Cocaine


man on cocaine

Cocaine is one of the most powerfully addictive drugs of abuse. Most clinicians estimate that approximately 10 percent of people who begin to use the drug "recreationally" will go on to serious, heavy use. Once having tried cocaine, an individual cannot predict or control the extent to which he or she will continue to use the drug.

man on cocaine


Methods of Use

Cocaine use ranges from episodic or occasional use to repeated or compulsive use, with a variety of patterns between these extremes. The major methods of administration of cocaine are sniffing or snorting, injecting, and smoking (including free-base and crack cocaine). Snorting is the process of inhaling cocaine powder through the nostrils where it is absorbed into the bloodstream through the nasal tissues. Injecting is the act of using a needle to release the drug directly into the bloodstream. Smoking involves the inhalation of cocaine vapor or smoke into the lungs where absorption into the bloodstream is as rapid as by injection.

There is great risk no matter how cocaine is ingested. It appears that compulsive cocaine use may develop even more rapidly if the substance is smoked rather than taken intranasally. Smoking allows extremely high doses of cocaine to reach the brain very quickly and brings an intense and immediate high. The injecting drug user is at risk for transmitting or acquiring HIV infection/AIDS if needles or other injection equipment is shared.

"Crack" is the street name given to cocaine that has been processed from cocaine hydrochloride to a free base for smoking. Rather than requiring the more volatile method of processing cocaine using ether, crack cocaine is processed with ammonia or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and water and heated to remove the hydrochloride, thus producing a form of cocaine that can be smoked. The term "crack" refers to the crackling sound heard when the mixture is smoked (heated), presumably from the sodium bicarbonate.

man on cocaine


Health and Psychological Hazards

Treatment

The widespread abuse of cocaine has stimulated extensive efforts to develop treatment programs for this type of drug abuse. According to the State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Profile, in FY 1994, States reported 326,031 patients entering treatment with cocaine as the primary drug of abuse, representing 43 percent of treatment admissions. Another study, NIDA's Drug Services Research Survey, estimates that 31 percent of a sample of drug treatment clients had used cocaine or crack cocaine within 30 days prior to admission for treatment. Data from treatment programs using different therapeutic approaches indicate that outpatient cocaine treatment can be successful. One report suggests that from 30 percent to 90 percent of abusers remaining in outpatient treatment programs cease cocaine use.

In addition to pharmacological treatments, behavioral interventions also have been developed that are effective in decreasing drug use by patients in treatment for cocaine abuse. Providing the optimal combination of treatment services for each individual is critical to successful
treatment outcome.

man on cocaine


Cocaine

The use of cocaine among 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-graders continued a gradual upward climb; however, most increases between 1995 and 1996 did not reach statistical significance. In 1996, 4.5 percent of 8th-graders, 6.5 percent of 10th-graders, and 7.1 percent of 12th-graders used cocaine at least once in their lives. In addition, in 1996, 1.3 percent of 8th-graders, 1.7 percent of 10th-graders, and 2.0 percent of 12th-graders had used cocaine within the 30 days preceding the study.

Crack cocaine use increased among 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-graders between 1992 and 1996. Study results showed that 2.9 percent of 8th-graders, 3.3 percent of 10th-graders, and 3.3 percent of 12th-graders had used crack at least once; 1.8 percent of 8th-graders, 2.1 percent of 10th-graders, and 2.1 percent of 12th-graders used crack within the preceding year.

man on 
cocaine