Drug Abuse Trends in the Dayton Region - Ohio · daytondailynews.com, Feb. 1, 2013). During an FBI drug investigation of the area near the Dayton Mall, a man was fatally shot and

Surveillance of Drug Abuse Trends in the Dayton Region

Page 8OSAM Drug Trend Report January-June 2013 Page 109


OSAM Drug Trend Report January-June 2013 Page 109

Surveillance of Drug Abuse Trends in the Columbus Region

HARDIN

CHAMPAIGN

MIAMI

DARKE

PREBLE MONTGOMERY

SHELBY

ALLEN

AUGLAIZE

LOGAN

CLARK

GREENE

OSAM Staff:

R. Thomas Sherba, PhD,MPH,LPCC OSAMPrincipleInvestigator

Beth E. Gersper,MPA OSAMCoordinator

Nicholas J. Martt,MSW,LSW OSAMResearchAdministrator

Regional Epidemiologist: Tasha Perdue,MSW

Ohio Substance Abuse Monitoring NetworkOSAMDrug Abuse Trends in the Dayton Region

Data Sources for the Dayton Region

Thisregionalreportwasbaseduponqualita-tivedatacollectedviafocusgroupinterviews.ParticipantswereactiveandrecoveringdrugusersrecruitedfromalcoholandotherdrugtreatmentprogramsinAllen,Hardin,MiamiandMontgomerycounties.Datatriangulationwasachievedthroughcomparisonofparticipantdatatoqualitativedatacollectedfromregionalprofessionals(treatmentprovidersandlawenforcement)viafocusgroupinterviews,aswellastodatasurveyedfromtheLoganCountyFamilyCourt,theMiamiValleyRegionalCrimeLabandtheBureauofCriminalInvestigation(BCI)Londonoffice,whichservescentralandsouthernOhio.Allsecondarydataaresum-marydataofcasesprocessedfromJulythroughDecember2012.Inadditiontothedatasources,Ohiomediaoutletswerequeriedforinforma-tionregardingregionaldrugabuseforJanuarythroughJune2013.

Note:OSAMparticipantswereaskedtoreportondruguse/knowledgepertainingtothepastsixmonths(fromtimeofinterviewthroughpriorsixmonths);thus,currentsecondarydatacorrespondtothecurrentreportingperiodofparticipants.


OSAM Drug Trend Report January-June 2013Page 110

Indicator1 Ohio Dayton Region OSAM Drug ConsumersTotalPopulation,2010 11,536,504 1,352,510 54

Gender(female),2010 51.2% 51.2% 58.5%

Whites,2010 81.1% 83.1% 84.6%

AfricanAmericans,2010 12.0% 11.3% 11.5%

HispanicorLatinoorigin,2010 3.1% 2.0% 4.3%

HighSchoolGraduationrate,2010 84.3% 88.1% 73.6%2

MedianHouseholdIncome,2011 $45,803 $46,256 $11,000to$14,9993

PersonsBelowPovertyLevel,2011 16.3% 15.0% 47.2%4

1Ohio and Dayton statistics are derived from the most recent US Census, and OSAM drug consumers were participants for this reporting period: January-June 2013. 2Graduation status was unable to be determined for one participant due to missing data3Respondents reported income by selecting a category that best represented their household’s approximate income for 2012. Income status was unable to be determined for two partici-pants due to missing data.4Poverty status was unable to be determined for nine participants due to missing data.

*Notallparticipantscompletedforms;numbersmaynotequal54.**Somerespondentsreportedmultipledrugsofuseduringthepastsixmonths.***Otherdrugsrefertosyntheticmarijuana

2

1

13

3

23

10

1

17

20

3

11

30

6

2

13

5

20

3

8

27

14

1

5

7

10

28

31

22

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Other Drugs***

Suboxone®

Sedative-Hypnotics

Prescription Stimulants

Prescription Opioids

Powdered Cocaine

Methamphetamine

Marijuana

Heroin

Ecstasy/molly

Crack Cocaine

Alcohol

>$38,000

$30,000 to $38,000

$19,000 to $29,999

$11,000 to $18,999

<$11,000

Bachelor's degree or higher

Some college or associate's degree

High school graduate

Less than high school graduate

≥60

50s

40s

30s

20s

Female

Male

Drug

s Use

d**

Hous

ehol

d In

com

eEd

ucat

ion

Age

Gen

der

DaytonRegionalParticipantCharacteristics

Drug Consumer Characteristics* (N =54)

Age

Gen

der

Drug

s Use

d**

Hous

ehold

In

com

eEd

ucat

ion

Regional Profile





way–tostayawakeandnottosleep.Communityprofes-sionalsnotedthatsedative-hypnoticswerebeingcom-binedwithothersubstances,whichledtoanincreaseindrugoverdosesanddeaths,particularlywhenheroinwascombinedwithbenzodiazepines.Alsoconcerningwasthatparticipantsdescribedsedative-hypnoticsuseasmoresociallyacceptablethanpreviously.Communitypro-fessionalsidentifiedindividualsage40yearsandyoungeraslikelytoabusesedative-hypnotics.

ParticipantsandcommunityprofessionalsmostoftenreportedthattheavailabilityofSuboxone®haddecreasedduringthereportingperiod.Inoutlyingruralareas,partici-pantsdiscusseddifficultyobtainingSuboxone®duetofewornodoctorslicensedtoprescribethedrug.CommunityprofessionalsattributedthereporteddecreaseinstreetavailabilityofSuboxone®toachangeinprescribingpat-terns.Theyexplaineddoctorsweretryingtolimitdiversionbyprescribingthefilmformofthedrugandrequiringsomepatientstovisittheirofficedaily.

Lastly,whileavailabilitywasvariablewithintheregion,methamphetamineusewasagrowingconcern.TheMiamiValleyRegionalCrimeLabreportedthatmethamphet-amineusemighthavebeenundetectedinpartsoftheregionasuserstypicallymadethedrugsolelyforpersonaluseandnotforsale.Thecrimelabnotedarisingtrendofmethamphetamineusewithheroinwhichwascorrobo-ratedbyparticipants,whoinpastcyclesreferredtotheconcurrentuseofmethamphetaminewithheroinasthe“ultimatespeedball.”Lastly,thecrimelabnotedanin-creaseinintravenousmethamphetamineuse.

Current TrendsPowdered Cocaine

Powderedcocaineremainsmoderatelytohighlyavailableintheregion.Participantsmostoftenreportedthedrug’scurrentavail-abilityas‘10’onascaleof‘0’(notavailable,impossibletoget)to‘10’(highlyavailable,extremelyeasytoget);thepreviousmostcommonscorewasalso‘10.’Communityprofessionalsmostoftenreportedcurrentavailabilityas‘6;’thepreviousmostcommonscorewas‘5.’Lawenforcementreflectedondemandforthedrug:“The availability [ofpowderedcocaine] is there, but I think the

demand is lower because heroin use is so prevalent.”

Historical SummaryInthepreviousreportingperiod(July–December2012),crackcocaine,heroin,marijuana,prescriptionopioidsandsedative-hypnoticsremainedhighlyavailableintheDaytonregion.Changesinavailabilityduringthatreport-ingperiodincludedlikelydecreasesinavailabilityforbathsalts,powderedcocaine,sedative-hypnoticsandSuboxone®.

DespitelegislationenactedinOctober2011,bathsaltscontinuedtobeavailableonthestreetfromdealers,on-line,andinregional“headshops”andgasstations.Newlabelsforbathsaltsemergedtohelpcircumventthelaws;participantssaidbathsaltsweresoldunderlabelslike“hookahcleaner.”Mostparticipantshadnevertriedbathsaltsandstatedtheywerescaredtotrythem.Participantsandcommunityprofessionalsreportedthattheavailabilityofbathsaltshaddecreasedduringthereportingperiodandattributedlegislationasadrivingfactorinthis.TheMiamiValleyRegionalCrimeLabreportedadecreaseinthenumberofcasesitprocessedforbathsalts,andalsoattributedthedecreaseinbathsaltscasestolegislativeaction,aswellastothebadreputationofthedrug.

Participantsandcommunityprofessionalsmostoftenreportedthattheavailabilityofpowderedcocainehaddecreasedduringthereportingperiod.Participantsex-plainedthatdealershadheldontopowderedcocainetomanufacturecrackcocaine,amoreprofitabledrug.

“Drugbusts”andanincreaseinothersubstances(i.e.,heroin)werealsoprovidedasreasonsforgeneralde-creasedavailabilityofpowderedcocainethroughouttheregion.However,participantsnotedthatithadbecomemorecommonforheroindealerstocarrypowderedcocainefortheuserswholiketousethedrugwithheroin(aka“speedball”).

Participantsandcommunityprofessionalsreportedthattheavailabilityofsedative-hypnoticshaddecreasedduringthereportingperiod.Reasonsforthedeclineinavailabilityfocusedonuserswhowereprescribedsedative-hypnoticsnotwantingtopartwiththemeitherbecausetheywantedthemforpersonaluseorbecausetheywereafraidof“getting busted.”

Participantsandcommunityprofessionalsreportednewconcernsregardingsedative-hypnoticsabuse.Apartici-pantsaidthatuserswereabusingAmbien®inadifferent



Collaboratingdataalsoindicatedthepresenceofcocaineintheregion.TheLoganCountyFamilyCourtreportedthat5percentofdrugscreenssubmittedbyadultsduringthepastsixmonthswerepositiveforcocaine(crackand/orpowderedcocaine)–cocainewasfoundin28.4percentofallpositiveadultdrugscreensthecourtadministeredduringthepastsixmonths.

Mediaoutletsintheregionreportedonpowderedcocaineseizuresandarrestsduringthisreportingperiod.PoliceinDaytonarrestedamanduringatrafficstopafteruncover-ing2.57gramsofcocainehiddenintheman’sshoe;oneofthearrestingofficersreportedthatseveralpeoplehavebeenarrestedwithdrugshiddenintheirsocks(www.daytondailynews.com,Feb.1,2013).DuringanFBIdruginvestigationoftheareaneartheDaytonMall,amanwasfatallyshotandtwoothersweretakenintocustodyforco-cainetrafficking;policereportthatcar-to-cardrugsalesinparkinglotsinthemallareahavebecomearealproblem(www.daytondailynews.com,April24,2013).

