Cocaine

Cocaine, the most potent stimulant of natural origin, is extracted from the leaves of the coca plant (Erythroxylum coca), which is indigenous to the Andean highlands of South America. Natives in this region chew or brew coca leaves into a tea for refreshment and to relieve fatigue, similar to the customs of chewing tobacco and drinking tea or coffee.

Pure cocaine was first isolated in the 1880s and used as a local anesthetic in eye surgery. It was particularly useful in surgery of the nose and throat because of its ability to provide anesthesia, as well as to constrict blood vessels and limit bleeding. Many of its therapeutic applications are now obsolete due to the development of safer drugs.

Illicit cocaine is usually distributed as a white crystalline powder or as an off-white chunky material. The powder, usually cocaine hydrochloride, is often diluted with a variety of substances, the most common being sugars such as lactose, inositol, and mannitol, and local anesthetics such as lidocaine. The adulteration increases the volume and thus multiplies profits. Cocaine hydrochloride is generally snorted or dissolved in water and injected. It is rarely smoked because it is heat labile (destroyed by high temperatures).

"Crack," the chunk or "rock" form of cocaine, is a ready-to-use freebase. On the illicit market, it is sold in small, inexpensive dosage units that are smoked. Smoking delivers large quantities of cocaine to the lungs, producing effects comparable to intravenous injection. Drug effects are felt almost immediately, are very intense, and are quickly over. Once introduced in the mid-1980s, crack abuse spread rapidly and made the cocaine experience available to anyone with $10 and access to a dealer. In addition to other toxicities associated with cocaine abuse, cocaine smokers suffer from acute respiratory problems including cough, shortness of breath, and severe chest pains with lung trauma and bleeding. It is noteworthy that the emergence of crack was accompanied by a dramatic increase in drug abuse problems and drug-related violence.

The intensity of the psychological effects of cocaine, as with most psychoactive drugs, depends on the dose and rate of entry to the brain. Cocaine reaches the brain through the snorting method in three to five minutes. Intravenous injection of cocaine produces a rush in 15 to 30 seconds, and smoking produces an almost immediate intense experience. The euphoric effects of cocaine are almost indistinguishable from those of amphetamine, although they do not last as long. These intense effects can be followed by a dysphoric crash. To avoid the fatigue and the depression of coming down, frequent repeated doses are taken. Excessive doses of cocaine may lead to seizures and death from respiratory failure, stroke, or heart failure. There is no specific antidote for cocaine overdose.

Cocaine is the second most commonly used illicit drug (following marijuana) in the United States. According to the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, more than 34 million Americans (14.7%) age 12 or older had used cocaine at least once in their lifetime. There are no drugs approved for replacement-pharmacotherapy (drugs taken on a chronic basis as a substitute for the abused drug, like methadone for heroin addiction). Cocaine addiction treatment relies heavily on psychotherapy and drugs like antidepressants to relieve some of the effects of cocaine abuse. Source: DEA

Crack Cocaine

Crack cocaine, a form of cocaine base, is derived from powder cocaine. Unlike the processing of freebase cocaine, converting powder cocaine into crack cocaine does not involve any flammable solvents. The powder cocaine is simply dissolved in a solution of sodium bicarbonate and water. The solution is boiled and a solid substance separates from the boiling mixture. This solid substance, crack, is removed and allowed to dry. The crack cocaine is then broken or cut into "rocks," each typically weighing from one-tenth to one-half of a gram. One gram of pure powder cocaine will convert to approximately 0.89 grams of crack cocaine. The DEA estimates that crack rocks are between 75% and 90% pure cocaine.
Because crack is smoked, the user experiences a high in less than 10 seconds. This rather immediate and euphoric effect is one of the reasons that crack became enormously popular in the mid 1980s. Another reason is that crack is inexpensive both to produce and to buy.
Source: NIDA Research Report, "Cocaine Abuse and Addiction," May 1999
The crack epidemic dramatically increased the numbers of Americans addicted to cocaine. In 1985, the number of people who admitted using cocaine on a routine basis increased from 4.2 million to 5.8 million, according to the Department of Health and Human Service's National Household Survey. Likewise, cocaine-related hospital emergencies continued to increase nationwide during 1985 and 1986. According to DAWN statistics, in 1985, cocaine-related hospital emergencies rose by 12 percent, from 23,500 to 26,300; and in 1986, they increased 110 percent, from 26,300 to 55,200. Between 1984 and 1987, cocaine incidents increased fourfold.
Source: DEA Museum, "DEA History: 1985-1990: The Crack Epidemic"

