The current report includes information gathered from ethnographers, epidemiologists, and other ethnographic contacts as well as treatment providers offering a comprehensive snapshot of drug abuse trends in communities across the country. Fifteen ethnographers, epidemiologists, or other ethnographic sources contributed information for this issue of Pulse Check. These contacts summarize trends in heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine use in each of their areas over the 6 months prior to the interview. In addition, they report characteristics of drug users and sellers in their communities, any emerging drug trends, as well as descriptions of club and cafeteria drug use for the special report section. In this issue, ethnographers, epidemiologists, and other ethnographic sources provide information about the following areas: Los Angeles, California; San Francisco, California; Denver, Colorado; Bridgeport, Connecticut; Newark, Delaware; Miami, Florida; St. Petersburg, Florida; Honolulu, Hawaii; Chicago, Illinois; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Kansas City, Missouri; New York, New York; Austin, Texas; San Antonio, Texas; and Seattle, Washington. The appendix describes the content of the conversations in more detail and provides a list of these sources.
Ten law enforcement sources from different cities across the country contributed information for this issue of Pulse Check. These contacts report information in the same manner as the ethnographic sources. For security reasons, law enforcement sources are not identified. Police Departments from the following cities contributed to this Pulse Check issue: San Diego, California; Bridgeport, Connecticut; Washington, D.C.; Boston, Massachusetts; Columbia, Maryland; Trenton, New Jersey; Cleveland, Ohio; San Antonio, Texas; Seattle, Washington; and Yakima, Washington.
The current report also includes information gathered from 104 treatment providers across the four regions. These providers were selected to represent all regions of the country. The appendix describes the information gathered from treatment providers, and the methodology used to select them.