Participantsandcommunityprofessionalsreportedthattheavailabilityofpowderedcocainehasincreaseddur-ingthepastsixmonths.Alawenforcementprofessionalsaid,“[Powderedcocaine]it’s starting to come back [gaininpopularity] … ‘cause there’s so many different things you can do with it you know: [cookitinto]crack cocaine, you know, mixing it with heroin. I mean people are cutting heroin now with cocaine just to make it a little bit better of a product. I think people[dealers]are just getting smarter and diversify-ing their organizations and what they can sell.”TheMiamiValleyRegionalCrimeLabreportedthatthenumberofpowderedcocainecasesitprocesseshasdecreasedduringthepastsixmonths.

Mostparticipantsratedthecurrentqualityofpowderedcocaineas‘7’onascaleof‘0’(poorquality,“garbage”)to‘10’(highquality);thepreviousmostcommonscorewas‘6.’Participantsreportedthatpowderedcocaineintheregioniscut(adulterated)withAdderall®,aspirin,babyEx•Lax®,creatine,Orajel®andVitaminB-12.Reportedly,cuttingpracticesvaryacrosstheregionanddependonthepersonsupplyingthepowderedcocaine.Aparticipantexplained,“All you need is a little baking soda … they [dealers] putting some sedative-hypnotics in there, some toothache medicine in there … see they trying to cut it to sell it for another price.”Anotherparticipantreported,“[Powderedcocaine] it could be cut with bath salts.”Accordingtooneparticipant,“You not gonna get 100 percent [purepowderedcocaine]

nowhere, unless you on the boat with it.”Severalpartici-pantsdiscussedvariabilityofqualitybasedondealerandgeography,withonestating,“It all depends [on]who you get it [powderedcocaine] from[andwhat]area and vicinity [oftheregion].”

Lawenforcementconfirmedparticipantviewsoncur-rentqualityofpowderedcocaine.Alawenforcementprofessionalstated,“[Qualityofpowderedcocainevaries]especially the part of town you are buying in and the quantity that people are selling at. If you got lower-level dealers … you’re gonna have less of a potent[quality] product … but yeah, the quality around here right now is average I would say.”Overall,participantsreportedthatthequalityofpow-deredcocainehasdecreasedduringthepastsixmonths.TheMiamiValleyRegionalCrimeLabreportedlevamisole(livestockdewormer)asthetypicalcuttingagentforpow-deredcocaine.

Currentstreetjargonincludesmanynamesforpowderedcocaine.Themostcommonlycitedwere“girl”and“soft.”Participantslistedthefollowingasothercommonstreetnames:“bitch,”“powder,”“snow”and“whitepony.”Currentstreetpricesforpowderedcocainewerevariableamongparticipantswithexperiencebuyingthedrug.Participantsexplainedthatpricingdependsonlocation(ruralversusurban).Participantsreportedthatagramofpowderedcocainesellsfor$50-100,dependingonthequality;1/16ounce(aka“teener”)sellsfor$75-100;1/8ounce(aka“eightball”)sellsfor$125-250.

Participantsstatedthatthemostcommonwaytousepowderedcocaineissnorting,followedbyintravenousinjection(aka“shooting”)andsmoking.Reportedly,pow-deredcocaineusevariesgreatlyanddependsonthesocialgroupwithwhichtheindividualassociates.Aparticipantcommented,“I’m a shooter and I don’t really hang around smokers, so to be honest … you’re either shooting it [pow-deredcocaine] or snorting it when I’m around.”

Aprofileforatypicalpowderedcocaineuserdidnotemergefromthedata.Participantsdescribedtypicalusersofpowderedcocaineaseverybodysince,asoneputit,“drugs don’t discriminate.”However,oneparticipantsaid,“Rich white people would be the stereotype [of powdered cocaine users].”Participantsdiscussedtheincreaseinuseamongyoungerindividuals,citingpopularcultureasafactor.Accordingtooneparticipant,“[Powderedcocaineuse]it’s especially in the younger generation ‘cause they got a lot of songs that kind of promote it now … promote cocaine





use and stuff like that, so yeah, I believe it’s become a major problem in the younger generation.”

Communityprofessionalsnotedthattypicalusersofpowderedcocainearewhite,andtheyagreedwithpar-ticipantsthatyoungerindividualsareincreasinglyusingpowderedcocaine.Alawenforcementprofessionalsaid,“We’ve seen it[powderedcocaineuse]as early as 13 [yearsofage].”Theofficerdescribedpowderedcocaineasmoresociallyacceptablethanotherdrugs:“I think socially too … a lot more powder’s coming into the younger scene. Be it powder ecstasy, powder this stuff [cocaine] … you can put into your drinks.”

Reportedly,powderedcocaineisusedincombinationwithalcohol,heroinfor“speedballing”(concurrentorsubse-quentuseofastimulantdrugwithadepressantdrug),marijuanato“taketheedgeoff”andsedative-hypnoticsto“comedown.”Participantsdiscussedthestrongconnec-tionbetweenalcoholandpowderedcocaine:“I think more[alcohol]because when you’re on coke, you can’t get drunk … so people just drink and drink and drink; I’d say drinking[alcohol] … the high gets you kind of nervous and every-thing, and the drinking kind of smooths it out a little bit and calms you down.”

Crack Cocaine

Crackcocaineremainshighlyavailableintheregion.Participantsmostoftenreportedthedrug’scurrentavail-abilityas‘10’onascaleof‘0’(notavailable,impossibletoget)to‘10’(highlyavailable,extremelyeasytoget);thepreviousmostcommonscorewasalso‘10.’However,par-ticipantsinHardinandMiamicountiesreportedthatwhilecrackcocaineisaccessible,auserwouldhavetotraveltoobtainthedrug.ParticipantsinHardinCountyreportedtravelingtoLima(AllenCounty),whileparticipantsinMiamiCountyreportedtravelingtoDaytontoobtainthedrug.Treatmentprovidersandlawenforcementmostoftenreportedthedrug’scurrentavailabilityas‘10;’thepreviousmostcommonscorewasalso‘10.’Accordingtoatreatmentprovider,“You can really get it [crackcocaine]like[aseasyas] a pack of cigarettes.”Anothertreatmentpro-vidercommented,“I have a lot of clients who are struggling with recovery from crack [cocaine]addiction.”

Mediaoutletsintheregionreportedoncrackcocaineseizuresandarrestsduringthisreportingperiod.ApoliceinvestigationinMontgomeryCountyledtothearrestoftwomenatabusinessinDaytonforplanningtodistribute

morethan28gramsofcrackcocaine(www.daytondaily-news.com,April24,2013).Amanwasarrestedafterflush-ingcrackcocainedownthetoiletduringanarcoticssearchofhisDaytonhome;themansaidhewassellingdrugs“tomakeendsmeet”(www.daytondailynews.com,March29,2013).TwobrotherswerearrestedinDaytonafteracom-binedsearchandseizureofcrackcocaineandmarijuanaatbothoftheirresidences(www.daytondailynews.com,April12,2013).

ADaytonwomanwasarrestedasaresultofadrugtaskforceinvestigation,duringwhichpoliceseizedcrackcocaineandheroinfromherresidence(www.dayton-dailynews.com,June25,2013).Daytonnarcoticsofficersobtainedasearchwarrantforahousingduplexinthecitywheredrugtraffickingwasthoughttobeoccurring;policearrestedtwomenforpossessionofcrackcocaineandheroin(www.daytondailynews.com,June18,2013).Awomanwasrobbedof$9afterrefusingtopurchase$15ofcrackcocainefromamanwhoapproachedheratagasstationonthewestsideofDayton;themanthreatenedtoshootthewomanifshedidn’tbuycrackcocaine(www.daytondailynews.com,June21,2013).

Participantsreportedthattheavailabilityofcrackcocainehasremainedthesameduringthepastsixmonths.Par-ticipantsnotedthatavailabilityofcrackcocaineissimilartothatofpowderedcocaineinthatifauserdesiresthedrug,itcanbeobtained.Aparticipantstated,“I really think it depends … you don’t do that [crackcocaineregularly],it’s hard to find … but if you do that [regularlyusecrackcocaine], it’s everywhere.”Treatmentprovidersandlawen-forcementalsoreportedthatavailabilityofcrackcocainehasremainedthesameduringthepastsixmonths.TheBCILondonCrimeLabreportedthatthenumberofcrackcocainecasesitprocesseshasdecreasedduringthepastsixmonths.

Participantsmostoftenratedthecurrentqualityofcrackcocaineas‘7’onascaleof‘0’(poorquality,“garbage”)to‘10’(highquality);thepreviousmostcommonscorewas‘5.’Participantscontinuedtoreportthatcrackcocaineintheregioniscutwithbakingsoda.Participantsalsocontinuedtoreportthatthequalityofthedrugvariesbypurchaselocationandseller.Aparticipantcommented,“[Crackcocainequality] it’s gonna be better down in Florida than it’s gonna be up here ‘cause by the time it gets up here, it’s been cut, stomped on. Like he [anotherparticipant] said, they [dealers]can take half the coke out and put half bath salts in.”Overall,participantsreportedthatthequalityofcrackco-



cainehasremainedthesameduringthepastsixmonths.TheBCILondonCrimeLabcontinuedtocitelevamisole(livestockdewormer)asthetypicalcuttingagentforcrackcocaine.

Currentstreetjargonincludesmanynamesforcrackco-caine.Themostcommonlycitednamesremain“hard”and“rock.”Participantslistedthefollowingasothercommonstreetnames:“candy”and“crack.”Currentstreetpricesforcrackcocainewereconsistentamongparticipantswithexperiencebuyingthedrug.Participantsreportedthata“point”(1/10gram)sellsfor$10.However,partici-pantscontinuedtoreportthatausercouldbuyanydollaramountofcrackcocaine.Aparticipantexplained,“If you got $3, and you got a dealer that’ll sell you $3 worth [ofcrackcocaine], just give ‘em $3 … and sometimes [dealers] they’ll give[sell] you a nickel [$5]or $10 or $20 [pieceofcrackcocaine] … depend on who that person is … how good they doin’ they [sic]little drug activity business.”

Whiletherewereafewreportedwaysofusingcrackcocaine,generallythemostcommonrouteofadminis-trationremainssmoking.Outof10crackcocaineusers,participantsreportedthatapproximatelynineto10wouldsmokethedrug.

