RACE AND THE ENFORCEMENT OF DRUG DELIVERY LAWS IN ...

were chosen because they are well known to drug users, law enforcement
personnel, and business and neighborhood groups as centers of drug
consumption and sales in Seattle. This study was designed and supervised by an
independent researcher with extensive knowledge of Seattle’s drug markets and
implemented by two trained field ethnographers. 75 In this study, “rapid
assessment” ethnographic methods were used to assess the racial and ethnic
composition of those delivering and purchasing illegal drugs in these two
neighborhoods. The experience of the field observers included prior observation
of drug markets and activity, prior work with drug-using populations,
familiarity with typical indicators of drug transactions and familiarity with drug
market dynamics.
These observations are an important supplement to the needle exchange survey
data, which primarily include information about those who use and deliver
injected drugs. Although more than 10 percent of the needle exchangers
surveyed reported recently obtaining crack cocaine, the needle exchange survey
omits crack cocaine users who do not also inject drugs. By contrast, the
observational study captures those delivering crack cocaine as well as other
drugs. (Both the needle exchange survey and the observational study largely
omit recreational drug users who are more likely to acquire drugs indoors and
unlikely to inject drugs).
The unit of analysis in the observational study was transactions rather than
individuals. Each time a drug transaction was observed, the race/ethnicity of the
person(s) buying and delivering narcotics was recorded. Under this
methodology, individuals who were observed buying or selling drugs repeatedly
were counted multiple times, as the goal of the research was to identify the
race/ethnicity of the drug deliverer in the observed drug transactions. That is, if
the ethnographers observed 10 white people who each delivered drugs once and
one black person who delivered drugs 10 times, the number of white and black
“deliveries” reported in the study would be equal, as the risk of arrest is
theoretically present each time the act is committed. Many sellers or dealers do
not actually hold the drugs themselves, but receive the money and signal to
another individual to pass the drugs. In some cases, the runner may also receive
the money. Observers’ attention focused on buyers and on those who were
involved in the physical transfer of drugs. If the race/ethnicity of a dealer who
75
Kris Nyrop is an independent consultant and former Director of Street Outreach Services. The
proposed study design was reviewed by a qualified and experienced researcher. A summary of
the results are on file with the author of this report.
37