Other Dangerous Drugs

Other dangerous drugs (ODDs) including MDMA and GHB and its analogs pose a significant drug threat to Pennsylvania, although the threat is less severe than that posed by heroin, cocaine, marijuana, diverted pharmaceuticals, and methamphetamine. MDMA and GHB and its analogs typically are abused by young adults and distributed at raves, nightclubs, bars, private parties, and on college campuses.

MDMA. Young adults are the principal abusers of MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as ecstasy) throughout Pennsylvania. Treatment, mortality data, and seizure statistics regarding MDMA are not available in the state. However, the number of MDMA-related ED mentions in the Philadelphia metropolitan area fluctuated but increased overall from 141 in 2000 to 203 in 2001 to 177 in 2002, according to DAWN.

MDMA is available at varying levels throughout Pennsylvania. The drug is most readily available in the state's larger cities and on or near college campuses. According to the NDTS 2002, 66 of the 99 law enforcement respondents in Pennsylvania rated the level of MDMA availability as low or medium; 27 respondents rated the level as high. Six did not respond to this item on the survey questionnaire. MDMA tablets sold for $9 to $35 at the retail level in the second quarter of FY2003, according to the DEA Philadelphia Division. In Philadelphia retail-level MDMA prices decreased from $20 per tablet in the third quarter of FY2002 to $9 per tablet in the first quarter of FY2003.

Most of the MDMA consumed in Pennsylvania is produced outside the United States, typically in laboratories in the Netherlands and Belgium. Some of the MDMA available in the state is smuggled directly from these countries or transit countries in Europe by couriers aboard commercial aircraft and by package delivery services. Additional quantities of the drug are transported into Pennsylvania from New York City or Miami via private or rental vehicles and by package delivery services. Russian and Israeli DTOs, Israeli and Dutch nationals, and Caucasian criminal groups and local independent dealers smuggle and transport MDMA into Pennsylvania. In 2002 law enforcement officials assigned to the Philadelphia/Camden High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Interdiction Unit and the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested several couriers and seized approximately 60 pounds of MDMA at the Philadelphia International Airport. The MDMA was concealed in the clothes and luggage of the couriers who arrived at the airport on commercial aircraft from the Netherlands.

Some MDMA is produced in Pennsylvania. On December 10, 2002, agents from the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Bureau of Narcotics Investigations (BNI) seized a large underground MDMA laboratory in Bangor--located 90 miles north of Philadelphia. The laboratory was located in a 30,000-gallon steel drum buried under the driveway of a residence and was accessible through a partially hidden doorway. Agents discovered that the primary suspect in this case had stored precursor chemicals (enough to produce more than 1 million MDMA tablets) at a nearby warehouse. Agents indicated that the suspect supplied MDMA to retail-level distributors in Philadelphia and several East Coast states.

Israeli and Russian DTOs, as well as Caucasian criminal groups and local independent dealers, are the principal wholesale-level MDMA distributors in Pennsylvania. Most wholesale-level MDMA distribution occurs in the state's larger cities, such as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. African American, Caucasian, Dominican, and Russian criminal groups; Caucasian local independent dealers; and street gangs such as Latin Kings and Hoovers are the principal retail-level MDMA distributors in Pennsylvania's larger cities. In smaller cities and on most college campuses, Caucasian local independent dealers are the principal retail-level distributors of the drug. Retail-level MDMA distribution typically occurs at raves, nightclubs, bars, private parties, and on college campuses. MDMA generally is distributed in tablet and, less often, in capsule form. Most tablets are stamped with a logo or marking.

GHB and Analogs. The depressant GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate) and its analogs--GBL, BD, GHV, and GVL--are available and abused in Pennsylvania. According to the NDTS 2002, 6 of the 99 law enforcement respondents in Pennsylvania rated the level of GHB availability as high, and 63 rated it as low or medium. Thirty did not respond to this item on the survey questionnaire. Emergency department, treatment, mortality, and seizure data regarding GHB are not available in Pennsylvania.

Caucasian local independent dealers are the principal distributors and abusers of GHB and its analogs in Pennsylvania. Distributors and abusers often produce the drugs themselves or obtain the drugs via the Internet. GHB and its analogs are distributed primarily at raves, bars, nightclubs, private parties, gyms, and on college campuses in Pennsylvania and have been used to facilitate sexual assaults in the state. GHB and its analogs typically are packaged in vials at the time of distribution and sold by the capful--usually the size of the cap from a small water bottle. According to the DEA Philadelphia Division, GHB sold for $10 to $20 per dosage unit at the retail level in the second quarter of FY2003.

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