Table 1
Ethnographers and Epidemiologists Report on Heroin
City | ||||
| Bridgeport, CT |
San Antonio/ El Paso, TX |
Seattle, WA | New York Statea | |
| Use | stable at a high level | up | up | up |
| Who's Using/ Change in Users | majority over 30 years old, but some new young (18-25) users apparent | older Chicano users; some young recreational users | White, females increasing; in 30s; some new young users | older users, White |
| Method | older users inject; some snorting among new users | primarily injection or cooking down and squirting into nose | injection | increased snorting but primarily injection |
| Drugs in Combination | younger users may also use crack | cocaine crack | cocaine | blunts (i.e., marijuana) laced with heroin |
| Who's Selling | young (18-25) sellers; some gang activity; sellers often not users; double breasting continues | Mexican Mafia and Syndicate; seeing more double breasting | NYC dealers, and residents who travel to NYC for supplies, are sources for suburban dealers and users | |
| Purchase Amount/Purity | $10/bag | $10-$20/spoon $450-1/2 oz. low purity (black tar) | purity has increased as prices drop; less than $1/mg pure |
|
| Other/Comments | High purity heroin most available; rarely see "scramble" or heavily cut bags | Primarily Mexican brown heroin available | Increased number of ER mentions and overdose deaths | |
a The New York data describes drug use in suburban Orange County, rather than the city, and is based on a study being conducted by the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services.
Table 1, cont'd.
Ethnographers and Epidemiologists Report on Heroin
City | |||
| Denver, CO | Miami, FL | Atlanta, GA | |
| Use | stable | up | up |
| Who's Using/ Change in Users | some young users, but primarily an older population | some new users; "old shooters" returning to use | African Americans, older White users, new young White users |
| Method | injection, some smoking | injection, skin popping (injecting into soft tissue rather than vein) | injection; snorting among young users |
| Drugs in Combination | cocaine in speedball among older users | crack (with heroin sprinkled over it) | |
| Who's Selling | gangs involved in street sales, tend to specialize in one drug | diverse sources: South American, Mexican | dealers sell all drugs available at one time |
| Purchase Amount/ Purity | $120-$140/gram $20/"pill" or 1/10 of a gram | increasing purity | $10/bag; recent reduction in purity |
| Other/Comments | marked increase in methamphetamine use-injecting, smoking, snorting | more ER reports and deaths attributable to heroin use | heroin is now available in almost all inner city neighborhoods, whereas before it was more localized |
Table 1, cont'd.
Ethnographers and Epidemiologists Report on Heroin
City | ||
| Austin, TX | San Francisco, CA | |
| Use | up | up |
| Who's Using/ Change in Users | older, Anglo and Hispanic users; some young snorters | older addicts and new young users |
| Method | injection, low amount snorting (maybe 3%) | |
| Drugs in Combination | ||
| Who's Selling | Mexican Americans or Mexican Nationals | some convergence between heroin and crack markets |
| Purchase Amount/Purity | black tar ($2,300- $5,300/oz.) | high purity |
| Other/Comments | a little white heroin; mainly Mexican brown and black tar; increased ER mentions and deaths | |
