a number of these drugs and alcohol, rather than a single drug, as their primary problem.
