National Drug Intelligence Center   Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis 2009   March 2009

Distribution

Colombian and Dominican DTOs based in New York City are the principal wholesale distributors of cocaine and SA heroin in the W/B HIDTA region. However, Mexican organizations based in the southern and western United States are increasingly involved in wholesale drug distribution, especially in southern Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley, adjacent to the HIDTA region. West African DTOs with sources of supply in Asia distribute wholesale amounts of heroin in the W/B HIDTA region, making it one of the few areas of the country where Southeast Asian (SEA) and SWA heroin are available. Mexican DTOs and criminal groups are the primary wholesale distributors of commercial-grade marijuana in the W/B HIDTA region, while Vietnamese criminal groups with ties to Asian DTOs in Canada have emerged as the principal distributors of high-potency marijuana.

Retail drug distribution in the W/B HIDTA region often takes place in open-air drug markets situated along commuting corridors and within public housing projects in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. These markets provide abusers within and outside the region with ready access to crack cocaine, heroin, and other illicit drugs. Most open-air drug markets are located in inner-city areas and are operated by neighborhood-based African American and Hispanic gangs or crews that periodically provide customers with free samples, or "testers," of heroin and cocaine to encourage future sales. Heroin packaging in the region varies by location; in the Baltimore metropolitan area, heroin is packaged almost exclusively in gelatin capsules and marketed by brand name, while in Washington, D.C., it is sold under various brand names but packaged primarily in small, colored, or otherwise marked plastic bags. In areas where open-air drug markets are not present, crack cocaine sales take place in low-income areas or housing projects. Some African American drug dealers who sell crack and marijuana along a main thoroughfare in Washington, D.C., for drive-through customers are now also selling MDMA. Law enforcement officials have identified some bars in the region that are operated or frequented by OMG members and used as distribution sites for methamphetamine, crack cocaine, and marijuana.

PCP available in the W/B HIDTA region is distributed primarily by local abusers of the drug. Long-established dealers in Washington, D.C., are supplied by wholesale distributors in southern California or by midlevel distributors in Prince George's County, Maryland, who are supplied by wholesale distributors in California. Sometimes couriers travel to California to acquire PCP and then transport the drug back to the HIDTA region in private vehicles or on commercial flights; in other instances the drug is transported by mail or, recently, by cross-country trucking services. For example, in June 2008, 10 gallons of PCP were seized from a tractor-trailer that had been used to transport the drug from Los Angeles to Prince George's County. Street-level and midlevel PCP dealers in Washington, D.C., are typically African American males; some began distributing PCP within the past few years, and others have been distributing the drug for decades. OMG members and individuals affiliated with the club scene also supply PCP to users in the HIDTA region.

CPDs are widely available and abused in the W/B HIDTA region and are obtained primarily through prescription forgeries and doctor-shopping. Other methods of diversion include pharmacy thefts, diversion by doctors and pharmacists, and purchases through Internet pharmacies. The illegal distribution of CPDs through Internet pharmacies is a growing problem in the region. Law enforcement reporting indicates that some distributors are transporting CPDs into the area from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Drug traffickers operating in the W/B HIDTA region use a wide range of communication technologies to facilitate their drug trafficking operations. Traffickers routinely use cell phones, text messaging, and the Internet; some also use satellite phones, radio communications, video surveillance devices, GPS units, Voice over Internet Protocol, and peer-to-peer services. Traffickers often change communication methods and use multiple cell phones to reduce the likelihood of call monitoring by law enforcement. Law enforcement officials throughout the region report the increased use of prepaid cell phones by drug traffickers. These phones can be purchased for cash with relative anonymity at supermarkets, department stores, and convenience stores as well as through online retailers. Because of the low cost and anonymity associated with prepaid cell phones, traffickers routinely dispose of them, creating difficulties for investigators, who must continually obtain the traffickers' new phone numbers. Moreover, the rapid expansion of secure communications technology used by traffickers is a challenge to law enforcement because of the difficulty in obtaining court-approved telephone intercepts.

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Abuse

Heroin is widely available and abused in urban areas throughout the W/B HIDTA region. Heroin is the primary drug of abuse in Baltimore and can be purchased at numerous open-air drug markets in West and East Baltimore in either "raw" (high purity) or cut form. In Washington, D.C., the heroin trade is well entrenched; some local markets cater to suburban abusers, while others are frequented by established sellers and long-term addicts. Richmond also has a small heroin market that primarily supplies long-term addicts.

In 2008, SA heroin was the principal heroin type abused and available at street-level heroin markets in Richmond and Washington, D.C. SWA heroin was also available and abused in Washington, D.C. SWA and SA heroin were the types most abused in Baltimore; their availability levels were nearly equal, according to DEA Heroin Domestic Monitor Program (HDMP) data.

