Cocaine

Cocaine, particularly crack cocaine, remains the primary drug threat to South Carolina. The drug is readily available and frequently abused in the state. According to the 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 1.9 percent of South Carolina residents reported having abused cocaine at least once in the past year compared with 1.7 percent nationwide. Cocaine-related treatment admissions to publicly funded facilities decreased from 5,643 in fiscal year (FY) 1997 to 5,018 in FY2000 then increased to 5,420 in FY2001, according to the South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services. (See Table 1.) From FY1997 to FY2001, crack cocaine abuse accounted for at least 80 percent of all cocaine-related treatment admissions. According to the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), in 1999--the most recent year for which these data are available--the number of cocaine-related treatment admissions per 100,000 population in South Carolina (121) exceeded the number per 100,000 nationwide (104).

Table 1. Drug-Related Treatment Admissions to Publicly Funded Facilities, South Carolina, FY1997-FY2001

Source: South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services.

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Powdered cocaine and crack cocaine are readily available in South Carolina. According to Federal-wide Drug Seizure System (FDSS) data, federal law enforcement officials in South Carolina seized 102.1 kilograms of cocaine in FY2001. U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC) data indicate that 70.5 percent of all drug-related federal sentences in South Carolina in FY2000 were cocaine-related compared with 44.2 percent nationwide.

The DEA Atlanta Division reported that in the first quarter of FY2001, powdered cocaine in South Carolina sold for $100 per gram. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Columbia District Office, powdered cocaine sold for $25,000 to $30,000 per kilogram in May 2002, with purity levels ranging from 75 percent to 95 percent. Responses to the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) National Drug Threat Survey 2001 indicated that crack cocaine sold for an average of $100 per gram in South Carolina in 2001. Survey respondents indicated that in 2001 the price of a rock of crack cocaine ranged from $10 in Port Royal to $50 in Anderson. Crack cocaine purity levels were unavailable.

African American criminal groups and street gangs are the primary transporters of cocaine into and through South Carolina. These groups and gangs typically transport cocaine from New York and Florida using private vehicles. Local independent dealers and, to a lesser extent, Haitian, Jamaican, and Mexican criminal groups as well as OMGs also transport significant quantities of cocaine into and through the state. Colombian drug trafficking organizations occasionally smuggle large quantities of cocaine into South Carolina by commercial maritime vessels through the Port of Charleston. Transporters also use commercial vehicles, aircraft, buses, trains, and package delivery services to ship cocaine into and through the state.

Various criminal groups, street gangs, and local independent dealers distribute cocaine in South Carolina. African American street gangs and various local independent dealers are the primary wholesale powdered and crack cocaine distributors in South Carolina. African American, Caucasian, Caribbean, Colombian, and Mexican criminal groups also distribute cocaine at the wholesale level in the state. African American street gangs and various local independent dealers are the principal retail distributors of powdered and crack cocaine in South Carolina. Powdered cocaine is sold at some nightclubs in urban areas and through established contacts. Crack cocaine, which usually is converted at stash houses in the state, is most often sold at open-air drug markets and private residences.

Cocaine, particularly crack, is the drug most often associated with violent crime in South Carolina. Law enforcement officials across the state report that cocaine distributors frequently carry firearms and have committed homicides, drive-by shootings, and assaults. Further, crack abusers often commit crimes to support their drug habits, resulting in increased property crime and violent crime rates.

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