Part III: Marijuana
In most areas, the use of marijuana appears to be stable or rising. Marijuana attracts a diverse groups of users, though the majority is young. One Pulse Check source comments that users may not even consider marijuana a drug -- its use is widespread, and it is a constant where other illicit drugs are being consumed. High quality marijuana, including domestic varieties, is available in most areas. One popular method of using marijuana is in the form of "blunts," which are hollowed-out cigars that contain marijuana alone or marijuana combined with other licit and illicit substances. Treatment providers report a higher proportion of treatment clients who enter their facilities for marijuana abuse, and about one-third of these clients are under the age of 20.
Ethnographers and Epidemiologic Sources (Table 7)
Only two of nine ethnographic sources (i.e., suburban New York and Seattle) report that marijuana use is up in their areas, while the other seven report that it is stable. While the majority of users are young (teens and twenties), marijuana attracts a diverse group of users of all ages, ethnicities, and income groups. As the Bridgeport source notes, marijuana is "the most widely used illegal drug in every social set." The Seattle source reports that in a large alcohol and drug hotline service, marijuana is most commonly mentioned drug, with one-half of all the calls from young people being related to marijuana.
Many marijuana users consume other drugs. Marijuana use among teens and young adults is often associated with use of hallucinogens, MDMA, prescription drugs or alcohol. Sources in Texas, California, and Georgia report that young users combine marijuana with a variety of substances such as crack, PCP or heroin and roll it into "blunts." Blunts are hollowed out cigars that contain marijuana alone or marijuana in combination with other substances. In Texas, blunts may be soaked in embalming fluid or dipped in codeine cough syrup, with the latter combination dubbed a "Candy blunt." While adding little to the pharmacological effect of marijuana, these combinations or dipping solutions are effective marketing devices. The specially treated blunts have exotic, recognizable names ("Amps, Fry, Primos, Swisher Sweets, Woolies") and command a higher price that untreated blunts.
In the East and South, source distributors of imported product are often Jamaican while local youths or young adults distribute domestic varieties. In the Southwest, young Hispanic dealers distribute Mexican marijuana, and adult Anglos distribute Colombian and locally grown marijuana. Sellers of marijuana are a more varied group than sellers of heroin or cocaine, which reflects its diverse user population.
The Bridgeport source notes that neither the volume nor the frenzied pace of sales that characterize the heroin and cocaine market is part of the marijuana trade. For example, while it may be easy to find marijuana for sale during daylight hours or on the weekends, it is not a "round-the-clock" trade like heroin and cocaine distribution. Since marijuana is a bulkier product for dealers to carry, most street level sales are in small amounts (e.g., individual joints or quantities of less than an ounce). Larger quantities are available in most areas, but the sale is usually handled by beeper or delivery to a predetermined location.
Sources in San Francisco and Bridgeport note that marijuana has become more expensive recently due to decreased availability. However, in Texas, prices dropped as both the local and Mexican harvest became available. Typical street sales are $10 bags that produce 1-3 marijuana cigarettes. In Texas, larger quantities sell at $450-800/pound for domestic marijuana and $700-3,000/pound for Colombian marijuana. All police sources report that the marijuana available in street markets is of high quality, particularly the local hydroponically grown varieties. The Denver source reports that these domestic varieties, now widely available in that area, are considered a great improvement over other domestic or Mexican varieties.
Law Enforcement Sources (Table 8)
Unlike the ethnographic sources, the majority of law enforcement sources report an increase in marijuana use. Police sources in Washington D.C. report that use has risen so drastically that the regional U.S. Attorney has asked for an increase in penalties for marijuana trafficking. Only law enforcement sources in Miami, New York, and Bridgeport describe use in their areas as "stable."
Police sources find marijuana users to be a diverse group, though the majority are teens and young adults. The Baltimore law enforcement source comments that people of all ages are using marijuana and that it "is not being seen as a drug." He finds that among users of other drugs, marijuana use is a constant. Police sources in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Cleveland, and suburban Maryland report that combinations of marijuana with PCP and cocaine are popular in their areas, most often in the blunt form described above.
Law enforcement sources in Trenton, Miami, and Bridgeport report a predominance of Jamaican sellers, though distributors in all areas are described as a more diverse group than for other drugs. There are a large number of local distributors, typically teens or young adults, who sell locally grown products. The Baltimore source describes the structure of the distribution network as "made up of extremes," that is, there are upper level dealers -- often Jamaican or Hispanic -- and lower level dealers who are local "home growers," with very little in between. The former are more likely to deal in specific inner-city areas and in large quantities; the latter deal in a more geographically scattered market, often relying on established customers or well-known ties for distribution. In addition, local sources are also obtaining marijuana through the mail. There have been seizures in Mid-Atlantic cities of marijuana mailed from Arizona and New Mexico via Federal Express and regular mail. In Trenton, there is evidence of increased selling of marijuana by crack distributors, a new phenomenon in that area.
Marijuana is inexpensive in Texas and in the Southwest Border region due to recent harvests of local crops. Prices have dropped in other areas as well (i.e., Cleveland, Washington, D.C., Trenton). New York police report that expensive chemically treated marijuana is available, and sells for $2,000-4,000/pound, or $10-15 for individual cigarettes.
Treatment Providers (Table 9)
In all regions except the West/Southwest, there has been a slight increase in clients entering treatment for marijuana abuse since the last Pulse Check. The change is most evident in the Mid-Atlantic and South, where 79 percent of programs reported an increase. Treatment providers describe a younger treatment population for marijuana than for heroin or cocaine. Almost one third are under twenty, and more than one half have no prior treatment experience. In Texas, 70 percent of the adolescent admissions name marijuana as their primary drug of abuse.
Alcohol is the most common secondary drug used by marijuana clients in all regions, followed by cocaine. One treatment provider comments that the real question is how many people whose "real problem is alcohol, but who also use other drugs" enter substance abuse treatment. This is illustrated clearly by the case of Alaska, where all of the treatment providers state that while marijuana is their most common illegal drug problem, its abuse is almost always secondary to severe alcohol problems.
Several treatment providers mention an increased use of inhalants among their young treatment clients, often in conjunction with marijuana. "Huffing" of glue, aerosols, paint and cleaning fluids is becoming popular among adolescents and some young adults, particularly in the Mid-Atlantic and the West/Southwest. Huffing entails placing a substance in a bag or soda can to sniff or inhale the fumes. This produces a drunken, disoriented or sometimes hallucinogenic effect. Depending on the toxicity of substance inhaled, repeated use can also produce nausea, headaches and loss of consciousness. One Ohio source commented that young teens are particularly susceptible to inhalant abuse because they have less access to the illegal drugs used by older peers and almost unlimited access to the many household substances which can be inhaled. Parents who are aware of the dangers of sniffing glue may not realize the popularity of sniffing other substances like aerosols, Freon or common cleansers.