Aprofileofatypicalcrackcocaineuserdidnotemergefromthedata.Participantsdescribedtypicalusersofcrackcocaineasanyone.However,participantsnoted“younger”individualsasexperimentingwithcrackcocaine.Apar-ticipantshared,“I know a person that started smokin’ crack when they was 10 [yearsofage], and that’s terrible, you know what I mean?”Communityprofessionalsalsocouldnotidentifyatypicalcrackcocaineuser.Atreatmentpro-viderstated,“You know anyone [canusecrackcocaine]. It really can be anyone; You know black, white, low income, me-dium income.”Alawenforcementprofessionalstated,“In this city [Dayton] there’s no boundary. I’ve seen businessmen down to, you know, people on welfare[usingcrackcocaine].”

Reportedly,crackcocaineisusedincombinationwithal-cohol,heroin,marijuana,prescriptionopioidsandseda-tive-hypnotics.Aparticipantexplained,“Hit that, smoke something, drink something … basically, you’re just trying to get a level keel ‘cause that cocaine will have you up here.”

Heroin

Heroinremainshighlyavailableintheregion.Participantsmostoftenreportedtheoverallavailabilityofheroinas‘10’onascaleof‘0’(notavailable,impossibletoget)to‘10’(highlyavailable,extremelyeasytoget);thepreviousmostcommonscorewasalso‘10.’Participantshighlightedthatmanyprescriptionopioidusersareswitchingtoheroin.Aparticipantexplained,“I think more people are doing pre-scription drugs, and they get strung out on prescription drugs and they start doing heroin ‘cause it’s easier to get. I mean I can’t get pills on call anytime I want, but I can get heroin on call.”Reportedly,othersubstanceshavebecomelessavail-ablebecauseofheroin.Aparticipantexplained,“It’s like they took the powder cocaine drug lord out and pushed the heroin lord everywhere … all you see is heroin now.”TheMi-amiValleyRegionalCrimeLabdescribedavailableheroinintheregionaswhite,tanandbrownpowdered.

Whilemanytypesofheroinarecurrentlyavailableintheregion,participantscontinuedtoreporttheavailabilityofbrownpowderedandblacktarheroinasmostavailable.Participantsmostoftenreportedavailabilityofbrownpowderedheroinas‘10,’availabilityofwhitepowderedheroinas‘1’andinHardinCountytheavailabilityofblacktarheroinas‘10’(participantsdidnotreportavailabilityofblacktarheroininotherareasoftheregion).Report-edly,theavailabilityofheroinbytypevariesthroughouttheregion.Aparticipantexplained,“’Cause, like, in Kenton [HardinCounty]it’s a bunch of tar [blacktarheroin]. . . and in Lima [AllenCounty]there is more powder [powderedheroin] than tar.”Anotherparticipantagreed,“Packs[ofpowderedheroin] more[available]in Lima, and I think bal-loons[ofblacktarheroin] are more [available] in Kenton.”

Treatmentprovidersdidnotdistinguishbetweenthedifferentformsofheroin.However,alawenforcementprofessionalinDaytonratedthecurrentavailabilityofblacktarheroinas‘2’andcommented,“But the bottom line, we’re not really seeing the black tar on our buys. I mean we hear it’s here.”Participantsandlawenforcementalsomen-tionedgrayheroinforthefirsttimeinthisreportingcycle.Aparticipantdescribed,“It’s a bluish-gray color [heroin]…a level-seven potency [ona10-pointqualityscale].”Lawenforcementcommented,“We just came across that ‘gravel’ … that gravel[gray]heroin … I mean it does look like gravel. I mean if I came up on a traffic stop and this guy had a bucket[of‘gravel’]in the back … if I didn’t know about it and stay up-to-date on my intel[policeintelligence],I probably wouldn’t even think twice about it.”





Collaboratingdataalsoindicatedthepresenceofheroinintheregion.TheLoganCountyFamilyCourtreportedthat9.1percentofdrugscreenssubmittedbyadultsduringthepastsixmonthswerepositiveforopiates(heroinand/orprescriptionopioids);opiateswerefoundin51.4percentofallpositiveadultdrugscreensthecourtadministeredduringthepastsixmonths.

Mediaoutletsintheregionreportedonheroinseizuresandarrestsduringthisreportingperiod.ADaytonmanwasarrestedfortraffickinginheroinwhenasmallamountofthedrugwasfoundalongwithscales,cashandahandgunduringasearchofhishome(www.daytondaily-news.com,Jan.23,2013).TheClarkCountySheriff’sofficereportedonanewtrendinthecountyofdruguserssteal-ingsteaksandtradingthemforheroin;reportedly,$50insteakswillgetauser$10ofheroin(www.daytondaily-news.com,Feb.27,2013).Threeyoungadultswerearrest-edduringatrafficstopinDaytonforpossessionof18.55gramsofheroin(www.daytondailynews.com,March15,2013).AdrugtaskforceassistedintheseizureofhundredsofheroingelcapsandpowderedcocaineatanapartmentcomplexinWestCarrollton(MontgomeryCounty).Thisledtoanotherseizureofhundredsofheroingelcapsandcocaine,andthearrestoffourmenwhowerestayingatamotelinWashingtonTownship(MontgomeryCounty)andsellingdrugsto50-100peopleadayatparkinglotsneartheDaytonMall(www.daytondailynews.com,March28,2013).

FiveyoungadultswerearrestedatahouseinUrbana(ChampaignCounty)duringapolicedrugraidthatun-coveredheroin,marijuanaandcrackcocaine(www.daytondailynews.com,April4,2013).Therewasahigh-profilecaseinwhichtheFBItookcustodyofaprominentherointraffickerknowntogiveotherdrugusersheroininexchangefortheirtransportingthedrugfromDaytontoPortsmouth(SciotoCounty,OSAMCincinnatiregion);30indictmentsresultedfromthatinvestigation(www.day-tondailynews.com,June5,2013).FouryoungadultswerearrestedonheroinchargeswhentheywereseeninadrugtransactionatagasstationjustwestofDayton(www.daytondailynews.com,June18,2013).MediaoutletsalsofocusedontheincreaseofopiateoverdosedeathswithinMontgomeryCounty,reportingthatthereareabout500deathsayear,ofwhichmorethanhalfareheroin-related(www.daytondailynews.com,April27,2013).

Participantsreportedthattheavailabilityofheroinhasincreasedduringthepastsixmonths.Oneparticipant

claimed,“You can find 10 [heroin] dealers sitting downtown [now].”Anothercommented,“You find needles on the ground.”Treatmentprovidersandlawenforcementreport-edthattheavailabilityofheroinhasremainedthesameduringthepastsixmonths.Amemberoflawenforcementexplainedthesteadysupplyofheroin:“Yeah, I mean … we have direct Mexican cartel connect. I think Columbus is the Midwest hub[forheroindistribution], and we’re so close to Columbus[that] it’s so convenient[togetheroin].”TheMi-amiValleyRegionalCrimeLabandtheBCILondonCrimeLabbothreportedthatthenumberofpowderedheroincasestheyprocesshaveincreasedduringthelastsixmonths.TheBCILondonCrimeLabalsosawanincreaseinblacktarheroincases.

Participantsmostoftenreportedtheoverallcurrentqual-ityofheroinas‘8’onascaleof‘0’(poorquality,“garbage”)to‘10’(highquality);thepreviousmostcommonscorewasalso‘8.’ParticipantsreportedthatpowderedheroinintheregioniscutwithBenefiber®,coffee,isotol(diuretic),mor-phineandramennoodleflavorpackets.Afewparticipantsdiscussedcuttingheroinwithmorphine.Aparticipantsharedhisconfusionatdrugtestresults,“[I]failed[testedpositive]for morphine. Like, how am I failing for morphine? I use heroin. And they told me most of it [heroin] is cut with morphine and that’s why.”Severalparticipantsdiscussedthedangerofcutheroin:“‘Cause you got so much bad dope [heroin]floating around [that]you gotta be careful; You don’t even know what you’re shooting up[injecting]half the time. I mean if it smells like it [heroin] and tastes like it[heroin], you do it … and if it has rat poisoning, it can kill ya.”Overall,participantsreportedthatthequalityofheroinhasdecreasedduringthepastsixmonths.TheMiamiVal-leyRegionalCrimeLabreportedcaffeineanddiphenhydr-amine(antihistamine)astypicalcuttingagentsfoundinpowderedheroin.

Participantsdiscussedthequalityofheroinasafactorinheroinoverdosesintheregion.Aparticipantshared,“Since I’ve been doing it [heroin], I’ve noticed a lot more people overdosing from stuff lately because there’s a lot of bad dope going around.”Participantssuggestedthatheroinover-doseshaveincreasedthroughouttheregion.Aparticipantcommented,“I think anybody that’s used it[heroin]… we all know quite a few people[whooverdosed].”Anotherparticipantclaimed,“[Heroinoverdoses]it’s off the Richter Scale[extremelyhigh].”Severalparticipantsmentionedincreasesindeathsduetoheroinoverdose.Atreatmentprovidercommentedonuserswhooverdoseduetoaperiodofheroinabstinence:“And one of the things that I’ve



noticed with the overdoses, is people coming out of treatment and going back to … getting high as they was, you know, … away from it [heroinuse]for a while, so their tolerance level [hasdecreased].”Anothertreatmentprovidernotedoverdoseslinkedwithnewheroinusers:“What I see with the [heroin] overdoses is those that started with prescription drugs … might not be as steady or sure … they’re using more [herointhanneeded] to get the effect [high].”Amemberoflawenforcementcommentedonoverdoseintheregion:“The opiate abuse, or epidemic … it’s surpassed vehicle ac-cident deaths in 2012 and 2013 so far. Vehicle accidents used to be the number one cause of [accidental]death in Ohio, and it’s not[anymore]. Now, it’s opiate overdose … whether it’s pills [prescriptionopioids]or heroin. We’re definitely on the map for that.”

Inaddition,participantsreportedhesitationonthepartofuserstocallforhelpwhensomeoneisoverdosing.Aparticipantexplained,“Yeah ‘cause you don’t want them [thepersonwhoisoverdosing] in your possession ‘cause you’ll get in trouble[withlawenforcement]. I’ve seen them [overdosevictims] turn blue where I’ve thrown them in the tub with cold water to try and bring them back … and hit on ‘em [totrytorevivethem] … and it’s too late. Some of them wake up … They don’t even know what they are doing … slobbering, foaming at the mouth … it’s just sickening.”

