Heroin

National Drug Intelligence Center
Pennsylvania Drug Threat Assessment Update
October 2003

Treatment statistics, emergency department (ED) mentions, and mortality data reflect the magnitude of the heroin threat to Pennsylvania and two of its largest cities, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. According to the Pennsylvania Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Programs, the number of heroin-related treatment admissions to publicly funded facilities statewide increased 7.3 percent from 13,261 in state fiscal year (SFY) 2001 to 14,229 in SFY2002. (SFY is July 1 through June 30.) Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) ED data indicate that the number of heroin-related mentions in the Philadelphia metropolitan area fluctuated but increased overall from 4,661 in 2000 to 5,362 in 2001 to 4,918 in 2002. The rate of heroin ED mentions per 100,000 population in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (109) was significantly higher than the rate nationwide (36) in 2002. DAWN mortality data indicate that heroin/morphine was mentioned in 412 of the 874 drug deaths in the Philadelphia metropolitan area in 2001. Heroin/morphine was the only drug present in 34 of those deaths. Allegheny County (Pittsburgh) Coroner data indicate that heroin alone was involved in 56 (26.6%) of the 210 accidental drug overdose deaths in 2002. Heroin in combination with other drugs was a factor in 118 (56.1%) of those deaths. According to Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program (ADAM) data, 13 percent of adult male arrestees in Philadelphia tested positive for opiates in 2001, the most recent data available. The 2001 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) indicates that 2.6 percent of high school students surveyed in Philadelphia reported having abused heroin in their lifetime, compared to 3.1 percent nationwide.

DAWN Mortality Data

DAWN measures the consequences of drug use through hospital emergency departments. Hospitals eligible for DAWN are nonfederal, short stay, general hospitals in the coterminous United States that have a 24-hour emergency department. DAWN ED data include information on ED episodes that are induced or related to the use of an illegal drug or the nonmedical use of a legal drug. A drug mention refers to a substance that was recorded (mentioned) during a drug-related ED episode.

DAWN mortality data include information on drug-induced and drug-related deaths identified and submitted by death investigation jurisdictions participating in DAWN.

DAWN mortality data for the Philadelphia metropolitan area represent drug deaths in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania and Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester Counties in New Jersey. These eight counties account for 99 percent of the metropolitan area population.

Heroin, primarily South American heroin, is readily available throughout Pennsylvania. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Philadelphia Division, all of the heroin purchased in Pennsylvania in 2002 under the auspices of the Domestic Monitor Program (a heroin purchase program designed to identify the purity, price, and source of origin of retail-level heroin available in drug markets in 23 major U.S. metropolitan areas) and analyzed by DEA's Special Testing and Research Laboratory was South American heroin. Some state and local law enforcement agencies, however, report that Southeast Asian, Southwest Asian, and Mexican black tar and brown powdered heroin are available, though to a lesser extent. According to the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) National Drug Threat Survey (NDTS) 2002, 72 of the 99 law enforcement respondents in Pennsylvania reported the availability of heroin as medium or high. According to Federal-wide Drug Seizure System (FDSS) data, federal law enforcement officials in Pennsylvania seized 18.2 kilograms of heroin in 2002, a substantial increase from the 8.8 kilograms seized in 2001. U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC) data indicate that the percentage of drug-related federal sentences in the state involving heroin (9.2%) was higher than the national percentage (7.2%) in fiscal year (FY) 2001. Statewide, heroin sold for $80,000 to $110,000 per kilogram, $2,000 to $6,500 per ounce, and $10 to $40 per bag in the second quarter of FY2003, according to the DEA Philadelphia Division. The heroin analyzed by the DEA during that period had purity levels ranging from as low as 40 percent to as high as 95 percent.

NDIC National Drug Threat Survey

The NDTS 2002 was administered by NDIC to a representative sample of state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the United States to assess availability, abuse, and overall threat posed by all major drugs. NDIC received 2,906 survey responses from law enforcement agencies, an overall response rate of 80 percent. Survey respondents were asked to rank the greatest drug threats in their areas and to indicate the level of availability for each major drug type. They were also asked to provide information on specific groups involved in the transportation and distribution of illicit drugs. Responding agencies also provided narrative assessments of various aspects of the overall drug situation and the threat posed by specific drugs in their areas. Survey responses are used by NDIC to substantiate and augment drug threat information obtained from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

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Most of the South American heroin available in Pennsylvania is transported into the state by Colombian and Dominican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) and African American, Dominican, Mexican, and Puerto Rican criminal groups. Caucasian criminal groups; African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic local independent dealers; and street gangs also transport South American heroin into the state, although to a lesser extent. Most of the South American heroin available in Pennsylvania is purchased from sources of supply in New York City and, to a lesser extent, in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, New Jersey, and Florida and transported into the state via private vehicles (frequently equipped with hidden compartments) and rental vehicles. Heroin also is transported into Pennsylvania, albeit to a lesser extent, via commercial vehicles; couriers aboard buses, trains, and commercial aircraft; maritime vessels; and package delivery services.

Colombian and Dominican DTOs and criminal groups and African American, Puerto Rican, and Mexican criminal groups are the principal wholesale-level heroin distributors 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 criminal groups; African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic local independent dealers; street gangs such as Latin Kings; and outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs) such as Warlocks also distribute heroin at the wholesale level in the state, although to a lesser extent.

Drug Distributors Moving Into Pennsylvania

Federal, state, and local law enforcement officials in Pennsylvania report that some Philadelphia- and New York-based criminal groups and street gangs that distribute heroin, cocaine, and marijuana are relocating to central and northern Pennsylvania to establish new drug markets. According to law enforcement officials, these criminal groups and street gang members are moving into these areas because there are fewer law enforcement resources to combat the problem, and there is less competition in these drug markets.

Various ethnic criminal groups, local independent dealers and abusers, street gangs and, to a lesser extent, OMGs distribute heroin at the retail level in Pennsylvania. African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic criminal groups and local independent dealers; street gangs such as Latin Kings; and, to a lesser extent, OMGs such as Breed and Warlocks are the principal retail-level heroin distributors in Pennsylvania. Retail-level heroin distribution in the state 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. Most heroin sold at the retail level in Pennsylvania is packaged in small glassine bags stamped with a logo.

Heroin distribution and abuse often are associated with property crime and occasionally are associated with violent crime in Pennsylvania. In 2002 Ohio Township Police officials reported that the number of property crimes such as shoplifting and the theft of items (compact discs, stereos) from vehicles increased significantly because of the high level of heroin abuse in the area. One home improvement store in Ohio Township changed its liberal exchange policy because heroin abusers were stealing merchandise from the store and then returning the stolen items for cash. According to law enforcement officials, heroin distributors occasionally commit violent crimes such as assault and robbery to protect product, money, and turf.

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