Cocaine

The distribution and abuse of cocaine--both powdered and crack--pose a significant threat to Maryland. Cocaine is frequently abused and readily available in the state, particularly in the Baltimore area. Crack cocaine is the drug most commonly associated with violent crime in Maryland. Dominican and Colombian criminal groups based in New York City and Philadelphia and Maryland-based local independent dealers are the primary transporters of powdered cocaine into and through Maryland. These Dominican and, to a lesser extent, Colombian criminal groups supply wholesale and retail distributors throughout the state. Jamaican criminal groups, African American gangs, and local independent dealers distribute cocaine at wholesale and midlevel. At the retail level, loosely organized African American gangs and local independent dealers distribute powdered and crack cocaine.

Abuse

The abuse of cocaine is a significant threat to Maryland. According to data from the NHSDA, in 1999 the percentage of Maryland residents who reported using cocaine in the year prior to the survey (1.6%) was comparable to the national percentage (1.7%).

Cocaine-related admissions to publicly funded facilities in Maryland remain high despite a steady decrease since 1994. According to TEDS data, cocaine-related treatment admissions decreased from 10,433 in 1994 to 7,571 in 1999. (See Table 1 in Overview section.) The number of admissions per 100,000 population in Maryland (176) was the fifth highest in the nation in 1999. Each year from 1994 through 1999, there were more admissions for cocaine abuse than for any other illicit drug except heroin.

In Baltimore the number of cocaine-related ED mentions has fluctuated since 1994. According to DAWN data, cocaine-related ED mentions steadily decreased from 8,882 in 1994 to 6,253 in 1997; they then increased to 6,921 in 1999 before decreasing dramatically to 4,943 in 2000.

According to mortality data from DAWN, in the Baltimore metropolitan area the number of deaths in which cocaine was a factor increased from 266 in 1996 to 311 in 1998 then decreased to 243 in 2000. In 2000 four deaths were cocaine-induced (overdoses), and the remaining deaths were cocaine-related (cocaine was a contributing factor but not the sole cause of death). Most of the deaths (178) in which cocaine was a factor occurred in the city of Baltimore.

The percentage of Maryland residents aged 18 and under reporting cocaine abuse has decreased in recent years. The 2001 Maryland Adolescent Survey reports that the percentage of sixth, eighth, and tenth grade students reporting that they had abused powdered or crack cocaine in the 30 days prior to the survey increased from 1996 through 1998, then decreased from 1998 through 2001. The rate among twelfth grade students has steadily declined from 1996 through 2001.

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Availability

Powdered cocaine and crack cocaine are readily available throughout Maryland. Respondents to the NDIC National Drug Threat Survey 2001 reported that the availability of cocaine is moderate to high. Of the 20 respondents, 8 reported that the availability of powdered cocaine was high and 9 reported that availability was moderate; 15 reported that the availability of crack cocaine was high and 4 reported that availability was moderate.

Prices for powdered and crack cocaine are relatively stable in Maryland, and purity levels vary widely. The Maryland State Police reported that powdered cocaine sold throughout the state for $50 to $120 per gram and $18,000 to $25,000 per kilogram in the first half of 2000. They also reported that crack cocaine sold for $10 to $50 per rock, $80 to $100 per gram, and $800 to $1,000 per ounce. In 2001 DEA reported that in the Baltimore area powdered cocaine sold for $80 to $100 per gram and crack sold for $100 per gram. The Maryland State Police reported that statewide the purity of powdered cocaine ranged from 37 percent to 95 percent in 2000. Data on the purity of crack cocaine were unavailable.

The high number of cocaine-related investigations at the federal, state, and local levels reflects the ready availability of cocaine. Twelve of 20 Maryland state and local law enforcement respondents to the NDIC National Drug Threat Survey 2001 reported conducting 340 powdered cocaine and 2,267 crack cocaine investigations in 1999. From October 1998 through June 2001, 146 of 173 OCDETF investigations involved cocaine. OCDETF investigations often involve more than one drug type.

The amount of powdered and crack cocaine seized in Maryland has fluctuated since 1998. According to FDSS data, federal law enforcement agencies in Maryland seized 129.0 kilograms of cocaine in 1998, 96.7 kilograms in 1999, and 132.1 kilograms in 2000. Operation Pipeline data reflect a large decrease in the quantity of powdered cocaine seized as part of that operation from 27.1 kilograms in 1999 to 6.7 kilograms in 2000. The amount of crack cocaine seized under Operation Pipeline decreased from 8.2 kilograms in 1999 to 1.5 kilograms in 2000. Six of 18 respondents to the NDIC National Drug Threat Survey 2001 reported seizing more powdered cocaine in 2000 than in 1999, while 5 reported that the amount of powdered cocaine seized remained the same. Eight of 17 law enforcement agencies reported an increase in the amount of crack cocaine seized, while 7 reported that the amount seized remained the same.

