Cocaine remains the greatest drug threat in Ohio. The 1999 Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) Program Annual Report indicates that cocaine has been the most prevalent drug of abuse among males and females arrested in Cleveland from 1990 to 1999. The Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, and Toledo Police Departments all report that powdered cocaine and crack are the biggest problems in their areas, citing the violence associated with cocaine distribution and abuse and the extent of residual crimes such as assaults, drive-by shootings, and domestic violence.

Cocaine is transported into Ohio from the Southwest Border, including California and Texas, as well as from Miami, Florida, and New York, New York. Chicago, Illinois, and Detroit, Michigan, serve as transshipment points and distribution centers for cocaine shipped from the Southwest Border and transported into and distributed throughout Ohio. Traffickers use metropolitan areas like Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, and Dayton as state-level wholesale distribution centers for smaller cities in the state and probably for some areas outside the state.

Several drug distribution groups supply wholesale amounts of cocaine in Ohio, but no one group is identified as dominant. Law enforcement reports indicate that Mexican criminal groups are the major suppliers of powdered cocaine to Ohio from Southwest Border states; Colombian, Dominican, and Jamaican criminal groups transport powdered cocaine into Ohio from Miami and New York City.

Cocaine abuse in Ohio is prevalent and comparative to rates of abuse in other states in the region. Estimates from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) indicate that 889,056 Ohio residents aged 12 or older reported using powdered cocaine at least once in their lifetime, and an estimated 194,481 residents reported using crack cocaine at least once in their lifetime. The percentage of individuals aged 12 or older reporting powdered cocaine use at least once in their lifetime in Ohio (9.6) is slightly less than in other states in the Great Lakes Region such as Illinois (10.2) and Michigan (11.2). The percentage for crack cocaine in Ohio (2.1) is slightly higher than in Illinois (1.9) and slightly lower than in Michigan (2.3).

Cocaine abuse in Ohio may be trending upward. The number of treatment admissions for powdered cocaine and crack abuse increased more than 11 percent from 1998 to 1999. In 1998, 15,704 admissions to Ohio's publicly funded treatment programs listed powdered cocaine or crack as the primary substance of abuse, compared with 17,435 in 1999.

African Americans are the primary cocaine users in Ohio. In 1999, adult (over 18 years old) African Americans accounted for 64.2 percent of admissions for powdered and crack cocaine abuse. Adult Caucasians ranked second, accounting for 33.2 percent. For juvenile (under 18 years old) admissions, these numbers are reversed: in 1999, juvenile Caucasians accounted for 66.5 percent of admissions for powdered and crack cocaine abuse, while African Americans accounted for 31.4 percent. Data show this reversal of ethnicity between adult and juvenile admissions has occurred since 1996.

In 1999, more than 80 percent of adult public treatment admissions for cocaine abuse in Ohio were between the ages of 25 and 44, and more than 80 percent of juvenile admissions for cocaine abuse were between 15 and 18. The rate of cocaine abuse by juveniles in Ohio, as measured by treatment admissions, has remained under 2 percent since 1996.

The rate of cocaine abuse appears to relate to the education level and employment status of users. Individuals with a high school education or less accounted for 71.3 percent of all admissions for cocaine abuse in 1999. Unemployed individuals and those not in the labor force accounted for 76.7 percent of admissions for cocaine abuse in Ohio.

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Availability

Powdered cocaine and crack remain readily available throughout Ohio. Multiounce quantities can be purchased throughout the Cincinnati, Cleveland, Toledo, and Youngstown areas. All Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Resident Offices in Ohio, with the exception of Dayton, indicate that powdered cocaine and crack are widely available in their areas. Most law enforcement agencies in Ohio responding to the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) 2000 National Drug Threat Survey indicate that cocaine is readily available in their areas. Twelve of eighteen Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigations initiated in Ohio in 1999 involved large-scale cocaine distribution groups. Most federal drug sentences in Ohio in FY1999 were for powdered cocaine- and crack-related charges. (See Chart 2.)