 

Extent of Use

According to the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, approximately 35.3 million Americans aged 12 and older had tried cocaine at least once in their lifetimes, representing 14.3% of the population aged 12 and older. Approximately 6.1 million (2.5%) has used cocaine in the past year and 2.4 million (1.0%) had used cocaine within the past month. ⁵

Data from the 2006 NSDUH also indicate that there were 977,000 persons aged 12 or older who had used cocaine for the first time within the past 12 months; this averages to approximately 2,700 initiates per day. This estimate was not significantly different from the number in 2005 (872,000).⁶

Among students surveyed as part of the 2007 Monitoring the Future study, 3.1% of eighth graders, 5.3% of tenth graders, and 7.8% of twelfth graders reported lifetime use of cocaine. In 2006, these percentages were 3.4%, 4.8%, and 8.5%, respectively.⁷

Percent of Students Reporting Cocaine Use, 2006–2007

	8th Grade		10th Grade		12th Grade
	2006	2007	2006	2007	2006	2007
Past month	1.0%	0.9%	1.5%	1.3%	2.5%	2.0%
Past year	2.0	2.0	3.2	3.4	5.7	5.2
Lifetime	3.4	3.1	4.8	5.3	8.5	7.8

Approximately 64.2% of eighth graders, 70.9% of tenth graders, and 59.9% of twelfth graders surveyed in 2007 reported that taking powder cocaine occasionally was a “great risk.” Additionally, approximately 82% of 12th graders surveyed in 2007 reported that using powder cocaine regularly was a “great risk.”⁸

Percent of Students Reporting Risk of Using Cocaine, 2007

Say "great risk" to:	8th Grade	10th Grade	12th Grade
Try crack once/twice	47.3%	56.4%	47.3%
Take crack occasionally	68.3	76.0	63.6
Try powder cocaine once/twice	43.5	49.5	45.1
Take powder cocaine occasionally	64.2	70.9	59.9

Regarding the ease by which one can obtain powder cocaine, 19.0% of eighth graders, 30.0% of tenth graders, and 41.2% of twelfth graders surveyed in 2006 reported that powder cocaine was "fairly easy" or "very easy" to obtain.⁹

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also conducts a survey of high school students throughout the United States, the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS). Among students surveyed in 2007, 7.2% reported using some form of cocaine at least one time during their life. 3.3% reported being current users of cocaine, meaning that they had used cocaine at least once during the past month.¹⁰

Percent of Students Reporting Cocaine Use, 2003–2007

	2003	2005	2007
Current use	4.1%	3.4%	3.3%
Lifetime use	8.7	7.6	7.2

Approximately 7.7% of college students and 15.2% of young adults (ages 19–28) surveyed in 2006 reported lifetime use of cocaine.¹¹

Percent of College Students/Young Adults Reporting Cocaine Use, 2005–2006

	College Students		Young Adults
	2005	2006	2005	2006
Past month	1.8%	1.8%	2.2%	2.3%
Past year	5.7	5.1	6.9	6.6
Lifetime	8.8	7.7	14.3	15.2

According to data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, approximately 46.8% of State prisoners and 43.3% of Federal prisoners surveyed in 2004 indicated that they used cocaine/crack at some point in their lives.¹²

Percent of Prisoners Reporting Cocaine/Crack Use, 1997 and 2004

	State Prisoners		Federal Prisoners
	1997	2004	1997	2004
At time of offense	14.8%	11.8%	9.3%	7.4%
In month before offense	25.0	21.4	20.0	18.0
Regularly*	33.6	30.0	28.2	27.5
Ever in lifetime	49.2	46.8	44.8	43.3
* Used drugs at least once a week for at least a month.

