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National Drug Intelligence
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Cocaine (particularly crack), heroin, marijuana, and pharmaceutical drugs pose significant drug threats in the HIDTA region. Violent crime associated with the trafficking of crack cocaine and the social and health consequences associated with cocaine and heroin abuse are greatly straining law enforcement and public health resources in the region. Cocaine, especially crack, is the primary drug-related cause of deaths, emergency department visits, and treatment admissions to publicly funded facilities in Philadelphia. Powder cocaine availability decreased in the region during the first half of 2007, most likely as a result of large seizures of cocaine in transit to the United States as well as successful law enforcement efforts against prominent Mexican DTOs, violent conflicts between competing Mexican DTOs, and increased competition from non-U.S. markets. Law enforcement officials in the PC HIDTA region--first in the nation to identify sustained cocaine shortages--reported in August 2007 that cocaine availability was returning to levels observed before the shortage was noted. Heroin is frequently abused in the HIDTA region, and its abuse is spreading to new and younger populations. Distributors are targeting customers in smaller towns and rural areas to gain market share. The purity of South American (SA) heroin, the predominant type available in the region, is relatively high but has been gradually decreasing over the past several years. Declining heroin purity has contributed to local abusers seeking alternative methods of abuse, such as injecting larger doses or injecting more frequently. Commercial-grade Mexican marijuana is the most widely available and abused illicit drug in the region; increasing availability of high-potency marijuana, both Canadian and locally produced, is drawing new users to the drug. The abuse of diverted pharmaceuticals is increasing among teenagers and young adults in the region. Many teens believe that drugs prescribed by a doctor are not as harmful as illegal drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine and, therefore, are not as dangerous. Methadone abuse is an increasing threat to the HIDTA region. Some methadone patients in the Philadelphia region sell a portion of the drug prescribed to them for money or trade it for other drugs.
Other illicit drugs pose varying threats to the PC HIDTA region. The threat from methamphetamine production and abuse is low in the area; however, an increase in methamphetamine availability is a growing concern for law enforcement and public health officials. This increase is being driven by the slowly rising local production of powder methamphetamine and by an influx of high-purity ice methamphetamine transported into the region by Mexican and, more recently, Canada-based Asian DTOs. Other dangerous drugs (ODDs) such as MDMA, PCP (phencyclidine), and LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) are available and abused to varying degrees within the HIDTA region, mainly by teens and young adults.
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