Pennsylvania Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Treatment and Addiction Rehabilitation
Pennsylvania has been associated with abuse of all types of drugs including
Heroin, cocaine and marijuana. Despite intense law enforcement, smuggling and
trafficking of drugs remains at an all time high. Besides the smuggling of drugs
from outside the state, locally made marijuana, clandestine methamphetamine
laboratories and thefts of prescription drugs continue to be a problem all over
the state. Banning of precursor chemical like ephedrine has made little impact
in the locally manufactured methamphetamine. Recent seizures indicate that Methamphetamine
abuse remains a major problem in all counties in the state and data indicate
that a newer generation of young females are increasingly using this drug.
Drug trafficking and smuggling is mostly done by the Hispanic and Black organization.
These groups smuggle in the drugs via automobiles, air and US parcel post services.
Philadelphia remains the hub for the distribution of all drugs across the state.
Street gangs have established themselves in most inner cities and are not averse
to using violence and extortion.
Recent increases in drug overdoses and use among teenagers has led the drug
enforcement agencies to maintain an increased vigilance and monitoring of these
organizations. Pennsylvanian has one of the harshest illicit drug laws to control
the epidemic of drug trafficking.
Cocaine
Addiction
Cocaine still remains a very popular drug for abuse in the state. Despite
the increased prices and less potent stuff available, the use has not diminished.
Most of the cocaine is smuggled in from NY, Florida, Texas, California, Illinois
and Michigan. Once the cocaine is brought into the state it is converted to
crack and made readily available on the street. The lucrative cocaine market
has also led to establishment of numerous gangs who remain territorial and prone
to violence. Inner city poverty and prostitution remain big issues associated
with crack use. The use of crack is frequently associated with abuse of other
drugs like alcohol and heroin. Recent hospital admissions indicate that crack
associated health problems are on the increase and numerous fatalities have
occurred in the past decade. The crack cocaine trade is controlled by numerous
drug traffickers including the blacks, Hispanics and Dominicans.
Heroin
Abuse
Heroin from South America is widely available throughout the state and the
drug traffickers heavily market this drug for distribution. In the inner cities
the heroin abuse is at all time high. Almost all counties in Pennsylvania have
been affected by the heroin epidemic. The drug has become much cheaper to buy
and more potent in the last decade. At the street level, heroin can easily be
purchased from numerous gangs including the Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, blacks
and Mexicans.
Recent seizures indicate that heroin is heavily smuggled into the state and
stored all over the rural counties. With the recent wave of Asian immigrants,
the SE Asian variety of heroin is increasingly available in the state. The majority
of heroin is smuggled in from Chicago, NY, Florida, California and Texas.
Crystal
Meth
Methamphetamine has remained the drug of choice for many drug abusers. It
is widely available in most inner cities. It is smuggled into the state from
Mexico, California and Texas. The drug traffickers use various means of transport,
including air, automobiles and even the US parcel post service to bring in the
methamphetamine. The methamphetamine trade is very lucrative and this has been
associated with numerous drug gangs which remain territorial and are prone to
violence to protect their drug trade.
With the large rural and mountainous area, law enforcement agencies have recently
seized numerous clandestine methamphetamine laboratories. Because of the difficulty
in detection of these laboratories; numerous drug traffickers have established
themselves in the mountainous area. Recent law changes banning the use of ephedrine
in cough mixtures have not made much impact on the local manufacture of methamphetamine.
These laboratories account for the vast majority of methamphetamine laboratories
seized in Pennsylvania. However, the production outputs of these laboratories
represent only a small percentage of the methamphetamine consumed in all of
Pennsylvania. Methamphetamine remains popular because of it s longer lasting
action and cheaper price.
Club
Drugs
Club drugs are on the increase in the state. MDMA (ecstasy) is primarily available
at rave parties and nightclubs in the inner cities and most colleges. These
drugs are quite commonly abused by the college students and young teenagers.
All types of club drugs are easily available, including GHB, LSD, PCP and ketamine.
The club drugs are trafficked by numerous organizations including the Russians
Israelis, European and even the Chinese. The majority of club drugs are smuggled
in via the air, land and rail. Recent seizures indicate that Canada is also
a major supplier of MDMA.
California is the most commonly reported source area for quantities of LSD,
while California and New York are considered the source areas for the PCP that
is primarily distributed in Philadelphia. Typically, these drugs are transported
in vehicles or shipped in parcels via the US Postal Service.
Marijuana Addiction
Marijuana is easily available in all parts of the state. The majority of marijuana
is smuggled in from the south, California, Chicago and Florida. The marijuana
is smuggled in via automobiles, trucks and vans. - all of which have hidden
compartments. Recently, the purer and potent type of marijuana, BC bud, is increasingly
smuggled in from Canada.
Marijuana is abused by all ethnic groups at all socio economic levels. The
drug is frequently abused by the younger generation of college students and
teenagers. While smuggled marijuana amounts for a large proportion of the drug
in the state, there is also moderate cultivation of the home grown product.
Because of the large mountainous area and with forest land, marijuana plots
have arisen all over the state.
Due to the proximity to major thoroughfares, localities throughout the state
continue to traffic drugs all over the state. At the retail level, Hispanic,
African-American, and Caucasian groups, along with some dominant Jamaican organizations,
control the marijuana market across Pennsylvania.
Prescription
Drug Abuse
Current investigations indicate that diversion of hydrocodone products such
as Vicodin, OxyContin, Fentanyl, valium, soma; Lortab and percocet continue
to be a problem in Pennsylvania. Primary methods of diversion being reported
are illegal sale and distribution by pharmacists/physicians, doctor shopping,
forged prescriptions and via the Internet.
Substance
Abuse Prevention
DEA Mobile Enforcement Teams have been established in response to the overwhelming
problem of drug-related violent crime in towns and cities across the nation.
In addition, DEA Regional Enforcement Teams have been developed to augment existing
DEA division resources by targeting drug organizations operating in the United
States where there is a lack of sufficient local drug law enforcement.
Drug Laws
Recent drug law reforms now support the treatment of non violent drug offenders
instead of incarceration. The legislation provides for intensive treatment as
part of a drug sentence rather than incarceration. In December of 2000 the legislature
also restored the right to vote to of former felons convicted of drug crimes.
Pennsylvania Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Rehabilitation Categories