Health Effects

Cocaine is a strong central nervous system stimulant. Physical effects of cocaine use include constricted blood vessels and increased temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. Users may also experience feelings of restlessness, irritability, and anxiety.¹³

Evidence suggests that users who smoke or inject cocaine may be at even greater risk of causing harm to themselves than those who snort the substance. For example, cocaine smokers also suffer from acute respiratory problems including coughing, shortness of breath, and severe chest pains with lung trauma and bleeding.¹⁴ A user who injects cocaine is at risk of transmitting or acquiring diseases if needles or other injection equipment are shared.¹⁵

A tolerance to the cocaine high may be developed and many addicts report that they fail to achieve as much pleasure as they did from their first cocaine exposure. Some users will increase their dose in an attempt to intensify and prolong the euphoria, but this can also increase the risk of adverse psychological or physiological effects.¹⁶

The duration of cocaine’s immediate euphoric effects depends upon the route of administration. The faster the absorption, the more intense the high. Also, the faster the absorption, the shorter the duration of action. The high from snorting is relatively slow in onset, and may last 15 to 30 minutes, while that from smoking may last 5 to 10 minutes.¹⁷

Cocaine continues to be the most frequently mentioned illicit substance reported to the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) by hospital emergency departments (ED) nationwide. During 2002, it was mentioned 199,198 times and was present in 30% of the ED drug episodes during the year. While cocaine ED mentions were statistically unchanged from 2001 to 2002, they have increased 47% since 1995 when there were 135,711 mentions.¹⁸

Of an estimated 108 million emergency department (ED) visits in the U.S. during 2005, the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) estimates that 1,449,154 were drug-related. DAWN data indicate that cocaine was involved in 448,481 ED visits.¹⁹

Treatment

From 1996 to 2006, the number of admissions to treatment for cocaine decreased from 263,896 in 1996 to 250,135 in 2006. Cocaine admissions represented 16.1% of the total drug/alcohol admissions to treatment during 1996 and 13.9% of the treatment admissions in 2006.²⁰

Broken down by type of cocaine, the number of treatment admissions for non-smoked cocaine increased from 68,145 in 1996 to 71,660 in 2006 and admissions for smoked cocaine decreased from 195,751 in 1996 to 178,475 in 2006. The average age of those admitted to treatment for cocaine in 2006 was 38 years for smoked cocaine, compared with 33 years for non-smoked cocaine admissions.²¹

Arrests & Sentencing

During FY 2004, cocaine was the primary drug involved in Federal drug arrests. There were 12,166 Federal drug arrests for cocaine in FY 2004. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) made 7,082 arrests for powder cocaine and 3,921 arrests for crack cocaine during FY 2004.²²

During FY 2006, there were 5,841 Federal offenders sentenced for powder cocaine-related charges and 5,623 sentenced for crack cocaine charges in U.S. Courts. Approximately 98.3% of the powder cocaine cases and 96.0% of the crack cocaine cases involved trafficking.²³

Production & Trafficking

Cocaine is extracted from the leaves of the coca plant, which is indigenous to the Andean highlands of South America.²⁴ Much of the cocaine available in the United States is transported from South American nations, particularly Colombia, through the Mexico-Central America Corridor. Despite increasingly aggressive coca eradication efforts, U.S. Government estimates of coca cultivation in South America indicate that cocaine producers potentially produced 970 metric tons of pure cocaine in 2006, a 7% increase from 910 metric tons in 2005 and the highest level since 2002.²⁵

During the spring of 2007 Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in several U.S. drug markets reported that cocaine availability decreased and that cocaine shortages were apparent in their jurisdictions. Cocaine shortages were most evident in the Great Lakes, New England, and Mid-Atlantic Regions of the country, but some major drug markets outside these areas also reported indications of decreased cocaine availability. These markets include Atlanta, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco.²⁶

Analysis of cocaine purchases submitted for forensic examination by the DEA corroborates intelligence regarding the decline in domestic cocaine availability. From January through June 2007, the average price per pure gram of all domestic cocaine purchases increased 24%, from $95.89 to $118.70, while purity fell 11%, from 67% to 59%.²⁷

Epidemiologic sources indicate that prices for powder cocaine range from $20–$30 per gram in New York to $100 in Bangor (Maine), Cincinnati and Minneapolis and can cost as much as $200 per gram in Baltimore and Honolulu. Crack cocaine tends to have a low end street price $10 in such cities as Chicago, Baltimore, Boston and San Diego.²⁸

According to 2006 Federal-wide Drug Seizure System (FDSS) data, Federal agencies seized 150,738.7 kilograms of cocaine.²⁹ FDSS contains information about drug seizures made within the jurisdiction of the United States by the DEA, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Customs Service, U.S. Border Patrol, and U.S. Coast Guard.³⁰