Currentstreetjargonincludesmanynamesforheroin.Themostcommonlycitedremain“boy”and“dogfood.”Currentpricingwasconsistentamongparticipantswithexperiencebuyingthedrug.Participantsreportedthatbrownpowderedheroinismostoftenavailableincapsuleform(aka“caps”)containingapproximately1/10gramofheroin.Participantsreportedthatcapssellfor$10apieceor$20forthree;participantsinHardinCountyreportedthatagramofbrownpowderedheroinsellsfor$100;participantsinAllenandHardincountiesreportedthatabagorballoonofblacktarheroin(1/10gram)sellsfor$20-25.Reportedly,blacktarheroinpricingislessexpensiveinlargercitieslikeDaytonandColumbus.Alawenforcementprofessionalcommentedonthelowpricingofheroinintheregion,“I’m not sure you can find anywhere in the coun-try where you would have any lower [heroin] prices than you would right here.”Lawenforcementalsoreportedheroindealersaretryingtoestablishtheirclientbasebyprovid-ingfreeheroinsamplescalled“testers.”

Whiletherewereafewreportedwaysofusingheroin,generallythemostcommonroutesofadministrationremainintravenousinjection(aka“shooting”)andsnort-

ing.Participantsestimatedthatoutof10heroinusers,fivetoninewouldintravenouslyinjectandonetofivewouldsnortthedrug.Participantscontinuedtonotethatusersoftenstartheroinusebysnortingbeforeprogressingtointravenousinjection.

Participantsreportedthatavailabilityofinjectionneedlesvariesthroughouttheregion.InHardinCountyapartici-pantreported,“You gotta go out of town to a pharmacy unless you know a diabetic [toobtaininjectionneedles].”Anotherparticipantresponded,“That’s not a good thing, actually … there’s people sharing needles and shooting up with dirty needles because they can’t get one.”Participantsoftenreportedpurchasingneedlesfromdiabeticswhooftensellthemfor$2each.Often,otheruserssellneedles,asoneparticipantadmitted,“I’ve sold them[needles]for $5 apiece. It just depends on how desperate the user is for the needle.”Reportedly,manyusersresorttosharingneedlesbecauseofthelackofaccesstocleanneedles.Apartici-pantcommented,“Actually, it gets to the point where they [users]could care less, and they say, ‘Oh, I probably already got it [HepatitisC],’ so they’re gonna share … and if they’re sick … if they’re dope sick [inwithdrawal], they’re gonna use any needle … so that way they’re not dope sick no more.”Reportedly,someheroinusersrinseneedleswithwaterorbleachiftheyborrowaneedlefromanotheruser,whileotherheroinusers,“will use needles until they can’t be used no more,”accordingtooneparticipant.

ParticipantssharedconcernsregardingneedleuseandtheprevalenceofHepatitisC.Participantsreported:“Just about everybody I know that uses [heroin], has it [HepatitisC]; There’s a lot of people around here that I know that have Hepatitis.”ParticipantsalsosharedmisinformationaboutthetransmissionofHepatitisC:“But you can get Hepatitis from your own blood … using the same needle too long; You can give Hepatitis C to yourself from your own needle, so you don’t have to use from somebody [tocontractHepatitisC] . . . I mean you can give it to yourself.”Atreatmentprovidercommented,“Right now, we got even youth heroin users already with Hep C. I’m talking about 17 [yearsofage] and even younger.”

Participantsdescribedtypicalusersofheroinasillicitpre-scriptionopioidusersand“younger”people(highschoolagedthroughearly20s).Ayoungerparticipantcom-mented,“Ninety percent of the people I know that use heroin are my age … like I went to school with all of them … like all my friends I used to go to school with, they’re all prostituting and stuff now.”Communityprofessionalsdescribedtypical





usersasprimarilywhite.Alawenforcementprofessionaldescribedthevarietyofuserstheyencounterwithheroin:“Old people – like old ‘crack heads’ – 55 years old, shooting heroin now and before they were just doing, smoking crack. Teenagers, girls, man, it seems like a lot of girls get turned onto it [heroin]; I have kids in every grade, and I mean it’s high schools and the middle school … ‘cause you know kids, again, they can get pills from their mom’s medicine cabinet, and a lot of these pill-head moms are doing heroin now.”Treatmentprovidersagreedthattheyareencounteringyoung,whitefemalesusingheroin.Atreatmentproviderremarked,“They [typicalheroinusersare]younger and Caucasian. That’s what I’m seeing[and]female.”

Participantsandcommunityprofessionalscontinuedtolinkheroinusewithprevioususeofprescriptionopioids.Bothrespondentgroupsidentifiedincreasedtolerance,changesinpillformulationandthesubstantiallylowerpriceofheroinascontributingfactorsinthetransitionfrompillstoheroin.

Reportedly,heroinisusedincombinationwithalcohol,crackandpowderedcocaine,marijuana,prescriptionopioidsandsedative-hypnotics.Reportedly,concurrentorsubsequentuseofheroinwithcrackorpowderedcocaine(aka“speedballing”)ispopular.Participantsreportedthatthecombinationofprescriptionopioidsand/orsedative-hypnoticswithheroinintensifiestheeffect(high)ofheroin.Andwhileparticipantsreadilyacknowledgedthedangersofusingabenzodiazepinewithheroin,theyalsoacknowledgedignoringthisdangerandcombiningthesedrugsanyway.Participantsexplained:“You get immune to like the high [toleranceincreases],so you try to eat anything or do anything else to get back to where you was when you first started [heroinuse]… and that’s how people overdose. You don’t realize you are as high as you are; That’ll kill you; [MixingXanax®andheroin]that’s what so many of the overdoses are from.”

Prescription Opioids

Prescriptionopioidsaremoderatelytohighlyavailableintheregion.Participantsmostoftenreportedthecurrentavailabilityofthesedrugsas‘4’onascaleof‘0’(notavail-able,impossibletoget)to‘10’(highlyavailable,extremelyeasytoget);thepreviousmostcommonscorewas‘10.’Participantsidentifiedmethadone,Percocet®andVicodin®asthemostpopularprescriptionopioidsintermsofwide-spreaduse.Communityprofessionalsmostoftenreported

currentavailabilityas‘10;’thepreviousmostcommonscorewasalso‘10.’CommunityprofessionalsidentifiedPer-cocet®,Roxicet®andVicodin®asmostpopular.Atreatmentproviderobserved,“I have more clients that are using pills[prescriptionopioid],and I don’t know if they are trying to back away from the heroin. I don’t know what’s going on with that. I’m not really sure.”

Mediaoutletsintheregionreportedonprescriptionopioidseizuresandarrestsduringthisreportingperiod.AcorrectionsofficerattheMontgomeryCountyJailfound10Vicodin®pillsonayoungwomanbeingbookedintothejail(www.daytondailynews.com,Feb.5,2013).Themediaalsofocusedoneffortstomitigatetheprescriptionopioidepidemicthattheregionfaces.Severalprescriptiondrugdrop-offprogramshavebeeninitiatedthisreportingperiod,oneinFairborn(GreeneCounty)(www.dayton-dailynews.com,Jan.24,2013)andseveralinMontgomeryCounty(www.daytondailynews.com,March13,2013).

Participantsreportedthattheavailabilityofprescriptionopioidshasdecreasedduringthepastsixmonths.Partici-pantsattributedtheperceiveddecreaseinavailabilitytonewlegislationresultinginacrackdownondoctorover-prescribingofprescriptionopioids.Aparticipantcom-mented,“Now there ain’t no family doctors that will prescribe the pain pills. You have to go to the pain clinic, and they do like pill counts [anddrug] test you to make sure [prescribedopioid]it’s in your system and all that stuff.”Anotherpar-ticipantcommented,“Yeah, if you have someone [adealer,familyorfriend]that has some, they’re not having as many as they did, you know, so the amount to supply to everyone in town isn’t as great.”

Treatmentprovidersreportedthatavailabilityofpre-scriptionopioidshasremainedthesameorhasslightlyincreasedduringthepastsixmonths.Lawenforcementexplainedthatusershavetohavecontactstoobtainthedrugs.Alawenforcementprofessionalexplained,“Your pill dealers … you don’t just walk up blind on Gettysburg [Av-enueinDayton]and say, ‘Hey man, you have some Roxico-done®?’ You know what I’m saying? You have to know that person or get an intro to that person and have a relationship … You don’t just go blind [unknown]to the house and say, ‘Hey I heard you sell pills here … what’s up?’”TheMiamiVal-leyRegionalCrimeLabreportedthatthenumberofpre-scriptionopioidcasesitprocesseshasremainedthesameduringthepastsixmonthswiththeexceptionofincreasedcasesforKadian®andOpana®.



Reportedly,manydifferenttypesofprescriptionopioids(aka“M&Ms,”“pills”and“colors”)arecurrentlysoldontheregion’sstreets.Currentstreetpricesforprescriptionopi-oidswereconsistentamongparticipantswithexperiencebuyingthedrug.Reportedly,prescriptionopioidsgener-allysellforabouta$1permilligram.Participantsreportedthefollowingprescriptionopioidsasavailabletostreet-levelusers(Note:Whenreported,currentstreetnamesandpricesareindicatedinparentheses):OxyContin®(aka“oxy’s”),Percocet®(aka“Ps”and“percs;”5mgsellsfor$6),Roxicodone®(aka“perc30’s;”30mgsellsfor$30-36),Vico-din®(aka“Vs,”“vikes”and“vikings;”5mg,aka“babyvikes,”sellsfor$2;7.5mgsellsfor$7-8;10mgsellsfor$7-10,)andUltram®(50mgsellsfor50cents).

Inadditiontoobtainingprescriptionopioidsonthestreetfromdealers,participantscontinuedtoreportgettingthedrugsfromfamilydoctors,emergencyroomsandfamilymembers.Participantsreportedthatalotofusersgetthedrugsfromafamilymember.Aparticipantshared,“That’s how I had started on them[prescriptionopioids]. My mom married somebody that had gotten a prescription of them, and I, you know … instead of paying six or seven dollars a pill, I’d just grab one out of the cabinet and go on about my day.”

Whiletherewereafewreportedwaysofconsumingprescriptionopioids,andvariationsinmethodsofusewerenotedamongtypesofprescriptionopioids,themostcommonroutesofadministrationremainsnortingandoralconsumption.Participantsestimatedthatoutof10prescriptionopioidusers,sevento10wouldsnortandtheremainderwouldorallyconsumethedrugs.

