Drug types
Previous national youth gang surveys have not examined the types of drugs distributed and sold by youth gang members. As noted earlier, youth gang members have often been associated with crack cocaine trafficking, but the extent of their involvement has not been determined. Evidence suggests that in addition to crack cocaine trafficking, youth gang members have been involved in distributing and selling many other types of drugs (Spergel, 1995). To determine the extent to which youth gang members were involved in the selling of certain types of drugs in 1997, respondents were asked to identify the percentage of street sales conducted by youth gang members in their jurisdictions for the following drugs: powder cocaine, crack cocaine, marijuana, heroin, methamphetamine, and "other." As table 22 reveals, the average percentages of street sales involving youth gang members were highest for crack cocaine (33 percent) and marijuana (32 percent). Additionally, youth gang members were thought to be involved in an estimated 16 percent of powder cocaine sales, 12 percent of methamphetamine sales, and 9 percent of heroin sales. When area type was considered, the percentage of street sales conducted by youth gang members varied somewhat for crack cocaine and heroin. The percentage of crack cocaine and heroin sales conducted by youth gang members was higher in large cities and suburban counties than in small cities and rural counties. These differences were found to be statistically significant. Variation between area types for sales of powder cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine was low and not statistically significant.
The percentage of street sales of crack cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine conducted by youth gang members varied substantially by region (see table 23). Crack cocaine sales involving youth gang members were most prevalent in the Midwest (38 percent), heroin sales were most prevalent in the Northeast (15 percent), and methamphetamine sales were most prevalent in the West (21 percent). The variation between regions for crack cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine was found to be statistically significant. There was very little variation between regions for powder cocaine and marijuana. The level of youth gang involvement in drug sales varied with population size for all drug types except marijuana, although the relationship was not always linear (see table 24). The average percentage of street sales conducted by youth gang members for powder and crack cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine increased from the lowest population range (1-9,999) to the highest population range (250,000 or more), but not all population ranges between the highest and the lowest were consistent with that trend. The most substantial difference between average percentages was apparent for heroin: percentages ranged from 2 percent in the 1-9,999 population range to 24 percent in the 250,000 or more population range. Youth gang involvement in sales of all types of drugs (except marijuana) was substantially larger in jurisdictions with populations of 100,000 or more than in smaller jurisdictions. Respondents were also asked to identify any other drugs sold by youth gang members that were not included in the list provided on the survey. Only 106 agencies identified a drug or drugs that were sold by youth gang members in their jurisdictions and were not on the survey. Figure 12 provides a delineation of the other drugs most frequently reported by survey respondents. d-Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) or "acid" accounted for the majority (54 percent) of other drugs identified by respondents, followed by phencyclidine (PCP, 7 percent), Rohypnol (6 percent), Ecstacy (6 percent), and gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB, 4 percent).
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