NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE EPIDEMIOLOGIC ...

$25,000 per kilogram. When cut/mixed with adulterants,
and less potent, cocaine HCl can be purchased
at low prices at the street level. Crack has been available
at $5 to $25 per rock and can be purchased on
the street for $900 to $1,200 per ounce.
Methamphetamine/Amphetamines
Methamphetamine indicators remained at low levels
in New Orleans in 2003–2004. The DEA New Orleans
Field Division (NOFD), however, reports that
methamphetamine may be gaining popularity in some
small towns and communities in the State. An increase
in small clandestine methamphetamine labs
has been reported in some rural areas. Most of the
methamphetamine seized in Louisiana came from
Mexico and was transported into the State from California
or Texas in private and commercial vehicles.
In FY 2004, only five primary methamphetamine
abusers entered treatment programs in Orleans Parish,
representing only 0.2 percent of all admissions during
the 1-year period. Primary methamphetamine admissions
are higher in eight other parishes, based on the
assessment of the Louisiana State Epidemiology
Work Group. As shown in exhibit 3, the parishes in
Louisiana with the highest numbers and percentages
of primary methamphetamine admissions in 2004
include Rapides (6.7 percent), Bossier (6.2 percent),
Calcasieu (4.2 percent), and Ouachita (3.8 percent).
Rapides is located near the Texas border, through
which most of the methamphetamine in Louisiana
was transported.
Of the unweighted drug reports accessed from
DAWN Live! in New Orleans during the first half of
2004, 10 involved amphetamines (exhibit 4); there
were no reports of methamphetamine.
Of the items analyzed by NFLIS labs in FY 2004,
only eight (0.2 percent of all items analyzed) contained
methamphetamine (exhibit 5).
Heroin
In New Orleans, heroin indicators have remained
relatively stable from 2001 to 2004. After increasing
from 8.4 percent of all treatment admissions in 1998
to 14.8 percent in 2001, heroin treatment admissions
remained level, at about 11.0 percent from 2002 to
2004. As in the prior 3 years, most of the heroin admissions
were male (74.5 percent). Of the males,
80.5 percent were African-Americans and 52.6 percent
were in the 25–34 age category. Slightly more
than one-half (53.8 percent) of the female heroin admissions
were African-American. St. Tammany (3.3
EPIDEMIOLOGIC TRENDS IN DRUG ABUSE—New Orleans
percent) was the only other parish in which more than
1 percent of admissions were primary heroin abusers
(exhibit 3).
Other heroin indicators were relatively low compared
to indicators for other illicit drugs. In the period from
October 2003 through February 2004, only 6.6 percent
of all drug items (n=260) analyzed by forensic
labs in New Orleans included heroin (exhibit 5). In
the first half of 2004, unweighted data accessed from
DAWN Live! show that ED reports involving heroin
totaled 185, accounting for nearly 17 percent of illicit
drug reports (exhibit 4). This was a much smaller
number than the numbers of cases reported for other
illicit drugs, including cocaine and marijuana.
The DEA reported that the primary heroin traffickers
for the heroin that is marketed in New Orleans are
Colombian, Nigerian, and African-American. Much of
the heroin is transported into the area from Texas in
privately owned vehicles. Some of the heroin is also
brought into the ports near New Orleans via vessels.
Like crack cocaine, heroin has a major impact on the
homicide and robbery rates in New Orleans. The
NOPD reported that a relatively high percentage of
individuals arrested for robbery in 2004 were African-Americans
in the 25–36 year age category. The
2003 arrest data show that African-Americans predominated
in arrests involving heroin (exhibit 6).
African-American trafficking organizations have
been distributing heroin in government-supported
housing projects and in other low-income neighborhoods.
Heroin is most commonly sold on the streets
of New Orleans in “bags” or “papers.” Mixtures containing
0.3 to 0.5 grams are wrapped in small foil
packages that are placed in plastic sandwich bags for
multiple sales. Bags or papers are sold for $20 to $25
each at the retail level, but it is possible to buy a bundle
(25) bags for about $300.
In 2003, most of the DMP heroin street buys in New
Orleans were of South American origin. The purity of
the heroin averaged 31.8 percent and sold for $1.62
per milligram pure
Marijuana
Marijuana indicators were stable in 2004, but this
drug is still the most readily available illicit drug in
New Orleans and the State of Louisiana. The price of
marijuana decreased in recent years as the supply
from Mexico increased. Mexican DTOs dominate the
wholesale distribution of marijuana, which flows up
through the Southwest border and through such
Texas hub sites as Houston, Dallas, San Antonio,
Proceedings of the Community Epidemiology Work Group, Vol. II, January 2005 157