Chart 2. Federal Drug Sentences FY1999
U.S. Attorney Districts
USA     Ohio      Northern Ohio      Southern Ohio
d-link
Source: U.S. Sentencing Commission, 1999 Datafile, OPAFY99.

The average purity of powdered cocaine in Ohio varies by quantity sold. Kilogram quantities of powdered cocaine in Ohio average 81 percent pure; ounce quantities, 74 percent; and gram quantities, 61 percent. Kilogram quantities often are broken down into ounce or gram quantities and sold to midlevel or street-level distributors. At this point, diluents such as lactose and talcum powder often are added, decreasing the purity but extending the amount of powdered cocaine that can be sold.

Relatively low, stable, and in some cases, declining prices for powdered cocaine and crack suggest that there is an abundant supply in Ohio. In 1995, an ounce of powdered cocaine sold for $1,150, compared with $1,165 in 1997, and $1,150 in 1999. The average price of an ounce of crack cocaine in Ohio was $1,280 in 1995, compared with $1,115 in 1997, and $1,150 in 1999.

Gang-related violent crime associated with drug distribution--including homicides, drive-by shootings, robberies, and assaults--has increased noticeably in the Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), which includes the counties of Cuyahoga, Lucas, Mahoning, Stark, and Summit. Narcotics officers in the Cleveland area estimate that 60 percent of all homicides are drug-related. Street gangs commit most of the cocaine-related violence in Ohio, and the violence primarily revolves around crack cocaine distribution at the retail level.

When gang members in larger urban areas relocate to smaller Ohio cities to expand distribution operations and increase profits, they bring violence as well as drugs to new markets. One gang known as the "Dog Pound" relocated 10 to 12 of its members from Detroit, Michigan, to Canton, Ohio, around 1990 because street prices for crack cocaine were four times higher in Canton than in Detroit. Within a few years, gang members were operating at least six crack houses near downtown Canton and were sending profits of thousands of dollars a month back to their leaders in Detroit. The gang was responsible for numerous drive-by shootings and at least four homicides in Canton as it attempted to gain control of crack cocaine distribution.

A growing concern of many law enforcement agencies is the number of juveniles involved in gang activity. Juveniles belonging to gangs are more likely to be involved in violent criminal activity and major property crimes. Most report owning a gun, and most report that their first arrest occurred within a year of joining a gang. Juvenile gang members throughout Ohio claim affiliation with the Crips and Vice Lords as well as with independent gangs. An added concern is the declining age of gang members. In the early 1990s, the average age of a gang member was 17 to 18, compared with 14 to 15 in 1999.

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There are no known instances of powdered cocaine production in Ohio. However, in Cincinnati, street-level distributors convert powdered cocaine to crack in their homes or stash houses. Authorities in Columbus report that neighborhood distributors convert powdered cocaine into crack.

Mexican and Dominican criminal groups and, to a lesser extent, other ethnic criminal groups transport multikilogram quantities of powdered cocaine into Ohio. Mexican criminal groups transport cocaine into Ohio from California and Chicago. Dominican criminal groups transport cocaine from the New York City area. Cuban criminal groups based in southern Florida and Jamaican criminal groups based in Los Angeles and New York City transport large quantities of cocaine into northern Ohio. Multikilogram quantities of powdered cocaine also are transported into Ohio from sources in Houston. El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC) Operation Pipeline data show that of the 21 seizures of Ohio-bound cocaine in 1999, four shipments originated in Illinois, two in New York, one in Florida, and seven in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas, all Southwest Border states. The seven remaining shipments originated in other states or in states not identified. On September 7, 2000, federal, state, and local drug agents conducted raids conjointly in Ohio and Michigan that led to 36 individuals being charged with transporting 500 kilograms of powdered cocaine and 10 kilograms of crack from Mexico through Texas and Chicago to northwestern Ohio and southeastern Michigan.

