NCJ Number
142547
Date Published
1992
Length
44 pages
Annotation
This study estimates the availability of illicit drugs in North Carolina, documents patterns of drug trafficking and drug use, and considers the effects of drug trafficking on the community and the individual, with attention to violent crime in North Carolina.
Abstract
Data and information on the availability of illicit drugs address the level and type of production for marijuana, powder cocaine and crack cocaine, and methamphetamine; the importation and transshipment of illegal substances (who, what, and how); and the availability of drugs by type (cocaine, marijuana, heroin, pharmaceuticals, and hallucinogens) now versus 5 years ago. An analysis of patterns of drug trafficking and drug use considers the role of organized crime in drug trafficking, the role of motorcycle gangs and other gangs in drug trafficking, illicit activity by nontraditional and youth groups, and significant recent trends in drug trafficking. The final section examines the effects of drug trafficking on the community and the individual, notably drug-related violent crime throughout the State. The study concludes that illegal drug activity and related crimes are severe in North Carolina. Illicit drug crimes are the most significant in North Carolina, and controlled substances are the root of an inordinate amount of violent and other crime. In the middle district of North Carolina, which typifies the State, Federally prosecuted drug offenses rose from 51 percent to 58.4 percent from 1990-91. Sixty-five percent of all Federal defendants during that time were using or otherwise involved in drugs. There is no precise profile of the common drug user, because a wide range of people are abusing illegal substances; neither is there a precise profile of the common drug trafficker, since a range of groups, younger and older, are risking the hazards of drug trafficking. There is no precise pattern of drug trafficking, because traffickers are becoming much more innovative and flexible as law enforcement and the courts continue to pressure them. There is no community in the State that is not affected by the drug problem, because many users are affluent, and addicts are becoming bolder in their robberies and burglaries. 1 figure, 1 table, and a subject index