
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, June 14, 1990                   TAG: 9006140243
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The New York Times
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                LENGTH: Short

PRICE OF COCAINE IS UP IN BIG CITIES

For the first time in almost 10 years, the wholesale price of cocaine is rising sharply in New York and other American cities, suggesting that extensive law enforcement efforts in this country and Latin America may finally be reducing the availability of the drug, federal officials and independent drug experts say.

In New York and Los Angeles, wholesale cocaine prices have jumped by more than 40 percent since December.

At the same time, heavily diluted cocaine has been turning up in many cities, further suggesting diminished supplies, the officials say.

But they caution that price rises have not been consistent across the nation and that they have been noted only in the last three to six months.

by CNB