MARIJUANA USE GOING THROUGH THE ROOF, SAYS NEW REPORT Marijuana use, particularly among teenagers and persons in their early twenties, is up in almost every city and area, according to a new report entitled Pulse Check: National Trends in Drug Abuse. The Pulse Check is a quarterly series of telephone contacts with ethnographers, epidemiologists, treatment providers, and police sponsored by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). It provides a current, subjective profile of drug use and availability, in contrast to the comparatively dated, objective profile provided by surveys. Although the way marijuana is marketed and packaged varies from place to place, its use is clearly on the upswing around the nation. From "geek joints" laced with cocaine in Atlanta to "honey blunts" in Chicago, pot is once again in. ONDCP Director Lee Brown said in response to the report, "I am deeply concerned that so-called cool names are glamorizing and masking ever more dangerous forms of marijuana in an attempt to make these drugs more attractive to our young people." Ethnographic sources reported that marijuana use in Washington D.C. is, "Going through the roof," in New York is "all over the place," and in Texas is "the illicit substance most commonly used." Although generally marijuana sellers operate independent of heroin and cocaine dealers, some New York dealers are adding pot to their inventory because of its popularity. In three of the four regions studied more than 80% of those seeking treatment for cocaine addiction also reported using marijuana. Marijuana is generally a secondary drug of abuse to those entering treatment programs, but its appearance as an independent problem is increasing. Heroin use, purity and availability continue to be high in most areas of the Northeast and Midwest. In these areas, inhalation, made possible by the high purity, is growing. The report found that new, younger users (20-30) prefer snorting. Even some older users, who prefer to inject heroin, sometimes give their collapsed veins a chance to recover by inhaling high purity heroin for a few days. In areas where snorting has become popular, sellers are cutting heroin with adulterants that are somewhat easier on the user's nasal passages than the traditional quinine cut used with heroin intended for injectors. Crack cocaine and cocaine powder (HCL) use has, according to the pulse report, stabilized in most areas of the country. Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and New York even reported decreases. Although cocaine consumption remains below peak levels of the 1980s, there continues to be a high demand for the substance, particularly in the form of crack. A few areas reported that heroin and cocaine are being sold for injection together (speedballing) in a package dubbed "one-on-one." For copies of the Pulse Check, contact ONDCP at (202) 395-6618. FOR INFORMATION ABOUT SUBSCRIBING TO DRUG POLICY REPORT, CALL (703) 528-3165 OR SEND E-MAIL TO 73361,1051.