Aprofileofatypicalillicituserofprescriptionopioidsdidnotemergefromthedata.However,participantsex-pressedconcernoveryoungerindividualsusingprescrip-tionopioids.Aparticipantcommented,“I think [prescrip-tionopioids] that’s the worst drug possible to do for anybody because it is a gateway drug.”Atreatmentprovideragreed,“That used to be the start-off point, the trials with the opiates and then it progressed to the heroin. So, that [prescriptionopioiduse] usually start[s] with the younger group, 18 [yearsofage]… even younger than that.”Alawenforcementprofessionalcommentedoninjuriesleadingtotheabuseofprescriptionopioids:“You know, ex-football player or football player or soccer player … they get injured. They start on a prescription drug, you know. They go to school and they think, ‘It’s fun to toss a couple around.’ The next thing you know the kids want more and more.”Reportedly,whenusedincombinationwithotherdrugs,prescriptionopioidsare

mostoftencombinedwithalcohol,heroin,marijuanaandsedative-hypnotics.

Suboxone®

Suboxone®ishighlyavailableintheregion.Participantsre-portedstreetavailabilityofSuboxone®as‘10’onascaleof‘0’(notavailable,impossibletoget)to‘10’(highlyavailable,

extremelyeasytoget);thepreviousmostcommonscorewas‘5.’Reportedly,thefilmformofSuboxone®ismoreavailable.Partici-pantscontinuedtolinkillicitSuboxone®usetoheroinuse.Aparticipantcommented,“If you’re a heroin addict, you probably know how to get some Suboxone®.”Therewasnoconsen-susamongcommunityprofessionalsastothecurrentstreetavailabilityofSuboxone®.However,atreatmentprovidercommented,“The medication assistance [treatment]is starting to come more towards the forefront, so

more people are seeking it [Suboxone®].”

CollaboratingdataalsoindicatedthepresenceofillicitSuboxone®useintheregion.TheLoganCountyFamilyCourtreportedthatSuboxone®notprescribedwasfoundin4.3percentofallpositiveadultdrugscreensthecourtadministeredduringthepastsixmonths.Inaddition,me-diaoutletsintheregionreportedonSuboxone®seizuresandarrestsduringthisreportingperiod.Suboxone®wasfoundhiddeninaman’sshoewhilethemanwasbeingbookedintotheMontgomeryCountyJail,whichaddedanotherfelonychargetotheotherfelonychargesthemanwasfacing(www.daytondailynews.com,April3,2013).

ParticipantsreportedthattheavailabilityofSuboxone®hasdecreasedduringthepastsixmonths,whilelawen-forcementreportedthatavailabilityofSuboxone®throughclinicshasincreasedduringthepastsixmonths.Alawenforcementprofessionalexplained,“Three [Suboxone®]clinics here in Dayton, and they’re trying to open up a fourth one.”Treatmentprovidersagreedwithlawenforcement,alsoreportingincreasedavailabilityofSuboxone®.TheMiamiValleyRegionalCrimeLabreportedthatthenum-berofbuprenorphine(Suboxone®andSubutex®)casesitprocesseshasincreasedduringthepastsixmonths.

StreetpricingforSuboxone®wasvariableamongpartici-pantswithexperiencebuyingthedrug.Participantsre-portedthatSuboxone®8mgstripssellfor$7-20perstrip;Suboxone®pillstypicallysellfor$10-15perpill,butcan





sellforashighas$30.Aparticipantcommented,“They’ve got them [genericSuboxone®pills]out now. They’re like a peach or pink color and they’re generics. They just came out like a month ago, and they’re like $3 [perpill]at the phar-macy, but they go for $10-$15 bucks a pill [onthestreet].”AnotherparticipantcommentedonthehighcostofSub-oxone®withoutinsurance:“Yeah, if you don’t got insurance,[Suboxone®]they’re $1,000 … I got 60 of them a month and it was $1,000, so there wouldn’t have been no way I’d have been able to pay for them if I didn’t have a medical card.”Reportedly,Suboxone®streetpricesarelowerinMiamiCounty(Troy)andhigherinHardinCounty.

Suboxone®isavailableonthestreetthroughdealers,throughpeoplewhohaveprescriptionsandthroughdoc-torsandpainclinics.Participantsandcommunityprofes-sionalsdiscussedeasyavailabilitythroughSuboxone®clinics.Aparticipantreported,“If you got money, you can go to a clinic. Like … if you got money, they’re gonna give them[Suboxone®]to you even if you are using.”AtreatmentprovidersharedconcernaboutusersgettingSuboxone®prescriptionswiththeintentofsellingthem:“Well, from what I’m understanding with the clientele that I’m working with, some of the people that are getting it[Suboxone®] from the clinics … they’re selling the scripts [prescriptions].You know, so they’re actually starting to traffic it.”

ThemostcommonroutesofadministrationforSuboxone®stripsaresublingual(dissolvingitunderthetongue)orintravenousinjection,whilethemostcommonroutesofadministrationforSuboxone®tabletsaresublingualandsnorting.Aparticipantexplained,“If [Suboxone®]it’s the pill, people snort them. If it’s the strip, you put it under your tongue.”Participantsandcommunityprofessionalsde-scribedthetypicalillicituserofSuboxone®assomeonewhosepreferreddrugisopiates.Lawenforcementaddedthattypicalillicitusersareoftenwhite.

Reportedly,whenSuboxone®isusedincombinationwithothersubstances,itisusedwithheroinandsedative-hypnotics(Xanax®).ParticipantssharedvaryingopinionsaboutwhentouseheroinwithSuboxone®:“Yeah, you can [useheroinonSuboxone®]. I shoot dope[injectheroin] with ‘em [Suboxone®]; If you wait 24 hours and want to shoot dope, you good.”ParticipantsreportedthatXanax®orotherbenzodiazepinesusedwithSuboxone®intensifiestheef-fectofthebenzodiazepines.

Sedative-Hypnotics

Sedative-hypnotics(benzodiazepines,barbituratesandmusclerelaxants)remainhighlyavailableintheregion.Participantsmostoftenreportedthecurrentavailabilityofthesedrugsas‘8’onascaleof‘0’(notavailable,impossibletoget)to‘10’(highlyavailable,extremelyeasytoget);thepreviousmostcommonscorewas‘10.’Communityprofes-sionalsmostoftenreportedcurrentavailabilityas‘10;’thepreviousmostcommonscorewasalso‘10.’ParticipantsandcommunityprofessionalsidentifiedKlonopin®andXanax®asthemostpopularsedative-hypnoticsintermsofwidespreaduse.

Collaboratingdataalsoindicatedthepresenceofsedative-hypnoticsuseintheregion.TheLoganCountyFamilyCourtreportedthatbenzodiazepineswerefoundin5.8percentofallpositiveadultdrugscreensthecourtadmin-isteredduringthepastsixmonths.

Participantsreportedthattheavailabilityofsedative-hypnoticshasdecreasedduringthepastsixmonths.Ontheotherhand,communityprofessionalsreportedthatavailabilityofsedative-hypnoticshasincreasedduringthepastsixmonths.Alawenforcementprofessionaladded,“I think [illicitsedative-hypnoticsuse]it’s way under-reported.”TheMiamiValleyRegionalCrimeLabreportedthatthenumberofsedative-hypnoticscasesitprocesseshasgen-erallyremainedthesameduringthepastsixmonths,withthefollowingexceptions:adecreasednumberofcasesforXanax®andincreasednumberofcasesforKlonopin®,Restoril®andSoma®.

Reportedly,manydifferenttypesofsedative-hypnotics(aka“candy”)arecurrentlysoldontheregion’sstreets.Cur-rentstreetpricesforsedative-hypnoticswereconsistentamongparticipantswithexperiencebuyingthedrugs.Participantsreportedthefollowingsedative-hypnoticsasavailabletostreet-levelusers(Note:Whenreported,cur-rentstreetnamesandpricesareindicatedinparentheses):Klonopin®(1mgsellsfor$2),Valium®(10mgsellsfor$2),andXanax®(0.25mgsellsfor$1-2;0.5mg,aka“peaches,”sellsfor$1-3;1mg,aka“blues”and“footballs,”sellsfor$3;2mg,aka“bars,”“totempoles”and“xanibars,”sellsfor$5-6).

Inadditiontoobtainingsedative-hypnoticsonthestreetfromdealers,participantsreportedgettingthemfrompeoplewhohaveprescriptions.Aparticipantnoted,“From the pharmacy to the dealer’s hands or to the person [seda-tive-hypnotics]it’s prescribed to … that’s how it works.”



Whiletherewereafewreportedwaysofconsumingsedative-hypnotics,andvariationsinmethodsofusewerenotedamongtypesofsedative-hypnotics,themostcom-monroutesofadministrationremainoralconsumptionandsnorting.Participantsestimatedthatoutof10seda-tive-hypnoticusers,fiveto10wouldsnort;andzerotofivewouldswallowor“eat”thepills.

Aprofileofatypicalillicituserofsedative-hypnoticsdidnotemergefromthedata;however,participantsnotedonlyadultuseofthesedrugs.Aparticipantstated,“I would have to say over 18[yearsofage]because all the kids [below18years]are experimenting with alcohol and stuff.”Atreatmentprovidersuggestedusersbeginwithalegiti-mateanxietyissueandprogresstoillicituseofthedrug:“With my experience with clients is … it [useofsedative-hypnotics]starts off with a legitimate anxiety issue … and if that prescription gets cut, they will continue to get it from the street.”Anothertreatmentprovideradded,“I’m seeing it [il-licituseofsedative-hypnotics]more with the heroin users.”

Reportedly,whenusedincombinationwithotherdrugs,sedative-hypnoticsaremostoftenusedincombinationwithalcoholandmarijuana.Amemberoflawenforce-mentagreedthatalcoholisoftenusedwiththesedrugs:“There’s a lot of people that … I know … have legitimate jobs that are on Xanax® all the time – all the time. They’re going home at night and popping some Xanax® and drinking some wine.”Inaddition,aparticipantsharedusingsedative-hypnoticsinplaceofalcohol:“Instead of drinking a shit ton of beer to get drunk, I’ll just take two or three of these [ben-zodiazepines]to get wasted.”Lastly,atreatmentprovidercommentedontheuseofheroinwithsedative-hypnotics:“[Users]they’re mixing it [heroin] with the Xanax®, especially … and it’s a lethal combination.”

