Crack cocaine in the Dublin region - Health Research Board

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3 Dublin crack cocaine market3.0 OverviewThis section outlines the key concepts employed by international criminologicalresearch to facilitate an understanding of the organisational structures and dynamicsof illicit drug markets. These explanatory models are then used to describe theorganisational structure of the Dublin crack market and the supply and distribution ofcrack in the Dublin region. Information on the marketing techniques employed by crackdealers to sell the drug, and the risk-management strategies used to avoid detection,are then considered. Available evidence on so-called ‘crack houses’, crack price andpurity is then examined.3.1 Introduction – understanding drug marketsThere has been limited research focusing on the illicit drug market in Ireland (Connolly2005). 14 Understanding the scale, nature and dynamics of the drug market is a criticalrequirement for effective policy-making and action. In particular, understanding howlocal drug markets or low-level distribution networks operate and what impact theyhave on local communities is an important prerequisite for effective interventionssuch as local policing, harm reduction or housing initiatives (Connolly 2005). Theillicit drug market can be understood as incorporating three inter-related dimensions:(i) the ‘international market’, (ii) the ‘middle market’ and (iii) the ‘local market’. Theinternational market refers to drug production and international trafficking; the middlemarket involves the importation and wholesale distribution of drugs within a country,and the local market involves retail distribution to drug users (Connolly 2005; Lupton etal. 2002; Pearson and Hobbs 2001).The UK crack market and the people involved are described as operating at three levels(Burgess 2003):• Level 1: Street markets where street dealers sell crack to users.• Level 2: Middle markets where suppliers buy from importers or brokers and sellon to street dealers.• Level 3: Import markets where importers or brokers are involved in large-scaleimportation of cocaine.While these distinctions are useful, it should be noted that markets can be fluid,particularly at middle and local levels, and there can be an overlap between marketsand the individuals involved. Street dealers may also act as middle-market suppliers.14 The HRB’s Alcohol and Drug Research Unit (ADRU) is currently conducting a two-year study on the illicitdrug market in Ireland. This research is commissioned by the National Advisory Committee on Drugs(NACD) and is due to be completed by the end of 2009.Crack cocaine in the Dublin region: an evidence base for a crack cocaine strategy41
When describing local drug markets, a further useful distinction has been madebetween ‘open’ and ‘closed’ markets (May and Hough 2004; Burgess 2003). Openmarkets can be located on the street where dealers will congregate and wait to beapproached, or they may be off the street in premises which can be accessed byanyone – locations such as bars, so-called ‘crack houses’ and pubs. In open markets,dealers will sell to any buyer, even one unknown to them (Burgess 2003; GLADA2004a). Closed markets can also operate on the street, but dealers will usually arrangeby mobile phone to meet a buyer, and will only engage with buyers that they alreadyknow or who are introduced to them by a trusted source. Closed markets may operatein premises, but are usually only accessible to users that are known to the drug dealer.The nature of the market may have considerable implications in terms of communityimpact, law-enforcement and harm-reduction initiatives. While closed markets areless visible and therefore not as disturbing for the local community, they are far moredifficult to detect and monitor (Hough and Natarajan 2000). In Dublin, there have beensignificant alterations in the nature of many retail drug markets since the mid-1990s(Loughran and McCann 2006). Open drug markets are no longer as common as theywere in the late-1980s and 1990s. A significant factor in this alteration has been theemergence of the mobile phone.Another important feature of crack distribution in the UK and the US is so-called ‘crackhouses’. The term ‘crack house’ covers a wide range of buildings where crack cocaineis sold and used (Burgess 2003). These buildings may be residential, semi-derelict orunoccupied. They are often rental or social housing premises (housing association orlocal authority). In the UK, in addition to providing a social setting for crack users,crack houses may provide users with a 24-hour supply of crack and the opportunityto exchange sex for crack (GLADA 2004a: 16). There are a number of ways in which abuilding can become a crack house. Dealers will often use violence or intimidation tocommandeer a person’s home for the purposes of establishing a crack house (Burgess2003). That person may be in a vulnerable position in that they are already addictedto drugs and dependent to some extent on the dealer. A review in the UK has foundthat people whose