{"id":11558580,"date":"2025-07-15T05:00:43","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T09:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/?p=11558580"},"modified":"2025-07-15T12:04:23","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T16:04:23","slug":"emerging-street-drug-new-jack-city-linked-to-baltimore-overdoses-sources-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/07\/15\/emerging-street-drug-new-jack-city-linked-to-baltimore-overdoses-sources-say\/","title":{"rendered":"After \u2018New Jack City’ linked to Baltimore overdoses, frustration grows with open-air drug markets, sources say"},"content":{"rendered":"

A dangerous street drug called \u201cNew Jack City\u201d is hitting Baltimore and could be tied to last week\u2019s mass overdose, according to police sources and community members familiar with the city’s open-air drug markets.<\/p>\n

Three Baltimore Police Department officers confirmed the drug is under investigation as a possible factor in the mass overdose Thursday at the intersection of Pennsylvania and North avenues. The officers who spoke with Spotlight on Maryland requested anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the media on official matters. They added that the drug has been seen on the streets of Philadelphia and Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Neighbors in the immediate area of Baltimore\u2019s multiple open-air drug markets also said they heard New Jack City is taking the streets by storm.<\/p>\n

\u201cMan, they are going crazy trying to find that stuff,\u201d said Andres, a Carrollton Ridge resident who asked to be identified only by his first name for safety reasons.<\/p>\n

Sharing its name with the 1991 fictional film that depicts a drug lord\u2019s rise during the crack cocaine epidemic in New York City, a BPD drug officer told Spotlight on Maryland on Monday afternoon that New Jack City\u2019s main components are fentanyl, heroin, or both, depending on the dealer.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, it either has freon or antifreeze added to it,\u201d the BPD officer said.<\/p>\n

Spotlight on Maryland asked BPD by email on Monday morning whether New Jack City is the suspected drug responsible for the mass overdose that hospitalized at least 27 people on Thursday. The police department was also asked what components might be used to make Baltimore\u2019s edition of New Jack City.<\/p>\n

BPD did not acknowledge or respond to the email request for details.<\/p>\n

In just 10 minutes on Monday afternoon, Spotlight on Maryland observed at least two dozen apparent drug transactions at the corner of South Monroe Street and Wilkens Avenue, in the West Baltimore neighborhood of Carrollton Ridge, where Andres lives.<\/p>\n

A woman was seen in the northbound lane of Wilkens Avenue, folded over while standing in the roadway. With a police car at the intersection of the incident, Spotlight on Maryland notified BPD\u2019s Western District of the circumstances.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, just over two miles north, Spotlight on Maryland visited the intersection of Pennsylvania and North Avenues, where another busy city drug market was operating on Monday. The open-air market became the focus on Thursday for the large city fire and police response after reports of a mass overdose event.<\/p>\n

The same intersection gained international attention in April 2015 during the civil unrest following Freddie Gray’s death, when several structures and cars were set on fire. Although the CVS store has been rebuilt after being burned during the riots, other nearby buildings remain charred.<\/p>\n

Darren Dugan, a former intravenous drug user who once lived homeless near Penn-North, returned to the area Monday to reflect on his past and to try to help others. He said the intersection reminds him of the drug addiction struggles he faced before court intervention in 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor this corner, for me, it\u2019s definitely a spot where I found a lot of pain in active addiction,\u201d Dugan said. \u201cI was an IV user, I was homeless a few blocks away from here, sleeping in a warehouse five years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, I see it [as] kind of an opportunity to give back and maybe help some people who are making the choices that I made and make different ones,\u201d Dugan added.<\/p>\n

Minutes later, Spotlight on Maryland walked with Dugan to a nearby warehouse, where he said many drug users from Penn-North lived, including himself, during the height of his addiction. He then ran into a woman he used to do drugs with on the streets.<\/p>\n

With tears in both of their eyes, Dugan wrote down the address and phone number for a nearby addiction recovery center. He also made a phone call to help arrange a ride for the woman out of the drug market\u2019s intersection.<\/p>\n

Dugan recalled dark times in his life, struggling in the same way as the woman he had just helped.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember coming out here and literally walking right past police, probably a hundred feet in front of them, wondering if it is okay copping [buying drugs] and then walking back,\u201d Dugan said. \u201cThere are places that people can come … all day long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pointing to the mass overdose event last week, Dugan said he is disgusted by the lack of action of city and state governments, saying too little has been done to crack down on the illegal sale of drugs that have been widespread in the neighborhood for decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing that always clashes with me is the fact that there are always people standing out, in these couple of blocks,\u201d Dugan said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t take an officer, it doesn\u2019t take a rocket scientist to figure out who has what, it\u2019s literally being announced.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that people feel confident, in this city, to walk out and announce what it is that they have, loudly, that\u2019s obscene,\u201d Dugan added.<\/p>\n