The Melding of Drug Markets in Houston After Katrina: Dealer and User Perspectives

Abstract

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the majority of routine activities in New Orleans were disrupted, including the illegal drug market. The large-scale relocation of New Orleans evacuees (NOEs), including many illegal drug users and sellers, to host cities led to a need for new sources of illegal drugs. This need was quickly satisfied by two initially distinct drug markets (1) drug dealers from New Orleans who were themselves evacuees and (2) established drug dealers in the host cities. To be expected, the two markets did not operate indefinitely in parallel fashion. This paper describes the evolving, operational relationship between these two drug markets over time, with a focus on Houston. We analyze the reciprocal evolution of these two markets at two significant points in time: at the beginning of the relocation (2005) and two years later (2007). The overall trend is towards a melding of the two drug markets, as evidenced primarily by decreases in drug-related violence and the cross-fertilization of drug tastes. We describe the process by which the two drug markets are melded over time, in order to seek a better understanding of the social processes by which drug markets in general evolve.

RÉSUMÉ

La fusion des marchés de drogues à Houston après Katrina: perspectives des trafiquants et des consommateurs

Le relogement des Evacués de Nouvelle-Orléans á la suite de l’ouragan Katrina incluait beaucoup de consommateurs des drogues illégales. Ils étaient alimentés par deux marchés de drogues qui étaient au début distincts (1) les petits trafiquants de Nouvelle-Orléans qui étaient eux-mêmes des évacués et (2) les trafiquants établis dans les villes d’accueil. Cet article décrit la relation opérationelle qui s’évolue entres ces deux marchés de drogues à Houston, observé au début du relogement (2005) et deux ans plus tard (2007). La tendance générale tend vers la fusion des deux marchés de drogues, demontré par les reductions de la violence liée à la drogue, et le croisement des préférences de drogues.

Mots clés consommation de drogues illicites, marchés illicites des drogues, évacués de Nouvelle-Orléans, la culture de drogues illicites, ouragan Katrina

RESUMEN

La fusión de los mercados de drogas en Houston después del huracán Katrina: Las perspectivas de los traficantes y los consumidores

La reubicación de los Evacuados de Nueva Orleans después del huracán Katrina incluyó a muchos consumidores de drogas ilegales. Fueron servidos por dos mercados de drogas inicialmente distintos (1) los traficantes de drogas de Nueva Orleans que eran sí mismos evacuados y (2) los traficantes establecidos en las ciudades huéspedes. Este artículo describe la relación operacional que evoluciona entre estes dos mercados de drogas en Houston, como se observó al comienzo de la reubicación (2005) y dos años más tarde (2007). La tendencia general está hacia una fusión de los dos mercados de drogas, tal y cómo se evidencia a través de las disminuciones de la violencia relacionada con la droga, y la fertilización cruzada de las preferencias de drogas.

Palabras clave el consumo de drogas ilícitas, mercados ilícitos de drogas, evacuados de Nueva Orleans, la cultura de las drogas ilícitas, el huracán Katrina

Keywords :

• illicit drug use
• illicit drug markets
• New Orleans evacuees
• illicit drug culture
• Hurricane Katrina

THE AUTHORS

Joseph A. Kotarba, Ph.D., is Professor and Chair of Sociology at the University of Houston. His most recent books are Understanding Society through Popular Music, coauthored with Philip Vannini (Routledge, 2009), and Postmodern Existential Sociology, coedited with John M. Johnson (AltaMira, 2002). He has conducted NIDA-funded studies of illicit drug use in the context of HIV/AIDS risk, drug Web sites, natural disasters, heavy metal music, and rave parties. He is the 2009 recipient of the George Herbert Mead Lifetime Achievement Award of the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction.

Jennifer L. Fackler, M.A., is the Sociology Faculty Scholar Intern at Houston Community College-Southwest and a Sociology Instructor at the University of Houston. She also works as a research consultant at the National Development and Research Institute. She has multiple publications on a variety of topics including social problems, gender, and culture.

Bruce D. Johnson, Ph.D., (1971, Sociology, Columbia) has been involved in drug abuse research for 36 years and has directed over 15 federally funded research projects. Before his passing, he directed the Institute for Special Populations Research at NDRI, a leading nonprofit research organization focused on the consequences of drug use/abuse since 1992. He has over 125 publications in professional journals plus 6 published books. His Institute's research efforts included identifying drug abuse patterns among arrestees and criminals (Johnson, Golub, Dunlap, 2006), impacts of policing upon arrestees (Johnson et al., 2001), estimating hard drug users and sellers (Davis and Johnson, 2000; Davis et al., 2003), an in-depth analysis of violence among crack abuser households (Dunlap, Johnson, Rath, 1996), and other projects. A key focus of research has been a balanced focus upon employing both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to document hidden phenomena like drug use and sales activities for marijuana (Johnson 1973; Johnson and Golub 2007; Ream et al., 2006, 2007, 2008), heroin (Johnson et al., 1985), and crack (Johnson, Golub and Fagan, 1995; Johnson, Dunlap, Tourigny, 2000), and changing drug subcultures for criminal violence (Johnson, Golub, Dunlap, 2006).

Eloise Dunlap, Ph.D., is a sociologist and graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. At the present time she is Director of the Institute of Special Populations Research (ISPR) at the National Development and Research Institutes (NDRI) in New York City. She has extensive qualitative experience in research and analysis with drug markets, with African-American families, and with drug-abusing families and households. Her work is rooted in an attempt to understand drug markets, their impact on inner city families, male–female and family relations and whether and how these relationships contribute to African-American family instability. Dr. Dunlap has conducted intensive ethnographic studies, including lengthy in-depth interview and detailed observations in many African-American households. Her research has included the combination of both qualitative and quantitative investigations. She has over 20 years of experience in carrying out research, looking at the drug market, and its impact on family life. Dr. Dunlap has numerous publications analyzing restructuring and reformulation of family relationships based on drug use and or sales. At the present time, she is also Principal Investigator of NIDA grants designed to investigate drug markets, substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, violence, and family life.