NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE EPIDEMIOLOGIC ...

Washington Heights area of Manhattan. Street crack
sellers are typically male and Black or Hispanic. Although
street sellers often reflect the racial composition
of the community, there appear to be more Hispanic
street sellers than Black street sellers. In the upper west
side, however, there has been a recent shift in the ethnic
composition of street sellers. The growing majority of
the street sellers in this area are young (16–27 years
old) Black males. The diminishing number of Dominican
street sellers seems to be related directly to pressure
from law enforcement. Many of the old-time Hispanic
sellers have been arrested, have retired, or have
switched to selling marijuana, which they perceive to
be less dangerous.
Large open-air markets no longer exist. Their disappearance
is attributed to police efforts aimed at the
suppression of street-selling operations. Selling crack
from indoor locations has proven to be impractical as
well. The impulsive nature of crack users and their constant
in-and-out traffic from an indoor selling location
(e.g., an apartment) serves to quickly generate complaints
from neighbors, elicit unwanted police attention,
and eventually lead to either an eviction or arrest. Due
to current police tactics, crack sellers are also unable to
work from lobbies, vestibules, or hallways of buildings.
If a seller or buyer is caught in a building and is unable
to prove that he has a legitimate reason for being there,
he will be arrested and receive a 5-day jail sentence.
The trespassing sentence will increase by 5 days for
each subsequent trespassing charge. As a result, many
crack sellers remain on the street. Operating in the open
is also becoming more difficult, because the police are
employing special surveillance camera setups to monitor
heavy selling locations, particularly those in or
around housing projects. These cameras are suspended
from buildings and street lights. Initially, the police
target the buyers, who are allowed to leave the immediate
area before they are picked-up, searched, and
arrested. After a number of buyers are arrested, the police
will then arrest the seller. One of the biggest
complaints crack sellers have is that, “Today everyone
(buyer) is a snitch.” To counteract police camera surveillance,
sellers and buyers are using dark, oversize
clothing, hoods, and hats to prevent identification.
Fearing arrest, sellers do not carry more than 2 milligrams
of crack at any time. A larger amount would
automatically bump-up a simple possession charge to
felony possession with intent to sell. After a buy, a
crack user may hide his drugs between the cheeks of
his buttocks. Many buyers believe that a quick patting
down by the police is likely to miss something hidden
there and that a more thorough body search requires a
warrant. The heavy surveillance has also created opportunities
for the brave and desperate. For example, some
crack users utilize intermediary buyers to purchase their
drug supplies. Those using intermediaries are individu-
EPIDEMIOLOGIC TRENDS IN DRUG ABUSE—New York City
als who might normally stand out (e.g., White), feel
vulnerable (e.g., female, older person), or have sensitive
jobs (e.g., teacher). The intermediary charges the
client $10 to obtain and deliver five packets of crack
(street value $50). To ensure repeated visits from the
intermediary, the seller provides the five packets at
$40. The intermediary makes a net profit of $20. In
addition, the more unscrupulous intermediaries will
occasionally substitute a packet of fake crack for one of
the real packets.
Most crack buyers on the street are Black or Hispanic
males. According to some street contacts, the majority
of the crack users are females. Originally, crack had a
strong appeal among young adults (mean age of 20),
but it appears that crack users are getting older. Field
researchers report that most buyers appear to be in their
thirties. They estimate the mean age of crack users to
be about 35. They report few very young users (below
21); most buyers appear to be veteran users.
Many female crack users supported themselves through
prostitution. It was not uncommon to see hordes of females
trying to sell themselves. Street observations
indicate that this phenomenon has been greatly reduced
because of police intervention.
Every crack user interviewed reports smoking crack,
typically using a glass stem. The stem pipe is an important
artifact for a crack user. The Pyrex pipe can last
several months, as long as it is not dropped. Crack users
report that there is a shortage of genuine Pyrex crack
pipes. What is currently available at some bodegas and
smoke shops are the plain glass look-a-likes, often sold
with a miniature paper flower inside. These fakes are
known on the street as “mouth pieces.” (A mouth piece
is an extension of a larger pipe that conducts the smoke
from the bowl to the mouth; since this part is not directly
exposed to the flame, it does not have to be heat resistant.)
Many crack users are upset because these look-alike
stems usually have a 1-day lifespan. Replacing the
fake pipes can be expensive. The mouth pieces originally
sold for $1. At some locations, these fake pipes sell for
as much as $3. At the higher price, the store may provide
free screens or a liter. (From a manufacturing perceptive,
it is the ideal product; the item is cheap to produce, has a
short lifespan, and requires repeated replacement.)
Stores that carry the fake pipes usually do not openly
display them, and most shopkeepers will not sell one to a
stranger. The buyer needs to refer to the stem as a
“Demo” or ask for a “red” or “green,” referring to the
color of the flower, in order to let the storekeeper know
that he or she wants to buy a stem.
The DEA reports that prices for cocaine powder for
July to December 2003 were $22,000–$26,000 per
kilogram and $800–$1,600 per ounce. The DEA reports
Proceedings of the Community Epidemiology Work Group, Vol. II, January 2005 167