NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE EPIDEMIOLOGIC ...

Benloton, X-man, 911, Lean Back, Set Back, The Cure,
Tuna, First Class, Tyson, and Purple Passion. In some
locations, instead of using a brand name, the seller
wears a distinctive article of clothing (e.g., red, white,
and blue cap) or some other prop (bicycle) to distinguish
himself from other sellers.
The majority of the individuals buying heroin on the
street are chronic users; they are usually male, Black
and/or Hispanic, and tend to be between 35 and 50
years old. Street observers, nevertheless, have seen
buyers in their twenties frequenting heroin selling locations.
These individuals have a robust appearance not
normally associated with chronic users. These observations
suggest that heroin continues to attract new users.
Chronic heroin users tend to demonstrate more social
interdependence and stronger emotional bonds with
“running buddies” than other drug users. By contrast,
the crack user seems to be the most independent and
least trusting. Most heroin buyers claim that they only
snort and do not inject heroin. This suggests that the
heroin on the street continues to have a relatively high
purity level in New York City. However, observations
at needle exchange programs would suggest that at
least some individuals continue to inject heroin.
According to some street sources, heroin dealers are
using sleep medication to cut heroin. Some street contacts
report that dealers are also using 80-milligram
OxyContin tablets as an adulterant for heroin. As a rule,
street heroin sellers offer only one drug, heroin, and in
only one size packet (e.g., $10 bag). Street observers
report, however, that in some sections of the city, heroin
street sellers are also selling crack. According to
one street contact, this is temporary, and it is attributed
to a slowdown in heroin sales. Researchers also report
that some dealers in Harlem who cater to individuals
that “speedball” (take heroin and cocaine simultaneously)
sell eight-balls of heroin and cocaine. These
sales are usually not conducted on the street; instead,
such transactions occur indoors.
Much like cocaine arrests, heroin arrests reached a high
of 28,083 in 1989, declined for a few years, and then
peaked in 1995 (n=38,131) (exhibit 3). Heroin arrests
decreased from 33,665 in 2000 to 27,863 in 2001, but
they increased again in 2002 to 34,098, an increase of
22 percent in the year.
Other Opiates/Narcotics
Although the numbers are small, ED mentions of hydrocodone/combinations
and oxycodone/combinations
have shown increases. According to DAWN data, hydrocodone/combinations
ED mentions increased from
34 in 1995 to 88 in 2002, an increase of 159 percent.
Between 2001 and 2002, however, the number of men-
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EPIDEMIOLOGIC TRENDS IN DRUG ABUSE—New York City
tions went from 98 to 88. Oxycodone/combinations ED
mentions also showed a tremendous increase, from 56
in 2000 to 135 in 2002, an increase of 141 percent. In
addition, between 1995 and 2002, oxycodone mentions
increased 297 percent (from 34 to 135). Methadone
mentions remained stable, with 1,304 ED mentions in
2002 and 1,237 in 2001.
Although street researchers have not observed people
hawking OxyContin, they have encountered a number
of street buyers asking for OxyContin and claiming that
the tablets are selling for $10 per pill. OxyContin tablets
are sometimes said to be crushed and snorted.
Among ME deaths reported by DAWN, the category of
narcotic analgesics, which includes all legal and illegal
narcotic analgesics and combinations (excluding heroin/morphine),
showed a large increase in New York
City from 252 in 1998 and 271 in 1999 to 590 in 2000.
It should be noted, however, that in 1996 there were
511 such deaths. In 2002, the total increased to 641.
(No DAWN mortality data were available for New
York City for 2001.) For specific narcotic-type drugs in
DAWN ME reports, methadone accounted for 169
deaths in the New York metropolitan area.
According to the SSU, OxyContin sold for $10 for an
80-milligram tablet.
Marijuana
In New York City, marijuana indicators, which had
recently increased steadily and dramatically, appear to
be stabilizing (exhibit 5). The total number of marijuana
ED mentions increased insignificantly from 2,974
in 1995 to 3,924 in 2002. The rate of marijuana ED
mentions in 2002 for the New York City metropolitan
area was 47 per 100,000 population, the highest rate in
recent years. It equaled the national estimate of 47 per
100,000 population for that year.
Primary marijuana admissions to all treatment programs
had been increasing steadily over the past
several years. The number increased more than ninefold
between 1991 and 2002, from 1,374 to 14,310, the
highest annual number (exhibit 5). Although the number
fell to 13,471 in 2003, that is still the second
highest yearly total for primary marijuana admissions.
In the first half of 2004, that number remained stable at
6,746. In 1991, primary marijuana admissions represented
less than 5 percent of all treatment admissions;
by the first half of 2004, these admissions represented
20 percent of admissions (excluding alcohol-only) to all
New York City treatment programs.
Exhibit 6 shows demographic characteristics of primary
marijuana admissions to all New York City treatment
Proceedings of the Community Epidemiology Work Group, Vol. II, January 2005