Heroin

Heroin poses a low threat to Nebraska. The availability and abuse of heroin are decreasing in most areas of the state; however, Mexican black tar heroin and brown powdered heroin are available in some areas. No single group dominates the transportation or distribution of heroin in Nebraska; both Mexican criminal groups and Caucasian local independent dealers transport the drug into the state. Wholesale distribution rarely occurs in Nebraska. At the retail level, Mexican criminal groups, local independent dealers, and street gangs distribute heroin.

Abuse

Law enforcement officials in Nebraska report that heroin abuse is low. According to responses to the NDIC National Drug Threat Survey 2002, all 13 Nebraska respondents who reported on heroin abuse in their jurisdictions indicated that abuse was at a low level.

Heroin-related treatment admissions to publicly funded facilities in Nebraska--already at a low level--decreased from 1997 through 2001. TEDS data indicate that heroin-related treatment admissions decreased from 40 in 1997 to 11 in 2001, providing further evidence that abuse of the drug remains low in the state. (See Table 1 in Overview section.)

Heroin abuse has been a factor in a limited number of drug-related deaths in the Omaha metropolitan area. According to DAWN mortality data, the number of heroin-related deaths in the Omaha metropolitan area has remained low; three deaths were reported in 1997, three in 1998, two in 1999, two in 2000, and seven in 2001.

Heroin is not frequently detected among male arrestees in Omaha. ADAM data for Omaha indicate that only 2 percent of adult male arrestees in 2000 tested positive for heroin. Less than 4 percent of Caucasian male arrestees and less than 1 percent of African American male arrestees tested positive for heroin.

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Availability

Mexico-produced heroin is available on a limited basis in Nebraska. However, the availability of heroin is decreasing in most areas of the state. Mexican black tar heroin is available in limited quantities in Hastings, Lincoln, and Omaha, and Mexican brown powdered heroin is available in limited quantities in Columbus, Lincoln, and South Sioux City. Other types of heroin typically are not available in Nebraska.

The amount of heroin seized in Nebraska has been low over the past several years. Federal law enforcement agencies in Nebraska seized only 0.1 kilogram of heroin from 1998 through 2001, according to FDSS data. (See Table 3 in Methamphetamine section.) In 2001 the Nebraska State Patrol seized 15 grams of heroin. State and local law enforcement agencies in Omaha made four seizures of Mexican black tar heroin totaling 610 grams during 1999 and seized 30 grams in 2000.

The percentage of drug-related federal sentences that were heroin-related in Nebraska was less than the national percentage in FY2001. According to USSC data, in FY2001 less than 1 percent of federal sentences were heroin-related in Nebraska compared with 7 percent nationally. (See Table 2 in Overview section.) The number of federal sentences resulting from heroin violations in Nebraska decreased from 12 in FY1997 to 1 in FY2001.

Heroin prices in Nebraska vary depending on the area. Mexican black tar heroin is sold in "beans" for $50 each. Beans are quantities of less than one-quarter gram that are wrapped in strips cut from a balloon.

Violence

In Nebraska heroin-related violence is limited. According to ADAM reporting, 2 percent of adult males arrested for violent offenses in Omaha tested positive for heroin in 2000. Although many violent offenders do not abuse heroin, some heroin distributors, particularly street gang members, are responsible for many violent crimes.

Production

Opium is not cultivated nor is heroin produced in Nebraska. Heroin is produced primarily in four source regions--South America, Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia, and Mexico. Most of the heroin available in Nebraska is produced in Mexico.

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Transportation

No one group dominates the transportation of heroin into Nebraska. Mexican criminal groups transport small quantities of heroin into Nebraska via the highway system. Caucasian local independent dealers also transport heroin into Nebraska. Most of the heroin available in Nebraska is transported from Mexico and El Paso, Texas.

Distribution

Wholesale quantities of heroin generally are not available in Nebraska. Most heroin distribution primarily occurs at the retail level. Mexican criminal groups, local independent dealers, and street gangs are the primary retail distributors of heroin in the state. Due to the limited demand for heroin in Nebraska, these retail dealers also distribute other illicit drugs. Mexican criminal groups in Columbus, Caucasian independent dealers in Lincoln, and Mexican criminal groups and African American independent dealers in Omaha distribute heroin at the retail level. Law enforcement officials in South Sioux City report that Caucasian local independent dealers distribute heroin at the retail level in their jurisdiction. In 1999 the Omaha Police Department and Douglas County Sheriff's Office identified a Mexican criminal group that distributed heroin. The Omaha Police Department also identified a small heroin distribution group in 1999 that allegedly obtained Mexican black tar heroin from Sioux City, Iowa.

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