Respondents were asked to identify the percentage of youth gangs in their jurisdictions that were involved in drug distribution for the purpose of generating profits for the gang. Drug distribution was defined as "the purchase or transfer of large quantities of drugs which are divided into smaller quantities to be sold on the street." After the responses were weighted to account for the number of gangs reported in each jurisdiction, 33 percent of the youth gangs in the United States were estimated to be involved in drug distribution for this purpose (see table 21). The percentage of youth gangs involved in drug distribution was highest in large cities (39 percent), followed by rural counties (31 percent), small cities (27 percent), and suburban counties (26 percent).

Like the data on street sales of drugs, the data on drug distribution were analyzed using both weighted and unweighted averages (see table 21). Unweighted averages were lower than weighted averages for all area types except suburban counties. As with the data on street sales of drugs, these variations most likely occurred because jurisdictions with a high number of youth gangs generally reported a higher average percentage of youth gangs involved in drug distribution than did jurisdictions with a relatively low number of youth gangs.

The average percentages of youth gangs involved in drug distribution, by population size, are displayed in figure 10. The averages for the two highest population categories (250,000 or more and 100,000-249,000) were significantly higher than the overall average. The averages for populations of less than 100,000 did not differ significantly from the overall average.

Responses to the drug distribution question were divided into three levels (low, moderate, and high) in order to determine the extent of youth gang involvement in drug distribution (figure 11). Most respondents (68 percent) indicated that the youth gangs in their jurisdictions were involved in a low level of drug distribution; 21 percent of respondents reported involvement at the high level, and 11 percent reported involvement at the moderate level.