Addiction Treatment Blog

Cocaine

As we approach the 21st century, cocaine abuse remains a major public health problem in the world. Most people today are aware of the dangers of the cocaine addiction, and as a result occasional use of cocaine has decreased. On the other hand, more individuals are using cocaine frequently and in greater amounts, which has led to an increase in medical complications and deaths due to cocaine overdose, drug-related crime, and cocaine use during pregnancy.

In the early 1980s, the popularity of cocaine appeared to be growing steadily. No other drug was associated with as much glamour, notoriety, and, sadly, misinformation about its potential dangers Even in the medical profession, cocaine was not initially thought to be highly addictive or dangerous if used intermittently. In almost every sector of society, cocaine use increased dramatically. Initially, because of our society were most likely to be cocaine users. With its increasing popularity, however, production and distribution of the drug from South America increased, thus lowering the price from $150 a gram in 1980 to less than half that in most cities by 1993. The introduction of “crack” cocaine, an extremely addictive smokable form of cocaine, made initiation of cocaine use even more affordable, because crack is sold in small quantities costing from $2 to $20. Soon, cocaine use was pervasive in all socioeconomic and age groups in 1985, for example, a national survey found that 17% of American high school seniors had tried cocaine.

Gradually, evidence mounted about the hazards of using cocaine and its addictive potential. Several highly publicized incidents helped to stimulate Americans’ growing awareness that cocaine use was not safe. In 1980, Richard Pryor, was seriously burned while “freebasing” cocaine. Then in 1986, Len Bias, a college basketball star, died of a cocaine overdose. Efforts to educate Americans about the dangers of drug use became widespread. Groups such as the Partnership for a Drug-Free America and the Entertainment Industries Council donated time and money to produce antidrug advertisements. The media, which previously had showed cocaine to be the favorite drug of movie stars and athletes, began to show many of the same celebrities urging other Americans to stay away from cocaine.

The federal government also became more involved in fighting drug use during the 1980s. The government’s “War on Drugs” has focused on reducing both the demand for cocaine and its availability on American streets. Increasing amounts of money have been spent each year; in 1991 alone, more than $10 billion was proposed to fund the federal drug strategy. Most of this money has been spent to reduce the flow of cocaine and other drugs into the United States. This effort has reduced the availability of cocaine to some degree and has probably prevented the cost of cocaine from decreasing even further. Whether this strategy has actually helped to decrease the use of cocaine is still a matter of some debate, especially when inexpensive cocaine in the form of crack is still readily available.

The medical profession has also contributed to curbing cocaine use with efforts to improve the treatment of cocaine dependence. Doctors, too, had previously been fooled into believing that cocaine was relatively harmless. Research and clinical experience, however, showed that cocaine was a powerfully addictive drug, with many serious psychological and medical effects. The experience also helped clinicians to become more skilled at treating cocaine addiction. The testing of many medications to reduce cocaine craving and the development of new psychological strategies such as cognitive and behavioural techniques to prevent cocaine relapse showed promising results. By the end of the 1980s, a growing number of cocaine-dependent people were receiving professional help for their addiction.

In the latter half of the 1980s, cocaine use in the United States declined from its peak of 5.8 million current users in 1985 to an estimated 1.9 million current users 1991 (the National Institute on Drug Abuse defines a current user as someone who has used the drug within the past 30 days). Many of the factors discussed above may have contributed to this decline: increased awareness of cocaine’s dangers, improvements in the treatment of cocaine addiction, and possibly decreased availability of the drug. Some epidemiologists and historians have also suggested that the cocaine epidemic may be reaching a natural and expectable and – just as many other disease epidemics are self-limited. Previous cocaine epidemics in this country, such as one in the early 20th century, also peaked after about 10 years and then declined. One must use caution, however, in comparing today’s cocaine epidemic with earlier now. Also, highly addictive methods of using the drug, such as smoking crack, had not been developed.

Although the statistics that showed declining cocaine use in the late 1980s were promising, there is evidence that cocaine remains a major public health problem in this country in the 1990s. Some experts believe that the growing prevalence of crack cocaine has led to a new wave of cocaine use and cocaine-related problems. Consider the following reports:

• The number of current cocaine users actually increased to 1.9 million 1991 from 1.6 million in 1990; much of this increase may be due to greater use of crack.
• The number of daily users of cocaine continued to increase from 246,000 in 1985 tı 336,000 in 1990.
• More than 20% of babies born in some inner-city hospitals have been found to have cocaine in their bodies at birth.
• The incidence of cocaine-related medical emergencies increased twelvefold from 1985 to 1992, with more than 30,000 emergencies recorded during a three-month period in 1992; the number of cocaine-related deaths has similarly risen.
• Urinalysis testing of criminal suspects in 21 major cities showed that more than 50% tested positive for cocaine in early 19910. In New York City, more than 70% of suspects had positive urine tests.
• Cocaine users are increasing their use of heroin to “come down” from the cocaine high. Many experts fear that a new heroin epidemic may be on the rise.
• Exports of cocaine to Europe doubled from 1989 to 1990; it is possible that Europe is just beginning to experience a major cocaine epidemic.

These statistics point to a disturbing trend in cocaine use: although casual use of cocaine has clearly declined, the number of daily users, in particular crack addicts, continues to climb. In addition, the extent of cocaine use by pregnant women and by people arrested for crimes is alarmingly high. Although still under study, “cocaine babies” may grow up with an array of disadvantages and disabilities (we review more thoroughly what is known about cocaine use during pregnancy in Chapter 3). There is also evidence that cocaine may increase violent behavior in some people. Although the high incidence of cocaine use in arrested suspects does not prove a causal link between cocaine use and criminal behavior, some kind of connection between cocaine use and violence appears likely. Finally, it is important that we look beyond the United States to ominous trends developing elsewhere in the world, such as in Europe. Hopefully, the gains made in awareness and treatment in the United States will help other countries prevent and fight cocaine addiction.

Why do people continue to use cocaine? What is it appeal? How does it affect the body and the mind? What can a person do if a family member or friend is using cocaine? These are some of the issues we will be addressing in the blog. To gain more perspective on current cocaine use, however, we begin by looking at the place of cocaine in history on our next article.

Cocaine Addiction and Crack Cocaine Addiction Treatment

If you or your loved one suffering from an addiction of cocaine and/or crack cocaine, there is help available for you. The Causeway Retreat, UK’s leading addiction treatment and mental health clinic based entirely on a private island in the south east coast of England, offering treatment for cocaine addiction and crack cocaine addiction. For completely private and confidential discussion with one of our addiction treatment nurses, call us on 0207 100 7260.