Cocaine

Cocaine--both powdered and crack--poses a significant drug threat to Pennsylvania, particularly in Philadelphia where the cocaine threat rivals that of heroin. Treatment data indicate that the level of cocaine abuse has decreased but remains high. According to the Pennsylvania Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Programs, the number of cocaine-related treatment admissions to publicly funded facilities decreased statewide 10 percent from 12,234 in SFY2001 to 10,957 in SFY2002. DAWN ED data indicate that the number of cocaine-related ED mentions in the Philadelphia metropolitan area increased from 10,497 in 2000 to 11,358 in 2001 to 12,437 in 2002. The rate of cocaine-related ED mentions per 100,000 population in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (274) was higher than the rate nationwide (78) in 2002.

DAWN mortality data indicate that cocaine was mentioned in 405 of the 874 drug deaths in the Philadelphia metropolitan area in 2001. Cocaine was the only drug present in 65 of those deaths. Data provided by the Allegheny County Coroner indicate that cocaine alone was involved in 15 (7.1%) of the 210 accidental drug overdose deaths in 2002. Cocaine in combination with other drugs was involved in 57 (27.1%) of those deaths. According to ADAM data, 37 percent of adult male arrestees in Philadelphia tested positive for cocaine in 2001. According to combined data from the 1999 and the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA), the percentage of Pennsylvania residents who reported having abused cocaine in the past year (1.4%) was comparable to the percentage nationwide (1.6%). Data from the 2001 YRBS indicate that 2.6 percent of high school students surveyed in Philadelphia reported having abused cocaine in their lifetime, compared with 9.4 percent nationwide.

Cocaine is readily available in Pennsylvania. According to the NDTS 2002, 90 of the 99 law enforcement respondents in the state reported the availability of powdered cocaine as medium or high, and 74 of the 99 respondents reported the availability of crack as medium or high. FDSS data indicate that federal law enforcement officials in Pennsylvania seized 445.5 kilograms of cocaine in 2002, a substantial increase from the 145.0 kilograms seized in 2001. USSC data indicate that 30.4 percent of drug-related federal sentences in Pennsylvania in FY2001 were powdered cocaine-related, compared with 22.1 percent nationally. Further, 34 percent of the drug-related federal sentences in Pennsylvania were crack cocaine-related, compared with 20.4 percent nationwide. Powdered cocaine sold for $20,000 to $35,000 per kilogram, $800 to $1,600 per ounce, and $28 to $125 per gram in Pennsylvania in the second quarter of FY2003, according to the DEA Philadelphia Division. Crack cocaine sold for $3 to $50 per rock (0.05 gram to 0.10 gram) during the same period. The powdered cocaine analyzed by DEA had purity levels ranging from as low as 60 percent to as high as 95 percent; crack typically was 80 percent pure.

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Most of the powdered cocaine available in Pennsylvania is transported into the state by Colombian and Dominican DTOs and criminal groups and African American, Mexican, and Puerto Rican criminal groups. Caucasian and Jamaican criminal groups; African American, Caucasian, Hispanic, and Jamaican local independent dealers; street gangs such as Bloods, Crips, and Latin Kings; and OMGs such as Outlaws and Pagan's also transport powdered cocaine into the state, although to a lesser extent. Most of the powdered cocaine available in Pennsylvania is purchased from sources of supply in New York City and, to a lesser extent, in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Miami, and New Jersey. The powdered cocaine is transported into the state via private vehicles (frequently equipped with hidden compartments), rental vehicles, and commercial vehicles. Cocaine also is transported into Pennsylvania via couriers aboard buses, trains, and commercial aircraft; maritime vessels; and package delivery services. Most of the abovementioned DTOs, criminal groups, street gangs, and OMGs also transport crack into Pennsylvania via these same conveyances. However, a significant portion of the crack available is converted in the state from powdered cocaine.

Colombian and Dominican DTOs and criminal groups and African American, Mexican, and Puerto Rican criminal groups are the principal wholesale-level distributors of powdered cocaine in Pennsylvania. These DTOs and criminal groups primarily are based and conduct their illicit activities in the state's larger cities, such as Philadelphia. Caucasian and Jamaican criminal groups; African American, Caucasian, Hispanic, and Jamaican local independent dealers; street gangs such as Bloods, Crips, and Latin Kings; and OMGs such as Outlaws and Pagan's also distribute powdered cocaine at the wholesale level in the state, although to a lesser extent. Dominican DTOs and criminal groups, as well as African American, Caucasian, Colombian, and Puerto Rican criminal groups and independent dealers; street gangs; and OMGs distribute wholesale-level quantities of crack in Pennsylvania.

Various ethnic criminal groups, local independent dealers and abusers, street gangs, and OMGs distribute both powdered cocaine and crack at the retail level in Pennsylvania. African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic criminal groups and local independent dealers; street gangs such as Bloods, Crips, and Latin Kings; and OMGs such as Outlaws and Pagan's are the principal retail-level distributors of both powdered cocaine and crack in Pennsylvania. Retail-level cocaine distribution typically occurs at open-air drug markets, from private residences, hotel rooms, and bars, as well as in public parking areas at malls and shopping centers. Powdered cocaine sold at the retail level typically is packaged in small plastic bags, folded pages of magazines, folded wax paper, and balloons. Crack usually is sold loose as rocks or packaged in small plastic bags.

Cocaine, particularly crack, is the drug most often associated with violent crime in Pennsylvania. According to law enforcement officials, retail-level crack distributors commit violent acts to protect product, money, and turf. Crack abusers also commit violent crimes in the state. 

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