Legislation

Cocaine was first Federally-regulated in December 1914 with the passage of the Harrison Act. This Act banned non-medical use of cocaine; prohibited its importation; imposed the same criminal penalties for cocaine users as for opium, morphine, and heroin users; and required a strict accounting of medical prescriptions for cocaine. As a result of the Harrison Act and the emergence of cheaper, legal substances such as amphetamines, cocaine became scarce in the U.S. However, use began to rise again in the 1960s, prompting Congress to classify it as a Schedule II substance in 1970.³¹ Schedule II substances have a high potential for abuse, a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States with severe restrictions, and may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.³² Cocaine can currently be administered by a doctor for legitimate medical uses, such as a local anesthetic for some eye, ear, and throat surgeries.³³

Street Terms³⁴

Common Terms Associated with Cocaine

Other Links

Breaking Cocaine Sources of Supply
An overview of coca eradication efforts in the Andean region of South America.

Cocaine Abuse and Addiction
This report provides information on powder and crack cocaine abuse, effects, and describes effective treatment.

A Collection of Articles That Address Research on Cocaine
This resource presents links to and full text of National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) research articles concerning cocaine.

Common Drugs of Abuse: Cocaine
This site provides links to NIDA resources related to crack and cocaine.

Cocaine Publications
A listing of powder and crack cocaine-related publications from various sources.

Cocaine Smuggling in 2006
This report provides an overview of data related to cocaine smuggling during 2006. Topics covered in the report include coca cultivation and production; cocaine trafficking routes and methods; and cocaine seizures.

Estimation of Cocaine Availability, 1996-2000
This report discusses a new model that provides a basis for measuring the flow of cocaine from producer nations, through the transit zones, across the nation's borders, and throughout the U.S.

Sources

¹ Drug Enforcement Administration, Drugs of Abuse, 2005

² Drug Enforcement Administration Web site, Drug Descriptions: Cocaine

³ National Institute on Drug Abuse, InfoFacts: Crack and Cocaine, August 2008

⁴ Ibid.

⁵ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Results from the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings, September 2007

⁶ Ibid.

⁷ National Institute on Drug Abuse and University of Michigan, 2007 Monitoring the Future Study Drug Data Tables, December 2007

⁸ Ibid.

⁹ Ibid.

¹⁰ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance: Youth Online: Comprehensive Results

¹¹ National Institute on Drug Abuse and University of Michigan, Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2006, Volume II: College Students & Adults Ages 19-45 (PDF), 2007

¹² Bureau of Justice Statistics, Drug Use and Dependence, State and Federal Prisoners, 2004, October 2006

¹³ National Institute on Drug Abuse, InfoFacts: Crack and Cocaine, August 2008

¹⁴ Drug Enforcement Administration Web site, Drug Descriptions: Cocaine

¹⁵ National Institute on Drug Abuse, InfoFacts: Crack and Cocaine, August 2008

¹⁶ Ibid.

¹⁷ National Institute on Drug Abuse, Cocaine: Abuse and Addiction, November 2004

¹⁸ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Emergency Department Trends from the Drug Abuse Warning Network, Final Estimates 1995–2002, July 2003

¹⁹ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Drug Abuse Warning Network, 2005: National Estimates of Drug-Related Emergency Department Visits, March 2007

²⁰ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) Highlights—2006, February 2008

²¹ Ibid.

²² Bureau of Justice Statistics, Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics, 2004, December 2006

²³ United States Sentencing Commission, 2006 Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics, 2007

²⁴ Drug Enforcement Administration Web site, Drug Descriptions: Cocaine

²⁵ National Drug Intelligence Center, National Drug Threat Assessment 2008, October 2007

²⁶ Ibid.

²⁷ Drug Enforcement Administration, Cocaine Price/Purity Analysis of STRIDE Data, August 2007

²⁸ Epidemiologic Trends in Drug Abuse Volume 1: Highlights and Executive Summary (PDF), January 2007, National Institute on Drug Abuse, July 2007

²⁹ National Drug Intelligence Center, National Drug Threat Assessment 2008, October 2007

³⁰ Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal-wide Drug Seizure System, as reported in Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics

³¹ U.S. Department of Justice, CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy, Appendix C

³² Drug Enforcement Administration, Drugs of Abuse, 2005

³³ National Institute on Drug Abuse, Cocaine: Abuse and Addiction, November 2004

³⁴ Office of National Drug Control Policy, Drug Policy Information Clearinghouse, Street Terms: Drugs and the Drug Trade
         Cocaine section