NCJ Number
154678
Date Published
1995
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This report documents the nature of the current cocaine threat in the United States and provides information on the criminal organizations in Colombia that smuggle cocaine to the United States, the patterns of cocaine smuggling to the United States, cocaine distribution in the United States, international development, and current efforts to combat the cocaine threat.
Abstract
From approximately 1985 and continuing to the present, the primary cocaine threat in the United States has consisted of the distribution and abuse of cocaine in base form, commonly referred to as crack. This smokable form of cocaine, made attractive by its low cost and highly addictive properties, has become widely available throughout the United States, thus creating a new class of hardcore drug users. Crack distribution has transformed the nature of the retail drug trade. Quasi-professional distribution groups have developed sales networks that provide the drug at low cost to anyone desiring it. These groups have escalated the violence inherent in drug sales to an unprecedented level. The Colombian criminal organizations that supply the crack market in the United States continue to produce and deliver cocaine on a massive scale; efforts to expand their illegal trade are becoming bolder and more technologically advanced. Federal and State authorities in the United States are cooperating to dismantle higher level distribution groups. Federal targeting of the most significant crack traffickers has been effective. To support this mission, the U.S. Justice Department has established several programs and funding mechanisms that target crack distribution groups through support for State and local law enforcement agencies.