Marijuana

Marijuana is the most readily available and most widely abused drug in South Carolina, and the number of users is increasing. The rural areas of South Carolina, which have adequate precipitation, provide an environment conducive to the domestic cultivation of cannabis.

Abuse

Treatment admissions for marijuana abuse have increased steadily from 1997 to 2000 and are greater than the national rate. According to the DAODAS, the number of marijuana publicly funded treatment center admissions increased from 3,651 in FY1997 to 4,967 in FY2000. The number of marijuana abusers admitted for treatment surpassed crack cocaine abusers for the first time in FY1999. TEDS admission statistics for 1998, based on primary drug of abuse, indicated that in South Carolina 90 admissions per 100,000 were for marijuana compared with 81 admissions per 100,000 nationally.

Caucasian adults are the primary abusers of marijuana in South Carolina according to local law enforcement agencies. According to the SLED, in 1999, of the more than 14,000 adults arrested for simple possession of marijuana, almost 50 percent (7,106) were Caucasian males while 37 percent (5,398) were African American males. Among both adults and juveniles, Caucasian females were twice as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession as African American females.

According to the 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 13.1 percent (50,000) of those aged 18 to 25 and 2.1 percent (51,000) of adults over age 26 used marijuana in the month preceding the survey. These rates are similar to national rates: 14.7 percent of those aged 18 to 25 and 3.2 percent of adults over age 26 used marijuana in the month preceding the survey.

Marijuana is the drug most widely abused by high school students in South Carolina. According to the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance 1999 survey, nearly 50 percent of high school males and nearly 40 percent of high school females admit to having used marijuana in their lifetime, nearly equal to the national abuse rates of 51 percent for males and 43 percent for females. The percentage of high school students who report current marijuana use is similar to the nationwide rate and this number did not change significantly from 1997 to 1999. In 1999 in South Carolina, 28.4 percent of males and 20.8 percent of females reported current use compared with 31.0 percent of males and 21.0 percent of females in 1997. Nationally, 30.8 percent of males and 22.6 percent of females reported current marijuana use in 1999. According to the 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, the rate for current marijuana use by juveniles aged 12 to 17 was 7.8 percent (25,000) for South Carolina, nearly equal to the national rate of 7.9 percent.

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Availability

Mexico-produced marijuana is more widely available and less expensive than locally produced marijuana. Mexico-produced marijuana is relatively inexpensive, has a low THC (tetra-hydrocannabinol) content, and is transported into the state in large quantities. The DEA Atlanta Field Division indicates that the wholesale price of Mexico-produced marijuana ranged from $850 to $1,000 per pound in 2000. Domestically cultivated cannabis plants, particularly those grown indoors, produce a highly potent, more marketable marijuana that is available at a higher price but in much smaller quantities. In general, Mexico-produced marijuana is at the lower end of the price range while locally produced marijuana is at the higher end. Most local agencies in South Carolina reported that the price of marijuana, both Mexico-produced and locally produced, is between $900 and $1,800 per pound and $125 to $175 per ounce. At the wholesale level, the price of a kilogram of marijuana is $3,500. At the retail level, the price of a marijuana cigarette, commonly called a joint, is $5 and the price of a gram is $10.

In spite of soil erosion and recent droughts in the state, law enforcement seizures of cannabis plants and marijuana are increasing. According to law enforcement agencies, the drought has hindered the concealment of cannabis plants, leading to an increase in the number of seizures. Because much of the outside foliage is dry and withered from lack of precipitation, the detection of thriving, green cannabis plants has become easier. The quantities of seized marijuana reported to the DEA have increased. According to the FDSS, in the first 3 months of FY2000 law enforcement seized 1,400 kilograms of marijuana, which was more than the 875 kilograms seized in all of FY1999. Law enforcement agencies participating in the DEA Domestic Cannabis Eradication and Suppression Program eradicated more than twice the number of cannabis plants in 1999 (4,764) than they did in 1998 (2,060). (See Table 4.) Conversely, the SLED seized less marijuana in FY1999 (226 kilograms) than in FY1998 (621 kilograms); however, because this agency assists local agencies only upon request, its seizures may not be representative of statewide availability. Marijuana-related arrests have increased from 11,664 arrests in 1995 to 17,913 arrests in 1999. In 1999, 60 percent of all drug-related arrests in the state were for marijuana-related offenses.

Table 4. Cannabis Eradication and Suppression Data, South Carolina, 1998 and 1999

Source: DEA, 1998 and 1999 Domestic Cannabis Eradication and Suppression Program Reports.
Note: An increase in seizures does not necessarily indicate an increase in cannabis cultivation.

