NCJ Number
149176
Date Published
1994
Length
28 pages
Annotation
Based on information from ethnographic sources, treatment providers, and police sources, this report presents information on heroin, cocaine, and marijuana use in the United States for the quarter ending February 1994.
Abstract
Ethnographic sources for drug-use data include ethnographers, epidemiologists, and ethnographic sources from multiple urban areas. In ethnography, the social scientist enters the milieu, records and describes it, but is revealed as someone doing research. Treatment providers, another data source, were contacted in four regions that encompass the 48 States and the District of Columbia. Law enforcement sources were obtained from recommendations by drug researchers and other contacts in the field. They are all officers working on narcotics squads, DEA special agents, and other special drug task force agents. Information on the use of each drug -- heroin, cocaine, and marijuana -- is presented by information source, i.e., ethnographers, treatment providers, and police sources. Information is also provided on "other drugs/emerging drugs." A discussion of trends in drug use over the past 6 months (July 1993 through January 1994) notes the consistent reporting of the increased use of hallucinogens, the continued availability of high-purity heroin and increased prevalence of inhalation, some reduction in crack use, and a rise in marijuana use and availability. Tables show the city, purchase amount, purity, and other comments for each drug by source of information. Another summary table shows the percentage using each drug by age, race/ethnicity, sex, and prior treatment for each region.