Cocaine

Cocaine is the second most significant drug threat to Vermont. Most state and federal law enforcement authorities report that powdered cocaine is widely available with availability remaining at a stable level. The availability and abuse of crack cocaine are reported to be increasing in the more populated areas, particularly Brattleboro, Burlington, and Rutland. The number of treatment admissions for cocaine increased 14 percent from FY1999 to FY2000. Additionally, the number of cocaine-related arrests increased 15 percent from 1999 to 2000. Wholesale distribution of cocaine in Vermont is extremely limited. Local independent Caucasian dealers are the primary retail distributors of powdered cocaine in the state. These dealers commonly travel in private automobiles to purchase powdered cocaine, primarily from Dominican criminal groups in Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, and Springfield, Massachusetts; Hartford, Connecticut; and New York, New York. African American criminal groups based in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York are the dominant retail distributors of crack in Vermont. Members of these criminal groups typically purchase crack from Dominican criminal groups, travel to Vermont to sell the drugs quickly, and return home. These criminal groups are also increasingly converting powdered cocaine into crack in Vermont.
  

Abuse

Treatment data and law enforcement sources indicate that cocaine is commonly abused in Vermont and the overall level of cocaine abuse is relatively stable. However, federal, state, and local law enforcement officials note that the rate of crack cocaine abuse is increasing in more populated areas of the state, particularly Brattleboro, Burlington, and Rutland. Vermont had 290 treatment admissions for cocaine as the primary substance of abuse in FY1996, 286 in FY1997, 308 in FY1998, 272 in FY1999, and 310 in FY2000, according to the Vermont Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs. (See Table 5 in Overview section.)

Survey data indicate that the rate of cocaine abuse by the younger population has decreased. According to the 1997 Vermont Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 8 percent of eighth graders and 12 percent of twelfth graders surveyed reported having abused cocaine at least once in their lifetime. Four percent of eighth graders and 10 percent of twelfth graders surveyed in 2001 reported having abused cocaine at least once in their lifetime.

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Availability

Powdered cocaine is readily available in Vermont, and crack cocaine is increasingly available in the more populated areas. The Vermont Drug Task Force notes a particular increase in the availability of crack cocaine in Brattleboro, Burlington, and Rutland. Brattleboro police report that the availability of crack cocaine has been increasing since 1999.

Cocaine prices are relatively stable in Vermont. In 2001 the DEA Burlington Resident Office, the Vermont Drug Task Force, and the Newport City Police Department report that powdered cocaine sells for $100 per gram. The Brattleboro Police Department reports powdered cocaine sells for between $80 and $100 per gram. Also in 2001 the Vermont Drug Task Force reports crack cocaine sells for $200 per gram, and the Brattleboro Police Department reports crack cocaine sells for $50 per rock.

Crime associated with the distribution and abuse of cocaine is a growing problem for law enforcement in Vermont but does not pose as large a problem as that associated with heroin. The number of individuals arrested by state and local law enforcement for possession or sale/ delivery of cocaine increased 15 percent from 117 in 1999 to 134 in 2000.

Violence

Although cocaine, particularly crack cocaine, is the drug most commonly associated with violent crime nationally, in general, there is little violent crime associated with the distribution or abuse of the drug in Vermont. However, in November 2000 two individuals stabbed two other individuals to death in Rutland after they had all smoked crack cocaine together. Law enforcement officials in the state reported that this was the first time an extremely violent crime was linked to the abuse of cocaine. Following the murders, the perpetrators kidnapped another individual, drove across the border into New York, and kicked this individual to death.

Production

There have been no reports of coca cultivation or cocaine production in Vermont; however, powdered cocaine is converted into crack cocaine in the state more often than in the past. Law enforcement officials report that powdered cocaine increasingly is being converted into crack at the retail level because of the stricter sentences associated with the possession of crack cocaine. Distributors are aware that federal penalties for distribution or possession of crack are harsher than are those for powdered cocaine; consequently they convert powder into crack in small quantities only as needed.

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Transportation

Local independent Caucasian dealers transport powdered cocaine into Vermont from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York. They typically travel in privately owned or rented automobiles on Interstates 89, 91, and 93, and some conceal the cocaine in traps, according to DEA and the Vermont Drug Task Force. (See text box in Heroin section.) In similar fashion, African American crack cocaine distributors based in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York transport crack cocaine into Vermont.

Couriers also transport powdered and, to a lesser extent, crack cocaine into Vermont on buses, commercial airlines, and trains. Couriers commonly carry drugs concealed on their person or in luggage. Law enforcement authorities report that drug couriers may be transporting cocaine on flights from New York City to Burlington.

Distribution

Wholesale distribution of powdered and crack cocaine is extremely limited in Vermont. Occasionally, members of Hispanic criminal groups based in the Boston or New York City areas transport wholesale quantities of cocaine into Vermont to sell to local retail distributors. One or two members of a criminal group travel into Vermont, stay a few days at a local motel, quickly sell the cocaine to local retail distributors, and then return to their base of operations outside the state.

Local independent Caucasian dealers are the primary retail distributors of powdered cocaine in Vermont. These dealers usually travel in private automobiles to purchase cocaine, primarily from Dominican criminal groups in Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, and Springfield, Massachusetts; Hartford, Connecticut; and New York, New York. A drug task force arrested seven individuals in November 2000 and seized 28 grams of powdered cocaine from an independent Caucasian dealer in Vermont and 2.5 kilograms from his Dominican supplier in Massachusetts.

African American criminal groups based in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York are the dominant retail distributors of crack in Vermont. Members of these criminal groups typically purchase crack from Dominican criminal groups in surrounding states and travel to Vermont to quickly sell the drugs, then return home.

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