Marijuana

Marijuanaremainshighlyavailableintheregion.Partici-pantsandcommunityprofessionalsmostoftenreportedthedrug’scurrentavailabilityas‘10’onascaleof‘0’(notavailable,impossibletoget)to‘10’(highlyavailable,ex-tremelyeasytoget);thepreviousmostcommonscorewasalso‘10.’Participantsexplainedthatavailabilityofmarijua-nais“unlimited.”Atreatmentprovidercommented,“Mari-juana is so available here. I just witnessed a marijuana bust Saturday … in fact, it was one of a series of [busts].”Someparticipantsalsocommentedonthehighavailabilityofmedical-grademarijuana.Aparticipantreported,“You can get medical-grade marijuana here pretty readily.”

Collaboratingdataalsoindicatedthepresenceofmarijua-naintheregion.TheLoganCountyFamilyCourtreportedthatmarijuanawasfoundin24percentofallpositiveadultdrugscreensandin77percentofallpositiveyouthdrugscreensthecourtadministeredduringthepastsixmonths.Inaddition,mediaoutletsintheregionreportedonmarijuanaseizuresandarrestsduringthisreportingperiod.TwoyoungadultswerearrestedinDaytonforpos-sessionofmarijuanaandcocaineasaresultofneighbor-hoodcomplaintsofdrugtraffickingfromtheirresidence(www.daytondailynews.com,Jan.14,2013).Amanwasarrestedondrugchargesforpossessionof5.4poundsofhigh-grademarijuana(www.daytondailynews.com,March12,2013).

Participantsandcommunityprofessionalsreportedthattheavailabilityofmarijuanahasremainedthesameduringthepastsixmonths.TheMiamiValleyRegionalCrimeLabreportedthatthenumberofmarijuanacasesitprocesseshasdecreasedduringthepastsixmonths.

Participantsmostoftenreportedthecurrentqualityofmarijuanaasbetween‘2’and‘5’forlow-gradeand‘10’forthehigh-grademarijuanaonascaleof‘0’(poorquality,“garbage”)to‘10’(highquality);thepreviousmostcom-monscoreswere‘7’forlow-gradeand‘10’forhigh-grademarijuana.Severalparticipantsexplainedthatthequalityofmarijuanadependsonwhethertheuserbuys“commer-cialweed”(low-tomid-grademarijuana)orhydroponicallygrown(high-grademarijuana).Aparticipantcommentedontheincreaseinqualityoverall:“I think that in the last few years, three or four years, the [marijuana] quality has gone up.”Treatmentprovidersalsodiscussedanincreaseinmarijuanaquality,withonestating,“You know they’re figuring out how to breed these [marijuana] plants and make them more and more potent. And, I ‘Googled’ it because a client of mine said, ‘You know you can get the seeds [togrowmarijuana] from the Internet’.”Lawenforcementalsodiscussedthetrendinincreasedqualityofmarijuana.Alawenforcementprofessionalsaid,“The medical marijuana has changed everything … anybody can grow the same stuff that it took them [legalgrowersoutwest] four or five years to perfect. Kids are doing it now in homes across America.”

Currentstreetjargonincludescountlessnamesformari-juana.Themostcommonlycitednameswere“reggie”forlow-grademarijuanaand“loud”forhigh-grademarijuana.Participantslistedthefollowingasothercommonstreetnames:“commersh”(shortfor“commercial”)and“schwag”forlow-grademarijuana;“chronic”,“dank”,“hydro”and





“kush”forhigh-gradeorhydroponicallygrownmarijuana.Thepriceofmarijuanadependsonthequalitydesired.Currentstreetpricesformarijuanawereconsistentamongparticipantswithexperiencebuyingthedrug.Participantsreportedcommercial-grademarijuanaasthecheap-estform:ablunt(cigar)ortwojoints(cigarettes)sellfor$5;1/8ouncesellsfor$20-25;1/4ouncesellsfor$50;anouncesellsfor$100-130.Higher-qualitymarijuanasellsforsignificantlymore:abluntortwojointssellfor$15-30;1/8ouncesellsfor$50-60;1/4ouncesellsfor$100;anouncesellsfor$225-300.

Whiletherewereseveralreportedwaysofconsumingmarijuana,themostcommonrouteofadministrationremainssmoking.Outof10marijuanausers,participantsreportedthatapproximatelyninewouldsmoke,andonewouldconsumethedruginedibles.Participantsfeltthatedibleswithmarijuanainthemareincreasinginpopular-ity,especially“marijuanabutter”and“marijuanaoliveoil.”Participantsidentifieduserswhoaremorehealthcon-sciousanduserswhodonotliketosmokeasmorelikelytoconsumemarijuanainedibles.

Aprofileforatypicalmarijuanauserdidnotemergefromthedata.Participantsdescribedtypicalusersofmarijuanaas,“anybodyandeverybody.”Aparticipantcommentedonthepopularityofmarijuana:“[Useofmarijuana]it’s more acceptable now because some of the states [havelegalizedmarijuanause].”Communityprofessionalscommentedonthegrowingprevalenceofchildrenandadolescentsusingmarijuana.Atreatmentproviderreflected,“Young … they’ll start off[usingmarijuana]very young … and by young, I mean 11, 10 [yearsofage].”Anothertreatmentproviderresponded,“Parents are smoking it [marijuana]. Nobody tells them [childrenandadolescents] anything about it [marijua-na]. Like kids are clueless as to what any long- or short-term effects[ofmarijuanauseare]… They have no idea. By the time a DARE [DrugAbuseResistanceEducation] program comes into their school for intervention, they are already smoking pot, so they don’t believe what the DARE program tells them, you know, that[marijuanause] it’s going to make you ‘fall out’ and ‘lose your mind ’… they’re not going to believe that because they’ve been smoking it [marijuana] for years.”Atreatmentprovideralsodiscusseddealersusingyoungerindividualsindrugsalesas“runners/mules”forthedrug.

Reportedly,marijuanaismostoftenusedincombinationwithcrackorpowderedcocaine(aka“primos”),tobacco(aka“cigmo”or“momo”)andwithprescriptionopioids.

Participantsalsoreportedthatmarijuanausecanaccom-panyanydruguse.

Methamphetamine

Methamphetamineismoderatelyavailableintheregion.Participantsmostoftenreportedthedrug’scurrentavail-abilityas‘6’onascaleof‘0’(notavailable,impossibleto

get)to‘10’(highlyavailable,extremelyeasytoget);thepreviousmostcommonscorewas‘10.’Participantsfromthroughouttheregioncommentedabouttheproductionof“one-pot”or“shake-and-bake”methamphetamine,whichmeansusersareproducingthedruginasingle,sealedcontainer,suchasatwo-litersodabottle.Byusingcommonhouseholdchemicals,alongwithammoniumnitratefoundincoldpacksandpseudoephedrine,typicallyfoundinsomeallergymedications,drugmanufacturers(aka“cooks”)canpro-

ducethedruginapproximately30minutesatnearlyanylocationbymixingingredientsineasilyfoundcontainers.TheMiamiValleyRegionalCrimeLabreportedavarietyofmethamphetaminetypesavailableintheregionincludingcrystalline,tan,whiteandbrownpowdered.

TreatmentprovidersandlawenforcementinDaytonmostoftenreportedthedrug’scurrentavailabilityas‘4,’whiletreatmentprovidersinLima(AllenCounty)reportedcur-rentavailabilityas‘8;’thepreviousmostcommonscoreforcommunityprofessionalswas‘3.’AtreatmentproviderinDaytoncommentedthatmethamphetamineisnotasavailableinDaytonasitisotherareasoftheregion,stat-ing,“There is still a fear of crystal meth[methamphetamine]. There is still that stigma [that]you’re gonna get the ‘meth mouth’ … all your teeth are gonna fall out; you’re gonna be speeding all the time; and you’re gonna lose weight and drop dead from a stroke or a heart attack. I mean they have … they believe that, which is good … it’s true.”InLima,atreatmentprovidercommentedonarecentpolicebustinvolvingmethamphetamine:“Yeah, they’ve had a couple arrests of that [one-potmethamphetamine] too … a couple of guys from out of Ada area [HardinCounty]. One guy was known as the secret cook. He was selling his recipe on-line on how to cook it [methamphetamine].”

Mediaoutletsintheregionreportedonmethamphet-amineseizuresandarrestsduringthisreportingperiod.Daytonpolicearrestedfourindividualsafterfindingaworkingone-potmethlabduringaraidataresidenceon



theeastsideofthecity(www.daytondailynews.com,April22,2013).LawenforcementinDarkeCountydiscoveredamethamphetaminelabandarrestedtwoyoungadults(www.daytondailynews.com,May29,2013).Daytonpolicerespondedtoadrugcomplaintandfoundamanmakingone-potmethamphetamineinthebasementofhisresi-dence(www.daytondailynews.com,June2,2013).

Participantsandlawenforcementreportedthattheavail-abilityofmethamphetaminehasincreasedduringthepastsixmonths.Alawenforcementprofessionalcommented,“We’re starting to see more[methamphetamine]cases or hearing about more cases around here.”However,treat-mentprovidersinDaytoncitedadecreaseinavailabilityofmethamphetamine.Atreatmentprovidercommented,“It [methamphetamine]is not as available as I think it was at one time … It seems to be more of a rural drug and it stays out on the outskirts out there in the country.”TheMiamiVal-leyRegionalCrimeLabreportedthatthenumberofmeth-amphetaminecasesitprocesseshasincreasedduringthepastsixmonths.

Participantsmostoftenreportedthecurrentqualityofmethamphetamineasbetween‘7’and‘10’onascaleof‘0’(poorquality,“garbage”)to‘10’(highquality);aqualityestimatewasnotavailablefromthepreviousreportingperiod.Aparticipantcommented,“I guess it [methamphet-aminequality]was good ‘cause I watched my windshield crack … and it didn’t[actually]crack.”