Criminal groups ship powdered cocaine into the state primarily overland via interstate highways, normally concealing the cocaine inside private or rental vehicles. Operation Pipeline seizure information indicates that all 21 cocaine seizures in Ohio in 1999 took place on interstate highways and that all involved a private or rental vehicle. Most of the seizures occurred on one of the major interstates in Ohio such as I-70, I-75, and I-80. All six districts of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI&I) also report that cocaine is transported into the state via private or rental vehicles using the interstate system.

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Commercial airlines are another means increasingly used to transport cocaine into Ohio. The Drug Interdiction Task Force at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport noted an increase in the amount of cocaine seized from 1998 (2.4 kg) to 1999 (18.6 kg). According to the Ohio BCI&I, distributors in Cleveland, mostly local gang members, typically send young females carrying currency to Los Angeles to buy powdered cocaine and bodycarry it back to Ohio. The distributors provide airline tickets and hotel rooms in Los Angeles and pay the couriers $200 to $300 per trip. A June 2000 investigation by federal and local officials in Cleveland resulted in the indictment of 28 individuals, including 22 from Ohio, who operated a Los Angeles-to-Cleveland drug distribution operation using commercial airlines. Two airline employees who acted as cocaine couriers aided the distribution group by transporting 12-kilogram quantities on commercial airlines.

Wholesalers use major cities in Ohio like Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, and Toledo as distribution centers for smaller cities in and outside the state, and these distribution centers are part of a larger transportation and distribution network throughout the country. For example, wholesale distributors transport multihundred-kilogram quantities of cocaine from U.S. cities like Los Angeles and Miami to national-level drug distribution centers in cities such as Chicago and New York City. From Chicago and New York City the cocaine is shipped in multiounce to kilogram weights into Cleveland, one of the four major cities in Ohio. These cities, in turn, are centers for further distribution of cocaine to smaller cities like Akron, Canton, and Youngstown.

Several drug distribution groups supply wholesale amounts of cocaine to Ohio, but no one group is identified as dominant throughout the state. In Cleveland, Cuban, Dominican, Jamaican, and Mexican criminal groups and various national and local street gangs are responsible for multikilogram cocaine shipments into the area. These same groups, as well as Caucasian, Colombian, and local independent groups, are operating in Columbus. In Toledo, African-American, Caucasian, and Hispanic criminal groups are responsible for distributing multiounce quantities of cocaine.

Growing Dominican populations in Ohio's cities provide both a base from which Dominican criminal groups can further their drug distribution operations and a cover by which they can minimize the chance of identification by law enforcement. Columbus is an ethnically diverse city that is experiencing an increase in its Dominican population. Local Dominican criminal groups maintain extensive connections to New York City, and are responsible for transporting multiounce to kilogram quantities of powdered cocaine into the Columbus area. Dayton is experiencing similar growth in its Dominican population, as is Cincinnati, although to a lesser extent.

Retail cocaine distribution is conducted by a variety of criminal groups. Most Ohio law enforcement agencies responding to the 2000 National Drug Threat Survey indicate that street gangs, ethnic criminal groups, and local independent groups are responsible for retail-level cocaine distribution in their areas. Also, of 77 Ohio law enforcement agencies responding to the NDIC's 2000 Gang Survey, 47 cite major street gangs as involved in local retail cocaine distribution. The principal street-level distributors of crack cocaine in Cincinnati are street gangs and Mexican and Puerto Rican criminal groups. In Akron, distributors have developed cooperative working relationships, relying on one another to obtain cocaine when supplies are depleted. Some crack cocaine distribution groups in northern Ohio are increasingly using juveniles for retail sales.

In some areas of Ohio, retail distributors may feel more comfortable selling outdoors because of successful law enforcement initiatives to combat sales from homes. For example, in the city of Alliance, the Alliance Special Investigations Unit believes that retail distributors of crack cocaine are moving away from in-home operations because of the large number of raids in 1999. Alliance police raided 84 homes in 1999 compared with only 28 in the first half of 2000. Another factor influencing the decline in in-home operations in all likelihood is due to an Ohio law that provides for the forfeiture of a residence and other assets, including vehicles, for a drug arrest.

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