PRICES DOWN FOR HEROIN, COCAINE DESPITE WAR ON DRUGS

Washington, D.C.-The prices of cocaine and heroin have fallen to record
lows and the drugs remain widely available, federal officials say,
while insisting that progress is being made against drug use in the
United States.

In remarks prepared for presentation Thursday before a House
Appropriations subcommittee, White House drug control policy director
Barry McCaffrey cites declines in youth drug use and drug-related
crime during the past year.

But he also notes that heroin has become more popular among young
people and says methamphetamines have a "serious potential nationally
to become the next 'crack' cocaine epidemic."

While use of cocaine itself has stabilized, it continues to be readily
available in nearly all metropolitan areas.

A copy of McCaffrey's statement and his office's annual report for
2000 were obtained by The Associated Press.

After an upward trend between 1992 and 1997, heroin use appears to be
declining, the report said. But, it added, "unprecedented retail
purity and low prices in the United States indicate that heroin is
readily accessible."

The report said small buys of heroin averaged $1,798.80 per pure gram,
a record low. In bulk, it averaged $317.97 a gram. A gram is about the
weight of a paper clip, or about 0.036 ounces.

Turning to cocaine, the report indicates the average price per pure
gram of cocaine, for buyers of one gram or less, was $169.25 in 1998,
the second lowest price on record back to 1981. Only in 1996 was it
cheaper, at $159.05 an ounce.

For buyers of 10 to 100 grams, the price per pure gram fell to an
average of $44.51, the report added.

Overall, the report estimated that there were 454 metric tons of
cocaine shipped to the United States in 1998, up from 396 metric tons
a year earlier. A metric ton is 2,205 pounds

Marijuana remained the most readily available illegal drug, the report
added. It said prices ranged from $400 to $1,000 per pound in the
Southwest to between $700 and $2,000 per pound in the Midwest and Northeast.

Methamphetamine "remains one of the most dangerous substances America
has ever confronted," McCaffrey said.

His report estimated that 4.7 million people have tried this drug and
said its use is spreading. The average price per pure gram was
estimated at about $140, down from more than $225 in 1992.