Drug-Related Crime

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Drug-related violent and property crime are a common occurrence in the South Florida HIDTA region as distributors, particularly street gang members, protect their distribution territories and abusers seek money to sustain their addictions. According to the NDTS 2007, 23 of the 31 local law enforcement agency respondents in the South Florida HIDTA region reported that crack cocaine was the drug that most contributed to violent and property crime in their jurisdictions. Moreover, findings from a recent state grand jury proceeding reveal that gang-related violent crime is increasing in the state and the region. (See text box.)

Increasing Gang Violence

In August 2007 the Office of the Florida Attorney General summoned a statewide grand jury to study the growth of gangs and criminal gang activity, including drug-related crime and violations of the Florida Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO Act or RICO). The interim findings, released in December 2007, revealed a statewide increase in the number of street gangs, an increase in gang membership, and an increase in the number of violent crimes committed by gang members. The first arrests and indictments resulting from the grand jury proceedings were announced in December 2007. On December 14, 2007, law enforcement officers arrested 10 members of the Sur 13 street gang in Palm Beach County and charged them with criminal racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering. Law enforcement officials also have linked these members to other crimes, including the attempted murder of rival gang members during a drive-by shooting that severely injured an innocent bystander, a series of armed robberies, retaliatory arson, aggravated battery, multiple thefts, and drug-related crimes.

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Abuse

Marijuana is the most commonly abused illicit drug throughout Florida, including in the HIDTA region; it is also the primary illicit substance identified in treatment admissions to publicly funded facilities in the state. According to data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), the number of marijuana-related treatment admissions in Florida from 2002 through 2006 (the latest year for which such data are available) exceeded the number of treatment admissions for cocaine, pharmaceutical drugs (including other opiates, tranquilizers, and sedatives), heroin, and amphetamines (which includes methamphetamine).⁹ (See Table 3.) Moreover, 48.4 percent of marijuana-related treatment admissions in 2006 involved individuals between 12 and 17 years of age at the time of admission.

Table 3. Drug-Related Treatment Admissions to Publicly Funded Facilities in Florida, 2002-2006

Drug	2002	2003	2004 *	2005	2006
Marijuana	19,287	20,129	30,489	10,652	13,322
Cocaine (by all routes of administration)	17,368	16,648	21,511	8,918	11,074
Pharmaceuticals **	5,099	4,253	6,321	2,504	4,315
Heroin	5,078	4,021	4,227	1,222	1,782
Amphetamine (including methamphetamine)	741	1,022	1,753	893	1,051

Source: Treatment Episode Data Set, as of May 7, 2008.
*Florida changed its methodology for reporting treatment admissions to TEDS between 2004 and 2005; this resulted in a significant decline in the number of reported treatment admissions between these years (public health officials believe significant duplicate admissions were occurring under the prior reporting mechanism). Additionally, trend analysis cannot be conducted for years prior to 2005 with current year data.
**Pharmaceutical drugs include other opiates, tranquilizers, and sedatives.

Cocaine abuse is prevalent in the South Florida HIDTA region and throughout Florida. According to TEDS data, cocaine-related treatment admissions to publicly funded facilities in the state increased substantially between 2005 (8,918) and 2006 (11,074). Moreover, despite the fact that marijuana is the most commonly abused illicit substance in the state, law enforcement and public health officials report that the most severe drug-related societal and personal consequences are typically associated with powder and crack cocaine abuse.

Pharmaceutical drugs are widely available and frequently abused in the South Florida HIDTA region. The most commonly abused pharmaceutical drugs are prescription narcotics such as Vicodin and Lortab (hydrocodone), methadone, and OxyContin (oxycodone). CNS depressants, including benzodiazepines such as Valium (diazepam) and Xanax (alprazolam) are also commonly abused. Florida medical examiner data reveal that the number of deaths associated with pharmaceutical drugs (prescription narcotics and benzodiazepines), used either alone or in combination with other drugs,¹⁰ exceeded the number of deaths associated with cocaine and heroin in the South Florida HIDTA region during 2006 (the latest full year for which data are available). (See Table 4.) Additionally, treatment admissions to publicly funded facilities for pharmaceutical drug abuse increased significantly between 2005 (2,504) and 2006 (4,315), according to TEDS data.

Table 4. Drug Mentions in Deceased Persons in Broward, Dade, Monroe, and Palm Beach Counties, 2003-2007 *

	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007*
Pharmaceutical drugs **	996	1,173	1,177	1,048	548
Cocaine	485	441	513	539	228
Heroin	109	83	58	42	14

Source: Florida Department of Law Enforcement; Florida Medical Examiners.
*January 2007 through July 2007.
**Pharmaceutical drugs include benzodiazepines and prescription narcotics.

Heroin abuse, while limited, is increasing in the South Florida HIDTA region. Heroin abuse had been largely confined to an established population of Hispanic long-term heroin abusers in the region; however, according to public health officials, heroin abuse is increasing in the region, particularly among male Caucasians and prescription narcotics abusers. This increase is reflected in the number of heroin-related treatment admissions in the state, which increased between 2005 (1,222) and 2006 (1,782), according to TEDS data. Additionally, public health officials report that prescription narcotics abusers are increasingly switching to heroin because the cost of the drug is less. For example, the retail price of 1 gram (at least 10 dosage units) of heroin in Miami ranged between $33 and $50 in 2007, while the retail price of OxyContin ranged between $10 and $15 per 40-milligram tablet (one dosage unit) and was $20 for an 80 milligram tablet (one dosage unit). SA heroin was the principal type available in retail-level heroin markets in Miami in 2006 (the latest year for which such data are available), according to the 2006 Heroin Domestic Monitor Program.¹¹

End Notes

9. Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) data are available only at the state level; thus, the number of admissions is reflective of the entire state of Florida and not just the South Florida HIDTA. Additionally, in 2006 approximately 46 percent of TEDS admissions in Florida were referred to treatment through the criminal justice system, compared with 38 percent of TEDS admissions nationwide.
10. More than one drug type may be associated with each deceased person because of mixed toxicities.
11. The DEA Heroin Domestic Monitor Program (HDMP) provides data on the price, purity, and geographic source of heroin at the retail level in 28 U.S. cities. In 2006, 23 qualified HDMP samples were purchased in Miami. All of these samples were analyzed as SA heroin. These samples ranged from 2.8 percent to 85.9 percent purity, with an average purity of 24.4 percent. Compared with 2005 levels, the average purity of Miami's exhibits rose by 5 percent; this level of average heroin purity has not reached comparable levels in Miami since 2003.

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