Themostcommonlycitedstreetnameformethamphet-aminewas“glass.”Currentstreetpricesformethamphet-aminewereconsistentamongparticipantswithexperi-encebuyingthedrug.Participantsreportedthatagramofmethamphetaminesellsfor$50-100.Whiletherewereseveralreportedwaysofusingmethamphetamine,themostcommonrouteofadministrationissmoking.Partici-pantsestimatedthatoutof10methamphetamineusers,approximatelythreeto10wouldsmokeandtheotherswouldeitherintravenouslyinjectorsnortthedrug.

Participantsandcommunityprofessionalsdescribedtypi-calusersofmethamphetamineasmale,ruralandwhite.Reportedly,methamphetamineismostoftenusedinsmallsocialcircles.Alawenforcementprofessionalsaid,“They’re making it [methamphetamine]to use and enough to sell to[buysuppliesto]make more … it’s a little bit of a cycle.”Par-ticipantsreportedthatmethamphetamineisusedincom-binationwithalcoholandmarijuanatotaketheedgeoffandassistinreducingtheeffectsofmethamphetamine.

Prescription Stimulants

Prescriptionstimulantsarehighlyavailableintheregion.Participantsmostoftenreportedthecurrentavailabilityofthesedrugsas‘10’onascaleof‘0’(notavailable,impos-sibletoget)to‘10’(highlyavailable,extremelyeasytoget);thepreviousmostcommonscorewas‘8.’Treatmentprovidersmostoftenreportedcurrentavailabilityas‘10;’thepreviousmostcommonscorewas‘3.’Communityprofessionalsreportedthatwhileavailabilityofprescrip-tionstimulantsishigh,thedesirabilityforthesedrugsisnotonthesamelevelasotherdrugs.ParticipantsandcommunityprofessionalsalikereportedthatAdderall®isthemostpopularprescriptionstimulantintheregionintermsofwidespreaduse.Nochangeinavailabilityforprescriptionstimulantswasreportedbyparticipants,lawenforcementortreatmentproviders.TheMiamiValleyRegionalCrimeLabreportedthatthenumberofprescrip-tionstimulantcasesitprocesseshasincreasedduringthepastsixmonths.

Noslangtermsorcommonstreetnameswerereportedforprescriptionstimulants.Participantswereunabletoreportoncurrentstreetpricesforprescriptionstimulants.Participantsdescribedtypicalillicitusersofprescriptionstimulantsascollegestudents,peoplewhosechildrenhaveaprescriptionorpeoplewhocannotobtaincocaine.Aparticipantcommented,“[Prescriptionstimulants]it’s like really popular in colleges because people stay up and cram [study]… I know so many people that never do any drug, not even smoke any weed[marijuana], but they take Adderall® just to stay up so they can cram everything in.”Atreatmentproviderdescribedthetypicalillicitprescriptionstimu-lantuseras“a normal drug user who can’t get their drug of choice.”

Reportedly,prescriptionstimulantsareusedincombina-tionwithcrackcocaineorcoffeeandalcoholtointensifytheeffectofthestimulanthigh.Atreatmentproviderreportedthatthesedrugsareusedincombinationwithotherprescriptionmedication,aswellasalcohol:“Espe-cially when they’re having those [pill]parties. I’ve been told that’s when they make the cocktails and … that one drink where they mix cough syrup, Sprite and something else with [aka‘lean’].”





Bath Salts

Bathsalts(syntheticcompoundscontainingmethylone,mephedrone,MDPVorotherchemicalanalogues)re-mainavailableintheregion.However,participantsmost

oftenreportedthecurrentavailabilityofbathsaltsas‘0’onascaleof‘0’(notavailable,impossibletoget)to‘10’(highlyavailable,extremelyeasytoget);thepreviousmostcommonscorewas‘3.’Participantsexplained:“I ain’t seen that [bathsalts] in a while; That hasn’t been around.”WhilelawenforcementinDaytonreportedlowavailabilityofbathsalts,ratingcurrentavailabilityas‘3,’treat-mentprovidersinLima(AllenCounty)mostoftenreportedcurrentavailabilityas‘10.’Atreatmentproviderexplained,“[I]haven’t had

a client report use of bath salts … so as far as prevalence, they [users]say that it [currentavailabilityofbathsalts]is [high] … but my clients themselves aren’t using the salts [bathsalts].”Previously,communityprofessionalsreportedavailabilityofbathsaltsintheregionas‘4.’

Mediaoutletsintheregionreportedonbathsaltsseizuresandarrestsduringthisreportingperiod.PoliceraidedasmokeshopintheOregonDistrictofDaytonandarrestedtwoindividualsondrugtraffickingcharges;drugsseizedincludedsyntheticmarijuanaand1,087unitsofbathsaltsbeingsoldunderthename“EightBallzUltraPremiumGlassCleaner”for$40pergram(www.daytondailynews.com,April18,2013).

Participantsreportedthattheavailabilityofbathsaltshasdecreasedduringthepastsixmonths.Lawenforcementalsoreportedadecreaseinavailability.Alawenforcementprofessionalcommented,“The best thing that happened was YouTube … putting those dumbasses on YouTube[and]showing ‘em what happens to you [whenyouusebathsalts].”However,whiletreatmentprovidersinDaytonre-portedreducedavailabilityofbathsalts,treatmentprovid-ersinLima(AllenCounty)reportedincreasedavailabilityofbathsaltsintheirarea.TheMiamiValleyRegionalCrimeLabreportedthatthenumberofbathsaltcasesitprocess-eshasdecreasedduringthepastsixmonths.

Participantswereunabletoprovidemuchinformationonbathsalts.Manyparticipantsstated:“I don’t mess with it [bathsalts]; I never touched the salts.”Aparticipantspecu-latedaboutobtainingbathsalts:“Maybe if you know the

guy working behind the counter [youcanbuybathsalts].”Overall,participantsreportedthatbathsaltsarenottheirdrugofchoiceandtheyhavenotpursuedthem.

Synthetic Marijuana

Syntheticmarijuana(syntheticcannabinoids;aka“K2”and“Spice”)remainsavailableintheregion.Participantsmostoftenreportedthedrug’scurrentavailabilityas‘2’ona

scaleof‘0’(notavailable,impossibletoget)to‘10’(highlyavailable,extremelyeasytoget);thepreviousmostcommonscorewas‘5.’Treatmentprovidersmostoftenreportedthedrug’scurrentavailabilityas‘3,’whilelawenforcementmostoftenreportedcurrentavailabilityas‘4;’thepreviousmostcommonscorewas‘4.’Atreatmentproviderdiscussedrecentlyreleasedinformationonthedan-gersofsyntheticmarijuana:“There seems to be more information leaking out about how dangerous it [syntheticmarijuana]is – what’s

actually in the synthetic marijuana. The psychotic breaks that people are having seem to be more prevalent …[users]they’d rather smoke real marijuana, which is what they want to smoke anyway.”

DespitelegislationenactedinOctober2011,syntheticmarijuanacontinuestobeavailableonthestreetfromdealersaswellasfrom“headshops.”Mediaoutletsintheregionreportedonsyntheticmarijuanaseizuresandarrestsduringthisreportingperiod.PolicearrestedtheownerandaclerkofafoodmartinBethelTownship(ClarkCounty)afterdiscoveringlargeamountsofsyntheticmari-juanaandbathsalts,manyofwhichweremarketedto-wardchildren(www.daytondailynews.com,Feb.1,2013).

Participantsandcommunityprofessionalsreportedthattheavailabilityofsyntheticmarijuanahasdecreaseddur-ingthepastsixmonths.Participantscommentedontheimpactrecentlegislationhashadontheavailabilityofsyntheticmarijuana:“There’s a whole lot of stores that got busted for that[sellingsyntheticmarijuana],so you got to go way out; Until last March, you could get that [syntheticmarijuana]every day on the hour … every minute.”Atreat-mentprovidercommented,“As far as a trend, [syntheticmarijuanause]it’s decreased.”Anothertreatmentprovidercommentedonhowlegislationaffectsavailability:“You can still get it [syntheticmarijuana], but you know they have to keep chemically altering this formula to keep away from



the law.”TheMiamiValleyRegionalCrimeLabreportedthatthenumberofsyntheticcannabinoidcasesitprocess-eshasremainedthesameduringthepastsixmonths.

Themostcommonlycitedstreetnamesforsyntheticmari-juanaremain“incense”and“K2”.Currentstreetpricesforsyntheticmarijuanawereconsistentamongparticipantswithexperiencebuyingthedrug.Reportedly,syntheticmarijuanasellsfor$10-25pergram.

Participantsdescribedtypicalusersofsyntheticmarijuanaasindividualsonprobationandtheyoungergeneration.Acommunityprofessionalagreed,stating,“The younger generation seems like they want to experiment with all sorts of drugs, as opposed to the older ones where they just want to stick with crack cocaine or heroin.”Reportedly,syntheticmarijuanaistypicallyusedalone.Aparticipantsaid,“Not really [usedwithanythingelse]‘cause that one drug pretty much did the trick.”

Ecstasy

Ecstasy(methylenedioxymethamphetamine:MDMA,orotherderivativescontainingBZP,MDA,and/orTFMPP)ismoderatelyavailableintheregion.Participantsmostoftenreportedthedrug’scurrentavailabilityas‘7’onascaleof‘0’(notavailable,impossibletoget)to‘10’(highlyavailable,extremelyeasytoget);thepreviousmostcommonscorewas‘2’.Communityprofessionalsmostoftenreportedthedrug’scurrentavailabilityas‘6;’thepreviousmostcommonscorewas‘1.’

Mediaoutletsintheregionreportedonecstasyseizuresandarrestsduringthisreportingperiod.TheOhioStateHighwayPatrolarrestedtwoteenagegirlsduringatraf-ficstopinLima(AllenCounty)afteraK-9unitalertedtheofficerstodrugsinthevehicle;policeseized155ecstasytabletsworth$5,000(www.northwestohio.com,Jan.16,2013).

Participantsreportedthattheavailabilityofecstasyhasre-mainedthesameduringthepastsixmonths.Communityprofessionalsreportedthattheavailabilityofecstasyhasdecreasedduringthepastsixmonths,withtheexceptionofpowderedMDMA(aka“molly”)whichhasreportedlyincreasedduringthepastsixmonths.Alawenforcementprofessionalcommented,“Actually the powdered form of ecstasy [molly] has been really up and coming[increasing]. Especially, like I said, in the college communities. It’s just

unheard of how much … they call it, molly.”TheMiamiValleyRegionalCrimeLabreportedthatthenumberofcasesofecstasyitprocesseshasremainedthesameduringthelastsixmonths.