Crack cocaine is abused primarily by African American individuals in inner-city areas of the W/B HIDTA region. Powder cocaine is abused primarily by middle- and upper-middle-income individuals in metropolitan and suburban areas of the region. Nightclubs and bars in the affluent Georgetown area and in newly renovated areas of Washington, D.C., are reportedly frequented by white-collar cocaine users. Powder cocaine is also one of the many drugs available and abused in the nightclub scene by suburban teens and young adults.

Marijuana is abused by a wide range of users in the W/B HIDTA region. Blunts and joints remain the most popular methods of smoking marijuana in the region, especially among younger abusers. Marijuana, particularly when used in these forms, is often combined with small rocks of crack cocaine or PCP.

Methamphetamine abuse, traditionally limited to the homosexual community in the Washington, D.C., area, is extending to young rural and suburban users as availability of the drug increases. Ice methamphetamine availability and abuse are increasing in a number of areas near the region, particularly in the Shenandoah Valley, where abusers are predominantly Caucasians ranging from 15 to 65 years of age. Law enforcement agencies attribute rising availability and abuse to increasing distribution of ice methamphetamine by Mexican traffickers. Henrico County, Virginia, law enforcement officials also report an increase in the availability of ice methamphetamine, which is known as hielo (Spanish for "ice") in the Hispanic community. Young abusers tend to use methamphetamine--one of the many drugs available at nightclubs in the region.

MDMA available in the W/B HIDTA region is generally abused in combination with other substances, including alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and club drugs. In some communities, law enforcement and medical authorities are now reporting the abuse of MDMA with heroin or OxyContin. MDMA is widely available in areas around colleges and universities and is used primarily by youth in more affluent communities at clubs and parties. The availability of MDMA at open-air drug markets in Washington, D.C., has increased and may indicate expanding distribution of the drug to a broader population of users.

PCP is abused primarily by young, inner-city African American and lower-middle-income Caucasian individuals in the W/B HIDTA region. Charles County, Maryland, law enforcement officials report an increase in PCP abuse in their jurisdiction, where the drug is reportedly more widely abused than heroin, methamphetamine, or MDMA.

CPD abuse is increasing among adolescents and young adults in the W/B HIDTA region. Many new drug abusers are inclined to abuse controlled prescription narcotics rather than heroin, cocaine, or methamphetamine because of their perception that CPDs are safer. Once addicted to controlled prescription narcotics, abusers often switch to heroin because of the drug's availability and lower price. Similarly, some treatment providers believe that abusers of controlled prescription amphetamines, such as Ritalin (methylphenidate) or Adderall (dextroamphetamine), may begin to abuse methamphetamine as it becomes more available in the region. According to law enforcement reporting, methadone clinic patients in Baltimore mix methadone with benzodiazepines such as diazepam and alprazolam to boost the effects of the drug. Similarly, law enforcement officials in Washington, D.C., report that drug abusers in their area combine OxyContin, morphine, and Xanax (alprazolam).

Methadone abuse and misuse have resulted in an increasing number of overdoses and deaths within the HIDTA region. From 2001 through 2006 (the latest year for which data are available) accidental methadone-related deaths increased significantly in Maryland and Virginia. (See Table 3.) Methadone is a safe and effective drug when used as prescribed; however, when it is misused or abused--particularly in combination with other CPDs, illicit drugs, or alcohol--fatal or nonfatal overdose may occur. Methadone can be misused by patients being treated for chronic pain who obtain the drug using legitimate prescriptions as well as by recreational abusers, who often combine it with other drugs or alcohol. In January 2008 the manufacturer voluntarily restricted distribution of the methadone hydrochloride 40-milligram tablets to hospitals and opioid treatment facilities, thereby limiting the strength of any quantity diverted from prescribers.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Maryland State Medical Examiner; Virginia Department of Health Professions.
*Data from the Washington, D.C., Medical Examiner were not available.

Controlled prescription narcotics are the most commonly diverted and abused CPDs in the W/B HIDTA region; however, abuse patterns vary according to location. The abuse of methadone, OxyContin, and hydrocodone products is predominant in Washington, D.C.; Klonopin (clonazepam) and other benzodiazepines as well as OxyContin are the most commonly abused CPDs in the Baltimore area; and OxyContin, alprazolam, and hydrocodone products are the most commonly abused CPDs in Richmond. It has recently been reported that buprenorphine, a drug used in opioid addiction therapy, is being diverted for abuse in the Baltimore area.

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