Part IV: Emerging Drugs
Methamphetamine and hallucinogens continue to be mentioned as emerging drugs in many areas across the country. Ethnographic sources in Denver, Seattle, and Austin cite the presence of meth in their areas, as do law enforcement sources in Washington, DC and Columbia. In Colorado, meth is the only drug for which treatment admissions have risen consistently over the past few years. The Denver ethnographic source reports that there are different groups of users: street users who inject repeatedly and are "going after the high continuously;" working class users who smoke the drug both recreationally and to stay awake or alert; and transient street youth who inject methamphetamine and use heroin sporadically. However, while patterns of use differ, all groups consist primarily of White males. The drug is readily available in that area and street sales of a gram ($120) are not uncommon. It is also available in smaller units costing $20, $40, and $60.
Methamphetamine is also increasing in popularity in Atlanta and Seattle. Street dealers in Atlanta tout the drug as longer lasting than crack and vie for the same customers. The Atlanta source also reports that there is more methamphetamine in the rural areas of Georgia where production laboratories are located. Again, in this area, the methamphetamine market is dominated by Whites, who are the majority of buyers, manufacturers, and sellers. In Seattle, the majority of users are blue collar workers. There also is considerable use in the gay community and meth is found in many gay bars or clubs in the area. The Seattle source notes the dangerous upward trend in unprotected sex and intravenous use of methamphetamine in the gay community, where HIV seroprevalence rates are already close to 50 percent.
In Hawaii, treatment providers describe methamphetamine as a companion drug "for everything" in their area, where the drug has been well-established for several years. It is inhaled or smoked in its crystalline form ("ice") and attracts a more diverse group of users than it does in any other State. As noted in the special methamphetamine report in the last Pulse Check, it is the major illicit drug of abuse for treatment admissions in Hawaii.
Texas sources also report a substantial problem with methamphetamine, particularly in the northern part of the state. Police report that they expect to find more home laboratories or locally produced meth based on recent large seizures of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, two base substances in methamphetamine production. Texas sources report that two types of methamphetamine are being produced: a yellow product that is made in stainless steel equipment and preferred by injectors, and a white product, that is made in glass equipment and preferred by snorters.
Methamphetamine has turned up less frequently in other areas. Although methamphetamine has traditionally been limited to the Western states, law enforcement sources report that the drug has been involved in arrests in suburban Maryland, New York City and Chicago.
Hallucinogens and a variety of other club drugs were cited as emerging drugs by sources in many areas. Ethnographers and police sources in New York, Miami, Seattle, Cleveland and Baltimore all report the presence of LSD, MDMA ("Ecstasy"), or other club drugs. Police sources in suburban Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore describe a variety of drugs related to raves including MDMA, LSD and LSD-look alikes, Ketamine, and various legal and illegal drugs used in combination. For example, Maryland police described a rave-related arrest that involved prescription drugs, Ketamine, calcium tablets, methamphetamine, cocaine, caffeine, and a coffee grinder (presumably to concoct various combinations) in a single seizure. Baltimore and Washington, D.C. sources mentioned an unusual combination called "red rock Opium" that consists of caffeine, Robitussin cough syrup, sugar and a combination of tobacco and No Doz crushed and smoked together. Washington, D.C. police report that youth who attend raves are sucking on pacifiers soaked in LSD as well as "beaning" -- chewing coffee beans.
Prices for "club drugs" like MDMA or Ketamine are fairly consistent across areas. MDMA, popular in New York and described as the "drug of choice in clubs" in Miami, costs approximately $20-30 per tablet dose and is distributed among a network of user/associates rather than through street sales. Ketamine has a similar price and distribution structure.
Inhalant abuse was described as an emerging problem by law enforcement sources in Washington, D.C. and as a continuing problem by ethnographic sources in San Antonio/El Paso. In Texas, this takes the form of inhaling paint, fumes, glue or aerosols and is done by users of all ages. Along the border, inhalants are often combined with alcohol or marijuana. In Washington, D.C., "huffing" or inhaling is done almost exclusively by young users who use such things as aerosol cans (whipped cream), glue or Freon. Whether they are used alone or in combination, inhalants can quickly produce noticeable dysfunction and cognitive impairment.
Illicitly used prescription drugs were described by sources in Baltimore, San Antonio, and Austin as emerging drugs. Rohypnol continues to be available in Texas and Florida, though its distribution has slowed somewhat in both areas due to changes in its legal status and pressure on Mexican pharmacies. However, other drugs that are only available by prescription in the United States, such as Ritalin, Clonapin and Lexotan, are still being diverted into illicit markets. In addition, the Austin source reports problems with abuse of the prescription drugs fenfluramine and phentermine, which are used in weight loss programs.
Developments in Heroin Use Patterns
Over the last few rounds of Pulse Check calls, there have been increasing reports of drug users "switching" from crack cocaine to heroin or "substituting" heroin with crack as their initial drug of choice. While heroin and powdered cocaine have long been used together in the speedball combination, the use of heroin with crack is not common. In this Pulse Check, ethnographic sources in Bridgeport, Atlanta, and Miami report rising evidence of an intersection between crack use and heroin use. These reports suggest two types of new behavior: the first is combination crack/heroin use that eventually leads to the user to switch to heroin, while the second relates more to the initial drug choice of new, young users.
"Switching" is described by the Bridgeport ethnographer as occurring among (young) crack users who begin to use heroin to deal with the overly wired feelings associated with heavy crack use. Heroin is a powerful depressant that purportedly "evens out" the agitated sensations of crack. Using even a relatively small amount of heroin over an extended period of time in this fashion can lead the user into physiological dependence, in a sense forcing the user to switch their primary drug of abuse to heroin.
"Substituting" is occurring among young people who, in an earlier time, may have been attracted to crack, but are now more likely to use heroin. In general, young people initiate drug use with what is cheap, plentiful and considered "fashionable" in their areas. In the 1980s and early 1990s that drug was crack, particularly in inner city areas where its distribution was highly organized, its low price made it within the financial reach of young users, and it had not yet fallen out of favor as "junkie" drug. Currently, a similar pattern is being observed with heroin in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic areas, primarily in inner city areas. It is inexpensive, easily administered (i.e., snorted rather than taken intravenously) and is being aggressively marketed, often by persons who previously distributed cocaine and/or crack. At the same time, crack is increasingly characterized as unpopular and harder to find than heroin.
Though the bulk of heroin consumers are still older users, young users have been described by all three types of Pulse Check sources. Like cocaine a decade earlier, heroin has achieved a mystique, counting among its users rock stars and young film stars. In many circles, it no longer carries the connotation of a "junkie" drug that it had for many years. Its presence has expanded in drug markets all over the country, and it is likely to remain attractive to both inexperienced and experienced drug users as they adapt to changing norms and market conditions.
