NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE EPIDEMIOLOGIC ...

According to street interviews, most cocaine HCl users
report that they “only” snort the drug. Most users report
that they use cocaine solely for recreational purposes;
typically in group settings; at special events, such as
parties or at clubs; and only on weekends.
Crack users report that crack cocaine continues to be
highly available; however, due to police pressure, street
sellers and low-level dealers are experiencing an extremely
difficult and precarious period. As a result,
sales activity near many crack locations appears to be
down. The quality of street crack remains stable. According
to users, the quality of crack is good, and the
amount provided seems satisfactory, but there are some
complaints about the current selling atmosphere. Buyers
have to contend with constant police harassment
and potential arrest.
Field researchers report that street-level crack in New
York City continues to be sold in $5 and $10 packages.
The most common price/package combination is the
$10 packet. Two years ago, there was a substantial decline
in the number of selling locations offering crack
in $5 amounts. During that period, there was an attempt
to make the $20 (2-milligram) package the industry
standard. The larger package would have reduced the
number of total sales for a seller in a day and would
have limited his exposure to arrest.
Today, many crack locations are experiencing a substantial
decline in buyers and sales. Some sellers are
complaining about the frequency of having to sell
“shorts” (below-price sales). Although the $10 amount
continues to be the dominant price and package size
around the city, some sellers have revived the $5 package
in an attempt to stimulate sales and avoid shorts.
Most street sellers buy their supply in grams. The price
of a gram varies from $24 to $40. If the street seller
gets his supply from a low-level dealer, he may pay as
much as $40 dollars for a gram. When this individual
attempts to sell his product on the street, his profit margin
will be relatively small. These low-level dealers sell
at a higher price, and their product is more likely to be
adulterated.
If the street seller makes contact with a higher level
dealer and is able to purchase an eighth of a key, he is
likely to obtain a near pure product at or near $24 per
gram. The price for a gram will range from $26 to $30.
These dealers usually have three levels of quality of
cocaine for sale (bad, good, and pure). The final price
and the quality of the product will depend on the relationship
between the dealer and buyer and the buyer’s
knowledge and experience. Interestingly, the $30 per
gram price is usually more profitable, because the
product is of a higher level of purity. As a result, there
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EPIDEMIOLOGIC TRENDS IN DRUG ABUSE—New York City
is less weight lost in the cocaine to crack conversion.
The lower priced products ($26 or $27) usually have
been adulterated to some degree, and the street seller is
going to lose a greater proportion of the original weight
of the cocaine when it is converted (cooked) into crack.
Another factor related to profit is the street seller’s ability
as a “cook” in the preparation of crack. Some sellers
maintain that a good cook, with a near pure product,
can convert $1,000 worth of cocaine into $2,000 or
even $2,500 worth of crack.
There are three basic packaging methods associated
with crack in New York City. They are thumbnail-size
plastic bags, plastic vials, and glassine bags. Of these,
the thumbnail-size bag continues to be the most popular
packaging method. Vials and glassine bags are experiencing
a steady decline as packaging methods.
In Harlem, street sellers are selling crack rocks unpackaged.
It is not clear whether this is being done to save
the expense of having the crack packaged, as the result
of some difficulty obtaining packing material, or as a
strategy intended to hamper police efforts, since unpacked
crack may be easier to hide or throw away.
What typically serves as a brand name in the selling of
crack on the street is the color of the package or top—
(“blue bag” or “green tops,” etc.). However, the use of
brand names, in general, is becoming increasingly rare.
Currently, most of the street crack sellers are smalltime
independent entrepreneurs or small, limited partnerships
of two or three individuals. According to some
street sellers, money is tight and crack is not as profitable
as it once was. A crack street seller was
complaining to a street observer that he was putting in
more hours, and that last month he had trouble paying
the rent. At one point, a seller could establish credit
with a dealer and be “fronted” a gram of cocaine. Today,
no one is giving credit, and all transactions are
cash up front. The only form of credit that is still available
on the street involves low-level crack dealers. The
dealer may give a street seller a supply of 15 packets of
crack (worth $150 on street). The stipulation is that the
seller must return $120 to the dealer before he can obtain
a new supply of crack. (Two years ago, the same
arrangement would only have required that the seller
return $100 to the dealer.) Most sellers avoid this arrangement,
because the profit margin is so small and
the arrangement is potentially dangerous. In these arrangements,
the dealer expects his money, regardless of
arrest, lost, “shorts,” paying below price, or rip-offs.
The seller who fails to pay back the dealer chances serious
injury or death.
According to street contacts, the middle-level dealers
are predominantly Dominican and operate from the
Proceedings of the Community Epidemiology Work Group, Vol. II, January 2005