Part III: Marijuana
Ethnographers, Epidemiologists, and Ethnographic Sources (Table 7)
Ethnographic sources in all 15 cities describe marijuana use as widespread, stable, or increasing. This is consistent with reports from the last few issues of Pulse Check. Sources in St. Petersburg and Honolulu report that marijuana is the most prevalent drug in their areas. Increases in marijuana use were cited in San Francisco, Bridgeport, Minneapolis, Austin, and San Antonio. In Chicago, sources report a slowed increase in use, and Seattle reports use as fairly stable with a very slight increase. Marijuana use is stable in Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Denver, Newark, and Kansas City, with the last three cities noting use rates remaining stable at high levels of use.
Most sources report that marijuana users are a very heterogeneous group though use is more prevalent among youths. As the Bridgeport source reports, there is "increased use among all cultures, socioeconomic groups, and ages." Honolulu and Miami sources report that although marijuana users are of all ages, some are as young as their early teens. Denver sources also remark that marijuana users are a much younger group than users of other drugs. Newark and Minneapolis sources report an increase in young marijuana users. Los Angeles and San Antonio sources also indicate a significant number of young users. Only sources in Chicago relate a possible decrease in use among youth and an increase in use among adults.
Sources in Miami, St. Petersburg, Honolulu, and San Antonio report marijuana use in combination with other drugs, specifically alcohol, cocaine, heroin, MDMA, and LSD. Many sources report marijuana being dipped in or "laced" with other substances. In Chicago, Kansas City, and Austin, marijuana is being combined with crack, often in "blunts" (hollowed out cigars filled with marijuana), and sold as "primos." In Chicago, Minneapolis, Kansas City, and Austin, sources report marijuana being combined with PCP (referred to by some as "amp" in Minneapolis and Austin). Chicago and Minneapolis sources report marijuana dipped in embalming fluid. Similarly, Minneapolis and Kansas City sources relate marijuana laced with formaldehyde (a prime ingredient in embalming fluid). Street names for such combinations include "happy sticks" and "fry." Marijuana has also been mixed with prescription drugs; San Antonio recounts marijuana being mixed with pulverized Xanax (a prescription anti-anxiety medication) and sold as blunts. Finally, in Seattle, marijuana may be used with methamphetamine.
In Bridgeport, Newark, Chicago and San Antonio sources report that, like its users, marijuana sellers are often young. Most areas, however, report a wider variety of marijuana sellers. San Francisco, Honolulu, San Antonio, and Seattle sources cite Mexican involvement in marijuana sales. Honolulu and Seattle indicate marijuana sales by local growers. In Bridgeport, Newark, and Miami, sources report that marijuana sellers do not typically sell other drugs but concentrate on a single market. However, San Antonio sources report that some marijuana sellers also sell heroin and cocaine along the border.
According to most sources, prices vary depending upon quality. Sources in San Antonio note that prices are declining, while sources in Denver note that prices may have increased in conjunction with an increase in hydroponic growth of marijuana and the production of a high-quality local variety. Sources in Newark also mention the increased availability of high-quality marijuana due to hydroponic growth. Sources in Los Angeles and San Francisco cited that there continues to be a substantial amount of indoor marijuana growth in California.
Law Enforcement Sources (Table 8)
Law enforcement sources, like ethnographic sources, report that marijuana use is either increasing or stable. Police sources in the eastern cities of Bridgeport, Washington, D.C., and Boston report increases in use. In Boston, this increase can be attributed to users in their late teens and early twenties. Sources in San Diego, Columbia, Trenton, Cleveland, San Antonio, Seattle, and Yakima report stable marijuana use patterns. However, in all of these areas but Cleveland, marijuana use was noted as being stable but at a high level.
Marijuana users vary widely as a group. However, as with the ethnographic sources, law enforcement notes a large proportion of young users. Sources in Seattle noted concern about high prevalence rates, particularly among young users. San Antonio sources say that "everybody" is using, and that it seems "pretty commonplace -- almost accepted."
Sources once again note a wide variety of seller characteristics. Washington D.C., Cleveland, Seattle, and Yakima officials said that marijuana sellers also sell a variety of other drugs, while sources in Trenton report that marijuana sellers typically do not sell other drugs. In Boston, an increasing number of people are growing and selling their own marijuana. Significant high-quality indoor marijuana production was sited in Seattle. Yakima sources note the existence of both Mexican marijuana and domestic hydroponic marijuana markets. In Trenton, sources say that marijuana is also often sold and sent through mail.
In all regions, the percentages of clients listing marijuana as the primary drug used are similar, ranging from 16 percent to 20 percent. The majority of treatment providers report no change in the number of treatment clients reporting marijuana use, though 24 percent of Northeastern treatment providers report an increase.
High rates of alcohol use by marijuana abusers are reported in all regions, with estimates ranging from 74 percent to 100 percent. Cocaine use by marijuana users is also popular. The Mid-Atlantic/South region has the highest rate of cocaine use by marijuana users at 32 percent. The Northeast, Midwest, and West/Southwest rates are 20 percent, 25 percent, and 13 percent, respectively. The lower rate of concurrent marijuana and cocaine use in the West/Southwest may be due to a significant amount of concurrent marijuana and amphetamine use (26 percent).
Consistent with the last issue of Pulse Check, the average age of marijuana users in treatment seems to be dropping. In the Mid-Atlantic/South, 51 percent of clients receiving treatment for marijuana use over the past 6 months are under 20 years old. The percentage of clients under the age of 20 years receiving treatment for marijuana use is similar in the Northeast (39 percent), the Midwest (31 percent), and the West/Southwest (32 percent).
The majority of clients who receive treatment for marijuana use are Caucasian males. The majority of clients who receive treatment for marijuana use in all regions are treatment novices, that is, they have not received drug treatment previously. This indicates, unlike other treatment clients, a younger, less experienced population seeking marijuana treatment.
