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Pulse Check
National Trends in Drug Abuse
Winter 1998
Table 5
Law Enforcement Report on Cocaine/Crack
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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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Stable but widespread
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Who's Using/
Change in Users
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Powder: mostly Caucasian males; otherwise variable users; early 20's-30's.
Crack: lower socioeconomic levels
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All ethnicities, ages, both males and females
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Powder: 25-30 yrs.; 60% male, 40% female; African-American (reflects total population).
Crack: 21-40 yrs.; 50% male, 50% female; African-American (reflects population)
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Prevalent Method of Use
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Smoking
Snorting
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Smoking
Snorting
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Smoking
Snorting
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Drugs in Combination
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Methamphetamine
Prescription drugs (to sleep)
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Marijuana (laced with crack)
Tobacco (laced with crack)
Heroin (with powder)
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Who's Selling
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Mexican Nationals; Caucasian males; powder available in bars uptown
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On street, minorities; Jamaicans who previously only sold marijuana are beginning to sell cocaine as well
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On street, African-Americans; controlling the market, Colombians, Panamanians, Cubans, Iranians, Dominicans, Jamaicans, African-Americans, Caucasians. Will deal other drugs, but primarily deal cocaine
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Price/Purity
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Powder: $10 per 1/10 gram, $60-100 per gram, $120-160 per 1/8 ounce, $600-1,000 per ounce, 20-40% purity at street level.
Crack: $10 per 1/10 gram (1 rock), $20-40 (for 2-4 rocks), 20-40% purity at street level
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Powder: $10 units
Crack: $5 per 1/10 gram.
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$20 per 800-150 mg (1 rock); $100 per "meatball" (not usually purchased by people from inner city). Crack is usually 50-70% purity.; Powder usually 60-90% purity
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Other/
Comments
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Table 5 (cont'd.)
Law Enforcement Report on Cocaine/Crack
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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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Stable
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Stable
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Powder: stable at moderate level; Crack: stable at very high level
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Who's Using/
Change in Users
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All types of people; both males and females; mid 20's to mid 30's
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Powder: varied ages, ethnicities
Crack: younger, more urban, mostly African-American
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Powder: all ethnicities though more popular in Caucasian community, early 20's-middle age, working population, weekend users. Crack: all ethnicities though more popular in African-American community, late teens-mid 30's, both genders
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Prevalent Method of Use
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Smoking
Snorting
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Smoking
Snorting
Injection
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Smoking
Snorting
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Drugs in Combination
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Occasionally combined with heroin ( rare)
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Heroin
Marijuana (infrequent)
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Crack users don't tend to combine. Powder users seem to use marijuana as well.
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Who's Selling
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Anyone who can purchase a substantial amount; major distributors are Dominican; most selling occurs using beepers and cellular phones and is delivered (less street sales)
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Mirrors user population
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Powder: mostly Hispanic sellers, early 20's-mid 30's, not sold on street so much. Crack: mostly African-American sellers, on street mid teens, at mid level middle aged. Both don't usually sell other drugs
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Price/Purity
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$40-100 per gram; variable purity but usually 50%+.
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Powder: $100 per gram, $800-1,200 per ounce, 71-85% purity. Crack: $10-20 per rock (100 mg.); $100 per gram; $800-1,200 per ounce, 56-81% purity.
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Powder: $60-80 per gram.
Crack: $35 per gram.
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Other/
Comments
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Table 5 (cont'd.)
Law Enforcement Report on Cocaine/Crack
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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; crack is much more common than powder
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Stable; most popular drug
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Decrease, but common
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Stable with possible slight increase due to price decrease
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Who's Using/
Change in Users
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Youth-adults; all ethnicities; both male and female; however, African-American males most common users
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All ethnic groups; 16-50 yrs.; 65% male, 35% female
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80% male; mostly over 25 yrs.; 65% Caucasian/other, 35% African-American
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Teens-40's; Caucasians and Mexicans
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Prevalent Method of Use
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Smoking
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Smoking (some)
Snorting
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Smoking
Injection (less so)
Snorting (less so)
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Smoking
Snorting
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Drugs in Combination
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None
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Heroin
Alcohol
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Don't usually combine
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Who's Selling
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All types; African-American males most common sellers; also sell marijuana
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Males and females; all ethnicities; all ages. Infrequently, also sell marijuana
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Hispanic youth gangs, African-American adults; also sell methamphetamine, marijuana, heroin
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Predominantly Mexican sellers
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Price/Purity
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Crack: $10-20 per rock, $100 per gram
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$10-20 per bag (300 mg.)
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Powder: $10 per bag (200 mg.), $70 per 1 : grams; 80-90% purity.
Crack: $20 per 100-125 mg., $40 per 200-250 mg; 40-60% purity
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$600-800 per ounce; price has decreased slightly; high purity
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Other/
Comments
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Most cases involve powder cocaine, not crack
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