houses have been taken over have at least one of the followingattributes: crack or other drug problems, drink problems, mental health problems orlearning difficulties; they are likely to be elderly, or young women, often single parentswho have some dependency on the dealer, or prostitutes (Burgess 2003). A dealer mayalso gain access to a person’s home under the guise of friendship and a perception bythe homeowner of benefits resulting from the use of the house.The role of prices can also be an important determinant of crack use and an indicatorof availability. In the UK, reported crack prices average £18, or €26.75, for a 0.2 gram‘rock’ of crack, although the media have reported that rocks of cocaine may also be42 Crack cocaine in the Dublin region: an evidence base for a crack cocaine strategy
Page 1 and 2: HRB Research Series6Crack cocaine i
Page 3 and 4: This publication should be cited as
Page 5 and 6: HRB Research Series publicationsto
Page 8 and 9: ContentsList of tables and figures
Page 10 and 11: 7 Social consequences of crack use
Page 12 and 13: List of tables and figuresTablesTab
Page 14 and 15: AbbreviationsADRUGNDUHRBISCCSGLDTFN
Page 16 and 17: Glossary of termsBenzos: The street
Page 18 and 19: Executive summaryBackground and stu
Page 20 and 21: phone and buyers are directed to sp
Page 22 and 23: Part 1IntroductionCrack cocaine in
Page 24 and 25: In the light of these concerns, it
Page 26 and 27: extensive reporting in the US about
Page 28 and 29: Ten interviews were conducted with
Page 30 and 31: also offers potential to trace supp
Page 32 and 33: Part 2Crack cocaine in the Dublin r
Page 34 and 35: 2.2 Criminal justice data - cocaine
Page 36 and 37: Prevalence of crack use among homel
Page 38 and 39: Local survey dataA survey in 2006 o
Page 40 and 41: Respondent 1: I’d say it’s stil
Page 44 and 45: sold on the street for as little as
Page 46 and 47: Like, I was down on M… Street in
Page 48 and 49: 3.4 Marketing crackFour interviewee
Page 50 and 51: While crack was generally bought al
Page 52 and 53: • Although a number of dealers, o
Page 54 and 55: 4.2 Crack use and genderAccording t
Page 56 and 57: From about 16 to 21 I would say - t
Page 58 and 59: Table 4.4Number of new cases who li
Page 60 and 61: 5.2 Crack and other drugsMany of th
Page 62 and 63: Whether treated cases reported crac
Page 64 and 65: cases of intravenous cocaine use, t
Page 66 and 67: Table 5.5Number (%) of new cases wh
Page 68 and 69: Part 3Consequences of crack useCrac
Page 70 and 71: etween heroin, cocaine and crime. T
Page 72 and 73: So, they would talk about the kind
Page 74 and 75: Crack and prostitutionNine services
Page 76 and 77: On the other hand, reports from two
Page 78 and 79: often with a prevalence of opiate d
Page 80 and 81: The data provided by the NDTRS in S
Page 82 and 83: But you know it would be about kind
Page 84 and 85: So, debt is another significant iss
Page 86 and 87: 7.6 Key findings• A significant p
Page 88 and 89: There are considerable long-term ps
Page 90: 8.3 Psychological consequences of c
Page 93 and 94:
9 Treating crack use9.0 OverviewIn
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Some services were in a position to
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Both opiate-dependent and non-opiat
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• more outreach work to identify
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10 Policing crack markets10.0 Overv
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local communities. There is growing
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He’d know me, I’d know him, you
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Table 10.1 Number of new cases who
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108 Crack cocaine in the Dublin reg
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11 Discussion and research implicat
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11.2 Responding to crack markets an
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11.3 Reducing the harm that crack c
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Shoplifting, burglary and robbery w
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Bourgois P (2003b) Crack and the po
Page 121 and 122:
Furey M and Browne C (2004) Opiate
Page 123 and 124:
Loughran H and McCann ME (2006) A c
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San Diego Police Department (1998)
Page 127 and 128:
Appendix A:An evidence base for tre
Page 129 and 130:
note that providing information on
Page 131 and 132:
MedicationsA number of studies have
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interpersonal psychotherapy. Americ
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Jurisdiction Intervention/Descripti
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Jurisdiction Intervention/Descripti
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Appendix C:Recent HRB series public
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140 Crack cocaine in the Dublin reg
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