Heroin use on rise in region Federal studies find an an increase in illegal drug use here
By ROBERT GAVIN, Staff writer First published in print: Monday, August 31, 2009
ALBANY -- America might be in the midst of a recession, but the Capital Region is experiencing a boom in the use and abuse of heroin, cocaine, illegal prescription drugs and high-potency marijuana, federal data shows.
Due to cocaine shortages attributed to surging costs, some of the area's traditional coke peddlers "have begun distributing heroin to new and existing heroin abusers," a drug market analysis prepared this year by the Justice Department's National Drug Intelligence Center revealed.
"Heroin availability and abuse have increased significantly in Albany County," the analysis stated.
The study found Capital Region heroin dealers trek to Washington Heights in upper Manhattan by private vehicle, bus or train, obtain bricks of the drug and transport it to Albany, where the drug is milled for retail dealing. Heroin users in many nearby rural counties travel to Albany, where the addictive narcotic sells for $25 per bag or $250 per bundle, a pack of 10 bags, the data stated.
Meanwhile, the wholesale street value of an ounce of cocaine is around $1,200, with a kilogram carrying a wholesale value of $35,000 to $40,000, a rise of about $15,000 in the last year, said Albany County Assistant District Attorney Francisco Calderon, bureau chief of the street crimes unit for District Attorney David Soares.
"We think there has been an increase in heroin coming into the Capital Region," Calderon said. Prosecutors attributed the trend to a general hike in the price of cocaine.
The federal analysis, quoting law enforcement sources, said cocaine purity levels have "dropped significantly" as a result of the shortages.
"Many distributors are not finding it cost-effective to convert the drug into crack cocaine," the study said. "As a result, there has been an increase in the abuse of powder cocaine in the Albany area."
The analysis found cocaine in Albany County is supplied through "Dominican sources in New York City," specifically in Washington Heights. It noted New York City dealers travel to Albany to deliver powder cocaine ranging in weight from ounces to kilograms. In addition, the study said local cocaine dealers typically travel by private vehicle or bus to Washington Heights or the Bronx to transport the powered coke into Albany County.
In a phone interview, Soares referred to drug organizations as "franchises." If they experience downturns, he said, they will simply adjust and switch their product. He said the study is consistent with trends witnessed by his office.
Some cocaine dealers, frustrated by the shortage, have referred to New York City as "the Sour Apple," said Assistant District Attorney Eric Galarneau, who handles the office's long-term drug cases.
"Heroin is not only more readily available -- it's more cost-effective," he said. "It's a business decision."
Among other findings in the analysis:
• It found diverted prescription drugs "pose an increasing drug threat in Albany County." It specifically identified Vicodin and OxyContin as well as Xanax, or alprazolam, as the drugs primarily abused in the county......................>>>>...........................>>>>.............................http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=836654
How do they get this information? Do they actually go out and poll crack and heroin users/dealers?
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
No, they just think that if people continue to stay in this area with all the issues, they gotta be on something!!! And the fact that it's worse than it's been before, it's gotta be something stronger than aspirin.
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