The percentage of federal sentences related to cocaine violations in Maryland was higher than the national percentage in FY2000, and the number of cocaine-related sentences was higher than for any other drug. According to the USSC, approximately 73 percent of drug-related federal sentences in Maryland in FY2000 were cocaine-related compared with 44 percent nationwide.

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Violence

Crack cocaine is the drug most often associated with violent crime in Maryland. Abusers often commit violent crimes in order to support their habits, and distributors sometimes use violence to protect their turf. The Baltimore area, in particular, has experienced significant violence associated with cocaine distribution. In June 2001 three men were convicted of the 1999 murder of five women in Baltimore in a dispute over crack cocaine. One of the women allegedly sold another substance to the men in place of cocaine.

Production

Coca is not cultivated nor is cocaine produced in Maryland. However, many African American independent dealers transport powdered cocaine into Maryland and convert it to crack cocaine locally at residences in urban areas. Local conversion is largely in response to federal sentencing guidelines, which mandate more stringent penalties for possessing crack rather than powdered cocaine.

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Transportation

Dominican and, to a lesser extent, Colombian criminal groups based in New York City and Philadelphia and Maryland-based local independent dealers, primarily African Americans, are the dominant transporters of powdered cocaine into and through Maryland. These groups and independent dealers transport most of the cocaine into Maryland using automobiles, buses, and rail systems. Cocaine arriving at Baltimore/Washington International Airport and the Port of Baltimore often is destined for locations outside the state, although some remains in Maryland.

Criminal groups often employ couriers to transport cocaine into Maryland in automobiles and buses on I-95. Some reports indicate that couriers also use alternate, less traveled routes to avoid highway interdiction. They may travel US 13 to US 50 and then I-97 to Baltimore or they follow US 13 to areas along the Eastern Shore. According to Operations Pipeline and Convoy data, transporters also use Interstates 70 and 81 and US 301 to transport cocaine into and through the state.

Cocaine also is transported into the state on international flights through Baltimore/Washington International Airport. Couriers carry powdered cocaine in or on their bodies or in their luggage. To a lesser extent, cocaine is transported into and through the state via package delivery services operating at the airport. In May 2001 Baltimore Operation Jetway Task Force officers seized a total of 2.4 kilograms of cocaine and 3.8 kilograms of marijuana from three separate packages that were shipped from Mesa, Arizona; Inglewood, California; and Boulder, Colorado. A controlled delivery was conducted on the package from Mesa resulting in the arrest of a male suspect in Washington, D.C. Two Washington/Baltimore HIDTA initiatives--the Delivery System Parcel Interdiction Initiative and the Regional Drug Interdiction Initiative--investigate drugs shipped via package delivery services. Most of these seizures involve cocaine and marijuana.

Cocaine is the drug most often seized by law enforcement officers at the Port of Baltimore. Over 95 kilograms of cocaine were seized in two separate incidents in 1998. One involved a seizure of 56 kilograms and the other involved a seizure of 39 kilograms from Philippine nationals. In November 1998, 450 kilograms of cocaine were seized in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. The cocaine, packed in green plastic bundles and concealed inside a large bolt-cutting machine, had been transported through the Port of Baltimore from Caracas, Venezuela.

Distribution

Dominican and, to a lesser extent, Colombian criminal groups based in New York City and Philadelphia supply wholesale and retail distributors throughout the state. At the wholesale level, Jamaican criminal groups, African American gangs, and local independent dealers distribute cocaine. Responses to the NDIC National Drug Threat Survey 2001 indicate that Jamaican criminal groups and African American gangs dominate cocaine distribution at wholesale and midlevel.

Local independent dealers as well as loosely organized African American gangs convert some powdered cocaine to crack cocaine locally and are the dominant retail powdered and crack cocaine distributors in Maryland. Local dealers from all economic backgrounds and suburban and rural areas often travel to urban areas to purchase cocaine for distribution in their areas. OMGs also distribute powdered cocaine at the retail level throughout Maryland, but to a lesser extent than gangs and local independent dealers.

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