Currentstreetpricesforecstasywereconsistentamongparticipantswithexperiencebuyingthedrug.Participantsreporteda“singlestack”(lowdose)tabletsellsfor$10-15;a“doublestack”(mediumdose)tabletsellsfor$20-$25;a“triplestack”(highdose)tabletsellsfor$25-30;anda“quad”(highestdose)tabletsellsfor$35-40.Participantsdidnotidentifystreetpricesformolly.

Participantsdescribedtypicalusersofecstasyasteenageandcollegeagedandthoseinthepartyor“rave”(danceparty)scene.Atreatmentprovidersuggestedthatdrugdealersarealsomorelikelytopersonallyuseecstasy.Reportedly,ecstasyisusedincombinationwithalcohol,cocaineandmarijuanatointensifythehigh.Atreatmentprovidersaid,“You’ll find[users] they’ll take it [ecstasy]and smoke weed [marijuana], so they can party all night.”

Other Drugs

Participantsandcommunityprofessionalslistedavarietyofotherdrugsasbeingpresentintheregion,butthesedrugswerenotmentionedbythemajorityofpeopleinterviewed:anabolicsteroids,hallucinogens[lysergicaciddiethylamide(LSD)andpsilocybinmushrooms],inhalantsandover-the-counter(OTC)coughandcoldmedications.

Anabolicsteroidsarehighlyavailableintheregion.Par-ticipantsmostoftenreportedthecurrentavailabilityofthedrugasa‘10’onascaleof‘0’(notavailable,impossibletoget)to‘10’(highlyavailable,extremelyeasytoget).Aparticipantcommented,“I’m gonna tell you the truth … [anabolicsteroidsare]really available here in Miami County because there’s a lot of big gyms that do that … everybody in there [thegyms]juices[usessteroids].”

Reportedly,anabolicsteroids(aka“juice”)sellfor$70-150percycle.Participantsreportedthatitiscommontouseanabolicsteroidswithcreatine.Participantsdescribedtypicalillicitusersofanabolicsteroidsassomeonewhoworksoutatagym.Aparticipantexplained,“If you’re into going to the gym, you can find it [anabolicsteroids]for sure.”Communityprofessionalscouldnotcommentoninforma-tionrelatedtoanabolicsteroids.TheMiamiValleyRegionalCrimeLabreportedthatafterincreasesinthepastthree





years,thenumberofanabolicsteroidcasesitprocesseshasleveledoffandremainedthesameduringthepastsixmonths.

Hallucinogens(LSDandpsilocybinmushrooms)areavail-ableintheregion.Participantsreportedcurrentavail-abilityasvariable,rangingfrom‘3’to‘8’onascaleof‘0’(notavailable,impossibletoget)to‘10’(highlyavailable,extremelyeasytoget),dependingonlocationwithintheregion;thepreviousmostcommonscorewas‘10.’Manyparticipantscommentedthatonewouldneedaconnec-tiontobuyhallucinogens.Aparticipantstated,“You gotta know somebody to find that [hallucinogens].”Communityprofessionalsmostoftenreportedcurrentavailabilityofhallucinogensasa‘2;’thepreviousmostcommonscorewas‘3.’Participantsandcommunityprofessionalsdidnotreportachangeinavailabilityforhallucinogensduringthepastsixmonths.TheMiamiValleyRegionalCrimeLabreportedthatthenumberofLSDcasesitprocesseshasdecreasedduringthelastsixmonths,whilethenumberofpsilocybinmushroomcasesitprocesseshasincreased.

Reportedly,thepriceofpsilocybinmushroomsvariesde-pendingongeographicallocationandquality:1/8ouncesellsfor$20-50;1/4ouncesellsfor$50.Reportedly,a“hit”(onedose)ofLSDsellsfor$8-15;a“sheet”(100hits)sellsfor$150.Participantsdescribedtypicalusersofhallucino-gensas“hippies,”whilecommunityprofessionalsfeltthatyoungerkidsaretypicalusers.Alawenforcementprofes-sionalcommented,“I’ll tell you, there was this seventh grader … two weeks ago ingesting mushrooms in the [school] bathroom.”Reportedly,themostcommonsubstanceusedwithhallucinogensismarijuanabecauseasaaparticipantexplained,“hippies and big-time pot heads”aremorelikelytousethesesubstances.

Inhalantsremainhighlyavailableintheregion,particularlyduetothelegalityofthesubstancesandtheeaseofstorepurchase;however,participantscontinuedtoreportlowdesirabilityforthem.Atreatmentprovidercommented,“People are figuring out brand new ways all the time to get high with markers and glue and anything.”Atreatmentprovidersuggestedindividualsoftenavoidpayingforsubstancesby“doing it [usinginhalants,aka‘huffing’] in the store ‘cause they can’t afford it.”Participantsclaimedthattypicalusersare“kids”and“brokepeople.”Participantsexplainedthattypicalinhalantusersoftenhavedifficultyinobtainingotherdrugstoabuse.Reportedly,theagerangeforstartinginhalantuseis13-17yearsold.Atreat-

mentproviderdescribedtypicalinhalantusersasfollows:“Teenagers for sure, young adolescent teenagers, and men and boys more so than females. I’m not sure if it’s a curiosity thing or they realize that it’s a cheap stimulant. I know that there’s a ton of ridiculous footage on YouTube with people doing it[usinginhalants].”

Over-the-counter(OTC)coughandcoldmedicinesre-mainhighlyavailableintheregion,particularlyduetothelegalityofthesubstancesandtheeaseofstorepurchase;however,participantsreportedlowdesirabilityforthem.ParticipantsandtreatmentprovidersidentifiedtypicalabusersofOTCcoughandcoldmedicinesas“younger”individualswhoareexperimenting.Nevertheless,apar-ticipantsuggested,“Older people … I know a lot of older people … older than me even[whoabuseOTCcoughandcoldmedication].”Anothertreatmentprovidersuggestedthatmalesmightbemorelikelytoabusethesemedica-tions:“Again, I think it’s that curiosity thing. I think guys are more curious about getting high … and finding escape than women are.”TreatmentprovidersdiscussedusersmixingOTCcoughandcoldmedicationwithbeverages:“Those [OTCs] are big [popular]still because they [users]mix them now … They make their own cocktails. It’s a Sprite, a wine [and] Robitussin® [aka‘lean’].”

ConclusionCrackcocaine,heroin,marijuanaandsedative-hypnoticsremainhighlyavailableintheDaytonregion.AlsohighlyavailableareprescriptionstimulantsandSuboxone®.Changesinavailabilityduringthepastsixmonthsincludelikelyincreasedavailabilityformethamphetamine,pow-deredcocaineandSuboxone®,anddecreasedavailabilityforbathsaltsandsyntheticmarijuana.

Participantsandcommunityprofessionalsreportedthattheavailabilityofpowderedcocainehasincreaseddur-ingthepastsixmonths.Alawenforcementprofessionalsuggestedthatlikelyincreasedavailabilityisduetothegrowingpopularityofmixingpowderedcocaineusewithheroin(aka“speedballing”).Participantsdiscussedthein-creaseinuseofthisdrugamong“younger”individualsandcitedpopularcultureasafactorinincreaseduseamongyoungerindividuals,especiallysonglyricsthatpromote/glorifycocaineuse.Communityprofessionalsnotedthattypicalusersofpowderedcocainearewhite,andtheyagreedwithparticipantsthat“younger”individualsareincreasinglyusingpowderedcocaine.Inaddition,partici-

Surveillance of Drug Abuse Trends in the Toledo RegionSurveillance of Drug Abuse Trends in the Dayton Region


pantsdiscussedthestrongconnectionbetweenalcoholandpowderedcocaine,explainingthatthedrugallowsuserstoconsumemorealcohol.

Participantsandlawenforcementreportedthattheavail-abilityofmethamphetaminehasincreasedduringthepastsixmonths.TheMiamiValleyRegionalCrimeLabreportedthatthenumberofmethamphetaminecasesitprocesseshasincreasedduringthepastsixmonths.Participantsfromthroughouttheregioncommentedaboutthepro-ductionof“one-pot”or“shake-and-bake”methamphet-amine.TheMiamiValleyRegionalCrimeLabreportedavarietyofmethamphetaminetypesavailableintheregionincludingcrystalline,tan,whiteandbrownpowdered.AtreatmentproviderinDaytoncommentedthatmetham-phetamineisnotasavailableinDaytonasitisotherareasoftheregion,whiletreatmentprovidersinLima(AllenCounty)reportedhighavailability.Participantsdescribedtypicalusersofmethamphetamineasmale,ruralandwhite.Reportedly,methamphetamineismostoftenusedinsmallersocialcircles.

Participantsreportedthattheavailabilityofbathsaltshasdecreasedduringthepastsixmonths.Lawenforcementalsoreportedadecreaseinavailability.TheMiamiValley

RegionalCrimeLabreportedthatthenumberofbathsaltcasesitprocesseshasdecreasedduringthepastsixmonths.Overall,participantsreportedthatbathsaltsarenottheirdrugofchoiceandtheyhavenotpursuedthem.

DespitelegislationenactedinOctober2011,syntheticmarijuanacontinuestobeavailableonthestreetfromdealers,aswellasfrom“headshops.”However,participantsandcommunityprofessionalsreportedthattheavailabil-ityofsyntheticmarijuanahasdecreasedduringthepastsixmonths.Bothrespondentgroupscommentedontheimpactrecentlegislationhashadontheavailabilityofthedrug.Inaddition,atreatmentproviderdiscussedrecentlyreleasedinformationonthedangersofsyntheticmari-juanauseashavinghadapositiveeffectinkeepingusersfromusingthisdrug.Treatmentprovidersalsonotedthatusersprefertosmokemarijuana.

Lastly,communityprofessionalsreportedthattheavail-abilityofpowderedMDMA(aka“molly”)hasincreasedduringthepastsixmonths.Alawenforcementprofes-sionalcommented,“Actually the powdered form of ecstasy[‘molly’]has been really up and coming [increasing]. Espe-cially, like I said, in the college communities. It’s just unheard of how much[theavailabilityofmollyhasincreased].”

Documents

Drug Abuse Trends in the Dayton Region - Ohio · daytondailynews.com, Feb. 1, 2013). During an FBI drug investigation of the area near the Dayton Mall, a man was fatally shot and