The author(s) shown below used Federal funds provided by the U.S. Department of Justice and prepared the following final report: Document Title: Dynamics of Methamphetamine Markets in New York City: Final Technical Report to the National Institute of Justice Author: Travis Wendel, Bilal Khan, Kirk Dombrowski, Ric Curtis, Katherine McLean, Evan Misshula, Robert Riggs, David M. Marshall IV Document No.: 236122 Date Received: October 2011 Award Number: 2007-IJ-CX-0110 This report has not been published by the U.S. Department of Justice. To provide better customer service, NCJRS has made this Federally- funded grant final report available electronically in addition to traditional paper copies. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Dynamics of Methamphetamine Markets in New York City: Final Technical Report to The National Institute of Justice Travis Wendel Bilal Khan Kirk Dombrowski Ric Curtis Katherine McLean Evan Misshula Robert Riggs David M. Marshall IV John Jay College of Criminal Justice January 2011 This project was supported by Award No. 2007-IJ-CX-0110/NDRI awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice. This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. ABSTRACT Using Respondent Driven Sampling, this study piloted an innovative research design mixing qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, and social network analysis, that addresses a gap in information on retail methamphetamine markets and the role of illicit drug markets in consumption. Based on a sample of 132 methamphetamine users, buyers and sellers in New York City (NYC), findings describe a bifurcated market defined by differences in sexual identity, drug use behaviors, social network characteristics, and drug market behaviors. The larger sub-market is a closed market related to a sexual network of men who have sex with men (MSM) where methamphetamine (referred to as “tina”) is used as a sex drug. The smaller submarket is a less-closed market not denominated by sexual identity where methamphetamine (referred to as “crank,” “speed,” or “crystal meth”) overlaps with powder and crack cocaine markets. Participants in the MSM submarket viewed “tina” as very different from cocaine, due to what they characterized as the drug’s intense sexual effects, whereas participants in the smaller non-sexual-identity-denominated submarket saw “crystal meth” as a cost-effective alternative to cocaine. While majorities of participants in all subpopulations studied reported that their use of methamphetamine primarily centered on sex, almost all (91%) MSM reported this. Many MSM reported that their sexuality had become indistinguishable from their drug use. MSM had denser patterns of social network ties and many more sex partners than other subpopulations. MSM market participants reported higher prices for the drug, which may be an indication that they are accessing purer forms of methamphetamine. Participants were more willing to discuss accessing or purchasing methamphetamine than they were to discuss providing or selling the drug, although all indications are that most market participants do both. Compared with the sometimes highly organized markets that have existed for other illegal drugs (e.g., heroin, cocaine, marijuana), retail methamphetamine markets have remained, by contrast, relatively primitive in their social and technical organization, and distinct patterns of drug use emerged as an outcome of interactions between drug providers and members of their social networks. In this case, those with less structurally advantageous positions within the network must depend on better-positioned network contacts to supply them with methamphetamine. Findings from the study indicate that Dynamics of retail methamphetamine markets in New York City i This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. the most striking characteristic of the methamphetamine market in New York City is the extent of the secondary market. Study data suggests this large secondary market has developed because of “bottlenecks” in the chain of distribution, which may be the outcome of the inconsistent supply of methamphetamine available in New York City. Participants reported essentially no violence in connection with methamphetamine markets in NYC. Participants have a lifetime total of 13 methamphetamine possession arrests for the sample of 132; none has ever been arrested for methamphetamine distribution. Study findings may be useful to practitioners, policy-makers and researchers in fields including law enforcement, criminal justice, and public health and substance abuse treatment. Dynamics of retail methamphetamine markets in New York City ii This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... i LIST OF TABLES.......................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. x INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE............................................ 20 Amphetamine, Methamphetamine and American Culture ....................................... 24 Illicit Methamphetamine Use and Variations In Use ................................................ 27 Amphetamine, Methamphetamine Use and Health ................................................. 33 Methamphetamine Use, Sex, And MSM.................................................................. 35 Drug Markets........................................................................................................... 39 Methamphetamine Markets ..................................................................................... 43 The Evolution of Methamphetamine Markets in the US........................................... 47 Methamphetamine Markets in New York City.......................................................... 50 Summary……………………………………………………………………………………52 METHODS.................................................................................................................... 53 Overview Of Methods.............................................................................................. 53 Formative Research ................................................................................................ 54 Cultural expert interviews................................................................................... 55 Focus groups ..................................................................................................... 56 Study Recruiting: Respondent Driven Sampling...................................................... 57 Participant Methamphetamine Consumption And Distribution Networks................. 63 Data Collection And Implementation ....................................................................... 66 Variable development ........................................................................................ 66 Eligibility screening............................................................................................. 67 Data collection: Sample demographic and other descriptive characteristics...... 68 Data collection: Participant market behavior ...................................................... 69 Data collection: Participant consumption behavior............................................. 70 Anonymized network elicitation techniques........................................................ 70 Random-selection network sampling ................................................................. 71 Non-randomized selection network sampling..................................................... 71 Simultaneous qualitative/quantitative interviewing ............................................. 71 Follow-up Interviews .......................................................................................... 72 Analytic Methods ....................................................................................................