Cocaine

Cocaine, both powdered and crack, is a significant drug threat to New Jersey. Although abuse indicators appear to be declining, the level of cocaine abuse remains high. For example, the number of cocaine-related treatment admissions is higher than for any other illicit drug except heroin. According to the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, there were 7,810 primary admissions for powdered and crack cocaine abuse in New Jersey in 1998, 6,646 in 1999, and 6,009 in 2000. According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), there were more emergency department (ED) mentions for cocaine abuse in Newark each year from 1994 through 2000 than for abuse of any other illicit substance except heroin. (See Table 1.) Cocaine is also a factor in a significant number of deaths in the Newark area (Essex, Morris, and Union Counties). According to DAWN mortality data, there were 137 cocaine-related deaths in these three counties in 2000. Data from the 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) indicate that 2.1 percent of New Jersey residents abused cocaine at least once in the year preceding the survey compared with 1.7 percent nationwide.

Table 1. Drug-Related Emergency Department Mentions, Newark, 1994-2000

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, DAWN.

Cocaine is readily available throughout New Jersey. Cocaine is seized more frequently in the state than any other drug except marijuana. According to the Federal-wide Drug Seizure System (FDSS) data, federal law enforcement officials in New Jersey seized 1,339 kilograms of cocaine in 1999, 1,709 in 2000, and 1,065 in 2001. The percentage of drug-related federal sentences related to cocaine in New Jersey was high but lower than the national percentage each year from FY1996 through FY2000. (See Table 2.)

Table 2. Drug-Related Federal Sentences, New Jersey, FY1996-FY2000

Source: U.S. Sentencing Commission.

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Cocaine prices vary depending on the location and quantity sold; however, low, stable prices indicate there is an abundant supply of cocaine in New Jersey. Powdered and crack cocaine prices are generally cheaper in southern New Jersey where Philadelphia-based distributors compete with sources in New York City, the primary distribution city for cocaine available in New Jersey. In northern New Jersey powdered cocaine sold for $22,000 to $34,000 per kilogram, $750 to $1,200 per ounce, and $25 to $85 per gram in the second quarter of FY2002, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Newark Division. In southern New Jersey powdered cocaine sold for $25,000 to $34,000 per kilogram, $500 to $1,200 per ounce, and $30 to $100 per gram during that period. Crack sold for $750 to $2,250 per ounce in northern New Jersey and for $600 to $2,000 per ounce in southern New Jersey in the second quarter of FY2002. A rock of crack sold for $5 to $20 throughout the state during the same period.

Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Mexican criminal groups are the dominant transporters of powdered cocaine into New Jersey. Dominican criminal groups often transport powdered cocaine in commercial and private vehicles from the Washington Heights section of Upper Manhattan, using the easily accessed George Washington Bridge that connects New York to New Jersey via Interstate 95. Puerto Rican criminal groups frequently transport kilogram-size cocaine bricks on commercial airlines from San Juan, Puerto Rico. The cocaine typically is wrapped in duct tape and then in clear plastic and concealed inside large pieces of luggage. According to the DEA Newark Division, Mexican criminal groups sometimes transport cocaine into New Jersey in tractor-trailers hauling commercial goods. A variety of other criminal groups and independent dealers also transport cocaine into New Jersey. In response to the 2001 National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) National Drug Threat Survey, federal, state, and local law enforcement officials reported that criminal groups and local independent dealers in at least one state, New York, transport cocaine into New Jersey.

Colombian drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) and criminal groups and Dominican criminal groups are the primary wholesale distributors of cocaine in New Jersey. African American and Dominican criminal groups are the dominant cocaine distributors at the retail level. Colombian, Puerto Rican, Jamaican, Mexican, Cuban, and other criminal groups also distribute retail quantities of cocaine in the state. Powdered cocaine and crack cocaine typically are packaged in small baggies or plastic vials and sold at open-air markets in the state. However, some dealers, particularly in Trenton and Cumberland County, do not package crack and instead break off small pieces from a larger piece stored usually in their crotch area. Many of these dealers believe that concealing crack in this fashion will prevent law enforcement from discovering the drugs because it is unlikely that they would be strip-searched on the street. Others believe that they could claim the crack was for personal use, therefore excluding them from being prosecuted for distribution.

Cocaine, particularly crack, is the drug most often associated with violent crime in New Jersey. Federal, state, and local law enforcement officials report that dealers frequently carry firearms and commit drive-by shootings, assaults, and murders.

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