1 - National Criminal Justice Reference Service

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respectively, in the first 10 months of 1991). In Miami, cocaine was detected in 62 percent of
male arrestees (third quarter 1991).
New York cocaine arrests have been decreasing since peaking in 1989; most cocaine arrests
(about 82 percent) involve crack. In Miami, too, cocaine-related charges are expected to
decrease 10 percent between. 1990 and the projected 1991 total. Similarly, in Washington, D.C.,
following an FY-1989 peak, juvenile arrests for cocaine in FY 1991 are at their lowest point
since FY 1987; most such arrests (89 percent) are for sales/distribution. In Boston, cocaine
arrests increased from 1988 to 1989, decreased in 1990, and appear to be somewhat up again
in the first three quarters of 1991. About two-thirds of Newark drug possession arrests involve
cocaine. In Philadelphia, a special police operation targeting both buyers and sellers has rr..sulted
in numerous arrests and vehicle confiscations; neighborhood groups and police officials have
established a working relationshlp leading to significant numbers of raids and seizures (over 72
pounds of cocaine hydrechloride and 27 pounds of crack in the first half of 1991).
Cocaine is widely available throughout the region., Table 3 presents cocaine and crack price and
putity information. Wholesale prices have declined in New York after temporarily increasing
due to decreased availability during summer 1990. Wholesale prices haYe also decreased in
Boston, although street-level prices are stable; purity in Boston has incn:ased since the previous
6-month period. In Philadelphia, however, the hydrochloride (HCI) gram price is higher than
1 year ago; purity has not diminished since then. Miami wholesale and retail prices have been
relatively stable Qver the past 3 years; purity has remained consistently high. Likewise, Atlanta
prices have not changed significantly since 1989, and Washington, D.C., price and purity levels
have not changed much over the past year. Most Newark cocaine seiZures are hydrochloride
(HCI), and mast users continue to freebase their own HCl directly before use; the HCl is most
commonly sold in small-quantity units (quarter-gram or smaller glass vials). Similarly, crack
in New York is now sold in smaller amounts at lower prices possibly due to reduced demand.
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Executive SU/'IU1V.l1'Y: Coctline
12 CEWG December 1991
37