Highlights

The Pulse Check is a report on the use and distribution of illicit drugs in various areas of the country that is published semi-annually by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). It is based on conversations with drug researchers (i.e., ethnographers, epidemiologists), law enforcement officials (i.e, State police, DEA agents) and substance abuse treatment providers nationwide. Highlights of the current issue are summarized below.

Heroin

• The increased popularity of heroin has reached most regions of the country. High purity heroin is widely available in the urban areas of the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and West. While it is less common in the South, its use is rising in that region also.

• Sources in all areas report the appearance of more new, young users, although the majority of heroin users are still older, established users. Young users are likely to initiate heroin use by snorting the drug, but if they become habituated they switch to injecting.

• In the Southwest Border region it is more common to find low purity Mexican black tar heroin. Thus, most users (including initiates) inject. Some users in this area are finding ways to dissolve the substance and squirt it intra-nasally.

• With the price of heroin low, sources in Bridgeport, Atlanta, and Miami report that crack users are starting to use heroin in addition to crack or they are switching to heroin as their primary drug. In addition, sources report that at-risk youth who may have been likely to try crack in an earlier era are now trying heroin.

• Double-breasting -- joint distribution of heroin and cocaine -- continues to rise. These dealers are usually young, entrepreneurial non-drug users unlike typical heroin dealers who distribute through a network of acquaintances. While they combine distribution of heroin and cocaine, they usually do not sell marijuana, hallucinogens, methamphetamine or any other drugs.

Cocaine

• Crack use is stable though it remains the dominant drug in most markets. Crack users are an older cohort than they were in the early 1990s, indicating fewer initiates.

• The price of crack is dropping in most areas. Pieces or rocks which sold for $10-20 may now sell for as little as $3-5. In Texas, "shavings" or small crumbling pieces are available for even lower prices. However, lowered prices appear to have had little impact on a continued decline in popularity.

• Sources in Denver and Miami report that crack has gained a reputation as a "junkie" drug among young, new drug users, and this has contributed to a decline in its popularity.

• Cocaine used in powdered form is reappearing in some areas (i.e., Baltimore, San Antonio/El Paso) after a long period of low availability. The renewed interest is primarily among middle-class users.

Marijuana

• Marijuana continues to be widely abused, though the greatest concentration of use is among youth. Young marijuana users often use a number of other drugs including MDMA, hallucinogens, and alcohol.

• Varieties of "blunts," (marijuana wrapped in cigar packaging) continue to crop up. Blunts may be just a larger form of the traditional "joint." They may also contain marijuana mixed with other drugs -- such as PCP, crack, or heroin -- or be dipped in substances like cough syrup or even cleaning products. These enhanced blunts are marketed as special products and command a higher price than untreated blunts.

• The price of marijuana has dropped in the Southwest Border region, in part because large local harvests have reached the market.

• Treatment providers report that approximately one-third of all clients in treatment for marijuana abuse are under 20 years old, and over 75 percent of them also have problems with alcohol abuse. Treatment providers also report an increase in the number of young marijuana clients who abuse inhalants.

Emerging Drugs

• Methamphetamine use continues to rise in the West and Southwest and in Hawaii. Users are most often White males in their twenties, often in blue collar occupations. Recent seizures of large quantities of precursor materials along the Southwest Border suggest an increase in domestic production of methamphetamine.

• The use of "club drugs" continues in many areas (i.e., suburban New York and Maryland, Miami, Austin, Baltimore, Cleveland, and New York City). Club drugs are used by young, middle-class users who are into the "rave" or nightclub scene. The category includes: prescription drugs; hallucinogens; and in some areas, marijuana, heroin, and methamphetamine.

• Inhalant abuse is rising among young people. "Huffing" of glue, paint, aerosols, and cleaning fluids is becoming more popular among adolescents in some areas (i.e., Washington, D.C., Columbia, and San Antonio/El Paso).