Heroin

While heroin and cocaine previously posed equally serious drug threats, heroin has emerged as the greatest drug threat to Massachusetts. Primarily South American heroin is available in Massachusetts. Heroin is widely abused in Massachusetts as evidenced by the high number of heroin-related treatment admissions and deaths in which heroin was a factor. Heroin-related treatment admissions to publicly funded facilities increased from 18,031 in 1994 to 28,768 in 1999, according to Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). (See Table 1.) According to Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) mortality data, in Boston heroin was a factor in more deaths than any other illicit drug in 2000. Heroin-related deaths increased from 168 in 1999 to 183 in 2000 in Boston. (See Table 2.)

Table 1. Drug-Related Treatment Admissions to Publicly Funded Facilities, Massachusetts, 1994-1999

 Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Treatment Episode Data Set.

Table 2. Drug-Related Deaths, Boston, 1996-2000

Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Drug Abuse Warning Network.

To Top      To Contents

Heroin is readily available throughout Massachusetts. According to Federal-wide Drug Seizure System (FDSS) data, federal law enforcement officials seized 7.2 kilograms in fiscal year (FY) 2000, 3.7 in FY1998, 4.9 in FY1999, and 16.9 kilograms in FY2000. U.S. Sentencing Commission data indicate that 13.7 percent of all drug-related sentences in Massachusetts in fiscal year (FY) 1997 were heroin-related compared with 7.7 percent nationwide. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), in the first quarter of FY2002, an ounce of heroin sold for $3,000 to $5,000, and a bag of heroin sold for $6 to $20 in Boston and varied from $2 to $40 in other areas of the state. Heroin purity levels vary widely throughout the state, ranging from 20 percent to 90 percent.

Colombian and Dominican criminal groups transport heroin into Massachusetts from New York City using private vehicles. Heroin also is transported into Massachusetts via package delivery services, couriers aboard commercial aircraft, and in cargo aboard maritime vessels. Heroin is transported throughout the state and into New Hampshire and Vermont from the distribution centers of Holyoke, Springfield, Worcester, and the Greater Boston area--including the cities of Lawrence, Lowell, and Lynn.

Various criminal groups, gangs, and local independent dealers distribute heroin in Massachusetts. Colombian and Dominican criminal groups are the dominant wholesale distributors of heroin in the state. African American, Asian, Caucasian, and Hispanic criminal groups, gangs, and local independent dealers are the primary retail heroin distributors. Heroin is distributed at malls, shopping centers, from vehicles, and in open-air markets.

To Top      To Contents     To Previous Page     To Next Page

To Publications Page     To Home Page