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Violence

While marijuana abuse normally is not tied directly to violent behavior, cannabis growers often are quite violent when protecting their crops. Domestic cannabis growers often are heavily armed, and commonly use boobytraps and warning devices to protect their cultivation sites from law enforcement authorities and the public. The U.S. Forest Service reports that visitors to public lands may be endangered by the presence of cannabis cultivation sites, which routinely are booby-trapped with explosives, trip-wire firing devices, hanging fishhooks, and punji stakes buried around the cannabis plots. The number of weapons seized during cannabis eradication program operations nationwide more than doubled over the past decade.

Production

Local independent dealers, mostly Caucasian, are the primary growers of cannabis, operating mostly in the rural areas of the state. The sparsely populated regions of South Carolina provide ideal conditions for cannabis cultivation, but during the late 1990s, droughts and soil erosion adversely affected growing conditions. According to the Greenville County Sheriff's Office, cannabis is grown in rural areas in the western part of the state, and according to the DEA Charleston Resident Office, cannabis is cultivated in the national forests in eastern South Carolina. Opinions vary whether cannabis cultivation is on the increase or decrease statewide. According to the SLED, the ready availability of Mexico-produced marijuana is resulting in a decrease in the number of South Carolina residents cultivating cannabis, but according to DEA statistics, domestically cultivated cannabis is increasing. USCS in Greenville reports that seizures of cannabis plants are increasing despite a decrease in outdoor grows; outdoor cannabis plants are merely seized more frequently because they stand out from the surrounding dry, withered foliage. Many cannabis growers concerned with mandatory sentencing requirements for cultivating large single plots have begun planting numerous smaller plots containing fewer plants scattered over a larger area.

Outdoor cannabis fields are more common than indoor operations in South Carolina, but indoor operations are increasing significantly. According to the DEA Domestic Cannabis Eradication and Suppression program, law enforcement agencies eradicated more than 20 times as many outdoor plants (4,563) as indoor plants (201) during 1999 and eradicated more indoor cannabis plants in 1999 than in 1998 (126 plants). (See Table 4.) From FY1997 to FY1999, the SLED saw increases in the number of seizures of indoor cannabis plants--80 plants in FY1997, 216 plants in FY1998, and 230 plants in FY1999.

Many growers attempt elaborate concealment methods to disguise cannabis plants from law enforcement detection. For instance, growers often plant cannabis among other crops in "windrows," making detection from aircraft more difficult. Law enforcement can detect cannabis plants grown in windrows only if the aircraft flies over from a certain direction. As another tactic to conceal plants, growers burn an area before planting, so the cannabis will grow at the same rate as the other plants.

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Transportation

Mexican criminal groups are the primary transporters of marijuana into the state. Multikilogram shipments of marijuana also are transported to South Carolina from the Southwest Border area, Florida, and Georgia. Multihundred-kilogram shipments of marijuana have been occasionally transshipped through the Port of Charleston.

Mexican criminal groups smuggle marijuana into South Carolina from Mexico through the Southwest Border area, using the interstate highway system, mostly in private vehicles. Interstate 40 is a major transit route for Mexico-produced marijuana destined for South Carolina. Local distributors also transport Mexico-produced and Caribbean-produced marijuana into South Carolina from Atlanta via Interstates 85 and 20, and from Florida via the I-95 corridor.

Distributors also use parcel delivery services and commercial airlines, buses, and ships to transport marijuana into the state. Distributors frequently mail multikilogram shipments of marijuana to South Carolina from California and Texas. Multikilogram quantities of marijuana also have been seized from airline passengers traveling to South Carolina from Los Angeles, Houston, and Las Vegas and from commercial bus passengers traveling from Mexico, Florida, and Texas to the state. Maritime vessels also are used to smuggle multihundred-kilogram quantities of marijuana directly from Mexico and the Caribbean through the Port of Charleston to the eastern United States.

Distribution

Mexican criminal groups, OMGs, and Caucasian and African American independent dealers control wholesale distribution of marijuana in South Carolina. Street gangs and OMGs are the primary retail distributors of marijuana in cities, while Caucasian and African American independent dealers are the primary retail distributors in rural areas.

Mexican criminal groups control the wholesale distribution of Mexico-produced marijuana in South Carolina. OMGs and local independent dealers as well as Caribbean, Caucasian, and African American criminal groups control the wholesale market for domestically produced marijuana; they also supply Mexico-produced marijuana to retailers, typically between 10 and 60 pounds at a time.

Local independent dealers, primarily Caucasian and African American, are the primary retail marketers, except in the large cities where street gangs and OMGs are also involved, according to state and local agencies. Street gangs typically distribute marijuana on street corners and out of stash houses while OMGs typically distribute marijuana and methamphetamine in bars. Marijuana also is sold from vehicles, in dope houses where users may purchase and use drugs, and in other public places.

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