Pubdate: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 Source: Loyola Greyhound, The (US MD: Edu) Website: http://www.loyolagreyhound.com Feedback: http://www.loyolagreyhound.com/home/lettertotheeditor/ Address: Loyola College, 4501 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD. 21210 Copyright: 2007 Loyola Greyhound Note: Matthew Lindeboom contributed to this story Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) Series: Part 1: COCAINE FINDS HOME IN NORTH BALTIMORE'S COLLEGE CAMPUSES Photo Caption: According to the DEA supply of cocaine nationally has decreased over the past 18 months. Prices have risen by 15 percent per pre gram, making a typical purchase of cocaine well over $130. Matthew Lindeboom contributed to this story. "I wouldn't say cocaine is prominent on this campus right now," says an upperclassman from Loyola College who wishes to remain anonymous. "It is in a down period. We need more dealers on this campus. There doesn't seem to be many." He leans over his coffee table, plugs one nostril, and snorts in a line of crushed Percocet through a rolled-up dollar bill. Five minutes later the user receives a phone call and within 15 minutes a fellow student --a dealer-- enters the room. Twenty dollars is handed to the dealer as they sit down at the table to measure up the half gram of cocaine to be sold. Few words are exchanged and soon enough, the dealer is out the door. "I bought an 8-ball [3.5 grams of cocaine] about a month ago," he says. "That [expletive] was gone in two days. I killed a [gram] this Saturday alone." * Cocaine is finding its way onto the college campuses of North Baltimore. Colleges like Towson University, Loyola College, and Johns Hopkins University have become markets for drug traffickers who bring cocaine into that region -- its final destination. "Most trades are dealer to dealer, that's usually larger quantities, but in terms of final destination it's headed north to the suburbs and the colleges. They're the only ones who can afford the habit," said an officer in the Baltimore City Police Department with knowledge of Baltimore's drug trafficking. "The students on those campuses have the money to finance that kind of habit," he said. Director of Public Safety Tim Fox commented that he thinks there is a small population of cocaine users on campus, which stays inconspicuous. "In the last two to three years we haven't seen much in terms of cocaine. The last major bust took place three years ago, and that came from a silent tip," Fox said. The cocaine seizure Fox mentioned occurred in Campion Tower in 2004, but Campus Police and Student Life found only enough to classify the amount as for "personal use." They did not find any indications of distribution, such as large amounts of cash or bookkeeping information. The source within the BCPD attributes the low visibility on college campuses to "middle men." "Traditional dealers aren't on campus. Nothing flashy, nothing direct, there's usually middle men, students, and suburban kids dealing. [It] cuts down on visibility and makes our job and law enforcement's job more difficult. Bottom line: it's moving on campuses," he said. * The upperclassman with his new half gram of cocaine leans back and takes a hit from a joint of marijuana and says, "When I used to go to parties there would be about 15 people doing [cocaine] out in the open. They were really casual about it." Despite the limited amount of cocaine incidents over the past three years, Fox still believes "there's definitely a current." Since Loyola's last cocaine bust in December 2004, the usage visually has increased, as Fox mentioned, "it was a little more secretive in the past. But I don't know if that veil is being let down because there is more or less cocaine on campus." LCPD Officer Dennis Cornwall commented on the openness of many Loyola users, "I had a female tell me that she just wants to go to a ladies' room at a York Road bar and not have somebody snorting a line of coke." The "veil" which Fox refers to be let down at Loyola, simultaneously compares to the dropping quantity of cocaine across the United States. Drug Enforcement Agency figures show that the supply of cocaine nationally has decreased within the past 18 months, while domestic prices have risen by 15 percent per pure gram. With these numbers, the expensive habit of using has forced students to look elsewhere toward the dealers with the most quantity but also the closest proximity. * Nearly a mile north on York Road from Loyola's Evergreen Campus, dealers are looking for buyers on the street while buyers are on the corners stretching their arms out as to hail for a cab, but tapping their fingers downward, indicating their want of drugs. But local areas, such as the York Road Staples store, have been cited as being popular places for Loyola -- and now Towson University -- students to buy not just marijuana or cocaine, but also heroin or crack. "I've had people from Loyola ask me for heroin and I have flipped out on them," said a York Road dealer who sells to Loyola students. "I had a kid ask me for crack and I told him that I'm never going to bring anyone down to that level, and I refused to sell to him." On average per week, he stated he sells in total about a quarter to a half ounce of cocaine (14.17 grams) to Loyola students alone, making a week's worth of transactions equaling around $350-$800. "The price of cocaine is definitely going up," said the dealer. "An 8-ball used to sell for around $100 and now people will sell it for $180." One roommate of a user (who wishes to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of her comments) stated, "She buys [cocaine] from mostly students, but lately they don't have any to sell. Usually the students selling on campus get it from York Road dealers, but now she either gets it from York Road or from her dealers at home." Fox's comments show a similarity, "the thing we see here [at the Loyola Police Department], more than anything else, is when there is an increase in usage it is because the students are going home for [academic] break and going to their local dealer and then they are coming back with it." The York Road dealer stated that the consistency of students buying cocaine from him and other dealers in the neighborhood is stable and has been that way for years. He mentioned that Loyola students either use or sell a good amount per week, while at Towson it is just as prevalent. "I know a lot of people that sell to Loyola kids aside from me, so if they aren't getting it from me or my friends, than I wouldn't be surprised for them to get it from Towson," he said. Even more, illustrating the relevant nature of cocaine in Baltimore, just seven miles south of Loyola College, in Fell's Point, federal agents seized multiple kilograms of cocaine and crack cocaine from the home of Humberto Gasca and Josefina Quinonez, in December 2006. The husband and wife duo had been supplying the Fell's Point neighborhood, including its bars, since 2005. On Nov. 3, 2007, Gasca and Quinonez were both convicted of possession with intent to distribute and sentenced to 13 and 10 years, respectively. There were 13 other members of the drug syndicate who faced charges ranging from possession of cocaine to selling false documentation. "It's becoming more accepted [in society] and it is easier to get," said Fox. "And on top of that, the ability to get caught is fair less than marijuana." As for Loyola's campus, the significance of cocaine has been noticed not only by students, but also faculty. Psychology professor Charles LoPresto had learned of cocaine use anecdotally from members of Student Life and the Health Center over the years and uses his classroom as a forum for discussion of the prominence of the drug use on campus. He stated, "I always see heads nodding in agreement [from my students] and it just makes sense when I look at this campus with such conformity." LoPresto continued that he has never seen a reason to doubt an assumption that there is cocaine use on campus from his students. Part of that conformity which LoPresto mentioned was the added pressure to be in the "in crowd," as well as other factors such as academic standards to keep up with, being financially able to feed such a habit and the pressure to look attractive. * The user finishes his joint and looks to break up another Percocet to snort. He tucks his newly purchased cocaine away and sits back and says, "Not many people seem to be doing [cocaine], but then again I used to do it with people who have [now] graduated. I don't know about the all the classes, maybe they are. It wouldn't surprise me at all." - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman