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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 18, 1990                   TAG: 9007180186
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

COCAINE REPORTEDLY SCARCER

The Drug Enforcement Administration declared Tuesday that wholesale cocaine supplies in the United States had declined significantly, the first such reversal since epidemic use of the drug began a decade ago.

The DEA conclusion was supported by law enforcement officials around the country. Many of those officials in the past have been skeptical of federal claims of progress in the drug war.

"The drug product is being taken off the street, and the pricing has gone up," said Lt. David Marsden, commander of narcotics for the police department in Torrance, Calif. "I think we have the drug dealers on the run."

The DEA report to the Senate Judiciary Committee provided the first detailed federal explanation for data from across the United States showing that wholesale cocaine prices have surged in recent months, with a 60 percent increase in Los Angeles leading the way.

- Los Angeles Times

by CNB