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Pulse Check
National Trends in Drug Abuse
Winter 1998
Table 2
Law Enforcement Report on Heroin
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City
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San Diego, CA
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Bridgeport, CT
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Washington, DC
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| Use
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Stable
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Increase
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Stable
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Who's Using/
Change in Users
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Mostly Caucasian; late 20's-early 30's; more males than females
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More males than females; all ethnicities; often used by prostitutes
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60% male, 40% female; mostly African Americans; 25-40 years
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Prevalent Method of Use
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Injection
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Mostly snorting, less injection
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Primarily injection, small amount of smoking and snorting
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Drugs in Combination
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Cocaine
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Cocaine
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Who's Selling
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Older Caucasian males; Mexican Nationals; usually only sell heroin
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Mostly minorities, some Caucasians; all in inner city; don't usually sell other drugs
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Mostly African-Americans on street level; controlling groups are Nigerians, Asians, Ghanyans; suppliers-Iranians, Asians, Nigerians, Pakistanis
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Price/Purity
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Black tar: $10-20 per .20-.50 grams, 40-60% purity.
Powder: $20 per .10-.15 grams, $110 per gram, 40-60% purity
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$10 units; usually 28-30% pure ("p-dope")
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$20 per 100-150 mg, 14-25% purity ("quarter"); $40-60 per 200-300 mg, 14-25% purity ("one plus one"); $90-110 per 1 gram cut with something else ("street spoon"); $150-300 per 800-1500 mg (10 bags, "ten pack"); $4,000-9,000 per ounce; $64,000-96,000 per lb.; $150,000-215,000 per kg.
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Other/
Comments
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Typically purchased between 6-8 a.m.
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Table 2 (cont'd.)
Law Enforcement Report on Heroin
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City
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Boston, MA
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Columbia, MD
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Trenton, NJ
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| Use
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Variable, dependent on supply
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Increase
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Stable at high level
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Who's Using/
Change in Users
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All populations in mid 20's to mid 30's
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More diverse user population; broad age range; more use in suburbs
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All ethnic groups; mid teens-early 30's; more males than females, but use among females is increasing
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Prevalent Method of Use
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Injection
Snorting (most common)
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Injection (lower purity)
Snorting (higher purity, new users)
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Injection (most common)
Snorting (increase)
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Drugs in Combination
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Cocaine (speedballing)
Marijuana
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Who's Selling
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On street level, variable; on wholesale level, Dominicans, Colombians also involved. Dominicans and Colombians also sell cocaine
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Inner city, mostly African-Americans; in suburban areas, diverse population. In Baltimore, sell cocaine also; elsewhere don't usually sell other drugs
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All ethnic groups; street runners mid teens, controllers early 20's-40's; usually only sell heroin
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Price/Purity
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$4-10 per bag (300 mg); 25-50% purity
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$10-20 per bag;
$100-200 per gram;
$5000 per ounce;
price decrease in cities.
Low purity, 12-25%; high purity, 50-90%; no change
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$15-20 per bag (100 mg.); can buy 10-13 bags for $12 per bag and sell for $15 per bag
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Other/
Comments
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Table 2 (cont'd.)
Law Enforcement Report on Heroin
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City
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Cleveland, OH
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San Antonio, TX
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Seattle, WA
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Yakima, WA
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| Use
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Stable
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Slight increase
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Stable; decline in heroin-related deaths; no increase in treatment admissions
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Stable or slight increase.
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Who's Using/
Change in Users
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Mostly Hispanic and African American; both males and females
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Predominantly older Hispanic males; spreading to younger males of all ethnicities
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30-35 yrs.+; few young people; all ethnicities; both males and females
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20's-30's; lower socioeconomic groups; Caucasians, Mexicans
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Prevalent Method of Use
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Injection
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Injection
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Injection
Snorting
Smoking (lace cigarettes)
Mixed with food
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Injection
Smoking
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Drugs in Combination
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With marijuana and alcohol rarely
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Cocaine (speedballing)
Alcohol (possibly)
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Cocaine
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Who's Selling
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Older Hispanic males sell at street and mid level, some younger Hispanics males also sell at street level.
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Predominantly Hispanics, some African Americans, some Asians.
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Predominantly Mexican sellers; also sell cocaine and methamphetamine
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Price/ Purity
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$20 per bag
$600 per gram
Prices stable
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$10-20 per bag ($20 per 300 mg.)
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Black tar: $80-100 per gram, $4,00-2,000 per ounce; Southeast Asian: $5,000-7,000 per ounce
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Black tar: $700-900 per ounce; price has decreased
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Other/
Comments
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Watching for more Southeast Asian heroin because of problems in Canada and CA
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Heroin is pretty accessible in the community
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