Trends in Drug Use: Spring-Fall 1996
Part II: Cocaine
In this Pulse Check, sources report that the market for cocaine is generally stable, and in some areas it is declining. In particular, the demand for both cocaine and crack has declined, cocaine availability is down, while the availability of crack is stable. Cocaine users continue to be a diverse group, primarily people in their 30s and 40s who have been using for several years. However, there have been reports of rising cocaine use in specific communities, such as the Birmingham suburbs; the Hispanic community near the Texas border; and young people in the New York/New Jersey area. Treatment providers in most areas report that cocaine and crack are still the most commonly cited drugs of abuse among their clients.
Ethnographers and Epidemiologic Sources
Sources report broad shifts in the population of cocaine powder and crack users in particular areas. For example, young inner city users are starting to disdain crack as a "ghetto drug"; Miami sources describe crack use as "unfashionable" among youth, particularly with African Americans in inner city areas, and often those who continue to use crack try to hide it from their peers. In contrast, crack has recently made inroads into the Hispanic community along the Texas border; formerly, it had only been popular in the African American community in that area. In addition, the New York/New Jersey area has seen an increase in young crack users for the first time in over a year.
However, the market for both cocaine powder and crack cocaine is generally stable; and cocaine is still a commonly used drug in most. Prices range from $50-$150/gram for cocaine powder and from $3-$40/rock or vial of crack. Purity is described as "good" to "fair" at the street level, though there is considerable variation in most areas.
Cocaine users are a diverse group of all ages and ethnicities and both sexes. In most areas, crack is marketed to people in their 30s and 40s who have been using the drug for several years. Cocaine powder, though less common than crack, is marketed to a diverse group --primarily adults, of all ethnicities and socioeconomic groups. It is mentioned as a "club drug" in New York, Miami, and San Diego, but is not as prominent in the club environment as methamphetamine, MDMA, marijuana, and some hallucinogens.
Sources in Chicago report that some users are dissolving crack cocaine in lemon juice or vinegar and injecting it intravenously. This practice may have started as an innovation -- a new method to administer cocaine -- or as an adjustment to the decreased availability of cocaine powder, since it is cheaper to dissolve and inject crack than to purchase enough cocaine powder to create the same effect. While this practice reportedly produces a more intense rush than smoking the same amount of crack, the dilutants can produce serious abscesses and pain if the user misses the vein and injects into muscle tissue.
Cocaine powder, when available, is often used by heroin addicts to "speedball" --combine cocaine with heroin -- to enhance or extend the effect of heroin. This entails injecting or snorting heroin, then smoking crack immediately. Several ethnographers note that as cocaine powder became harder to purchase during the summer, some heroin users began to speedball with crack. This overlap in heroin/cocaine/crack users may be related to the increase in double-breasted dealing described in the section on heroin. Similarly, heroin may be used by crack addicts to dampen the overly agitated effect produced by extended crack use. In both cases, the second drug is used to supplement rather than substitute the primary drug.
New York and Bridgeport ethnographers describe large pieces of crack called "slabs" being sold at the street level in their areas. The slab is a piece of crack about the size and shape of a stick of chewing gum, sometimes scored to form pieces. The slab is sold in the same containers (e.g., vials, bags) as individual rocks or pieces but, due to its size, costs more. This unit is smaller than what was described last year in the Pulse Check as the "cookie," a larger piece or sheet of crack sometimes bought for the purposes of resale.
In New York and San Diego, sources report that many crack users look for powder to make their own crack because processed crack is seen as "a bad buy" (i.e., poor quality or made up primarily of adulterants). This is largely due to the perception that dealers are cheating crack users by using very little powder in the cooking process.
Police sources in most areas report that cocaine use remains stable. Boston police report fewer crack users, but maintain that crack is still a serious problem in that area. Three police sources (Seattle, Miami, and New York) report double-breasting dealing in their areas. Prices of cocaine are low ($30-$70/gram), and purity varies considerably.
Birmingham police are the only source that reports rising cocaine use in this Pulse Check. Crack has become more popular in the inner city; even in the suburbs, which have long been a powder market, police note an increase in the sale and use of crack. Consequently, prices are high; a piece of crack can run from $40 to $50. Police report that this increase in price may reflect the increase in the "yuppie" crack market of casual, middle-class users. Dealers have followed their new clientele into suburban areas, resulting in fewer open air cocaine markets in the inner city.
Treatment providers in all areas except the West and Southwest continue to report that cocaine is the most common illegal drug problem of clients seeking substance abuse treatment. While there have been slight decreases in the percentage of treatment admissions with cocaine as the primary drug problem, in general, admissions for cocaine treatment changed little in recent months. The majority of cocaine treatment clients smoke crack and use a variety of other substances. In all regions, alcohol is mentioned as a problem drug by a majority of clients (79-93 percent), as is marijuana (53-80 percent). Heroin, amphetamines, and tranquilizers are also commonly cited as secondary drugs of abuse.
The majority of cocaine treatment clients are white, except in the Midwest, where there is a fairly even proportion of whites and African-Americans. About two-thirds of the clients in all areas are male, and just over half have had prior treatment.
As in the last Pulse Check, several treatment providers commented on the "aging" of the crack user population; that is, the hardcore crack user is more likely to be an older user, who also consumes marijuana, alcohol and other drugs, than a teen or young adult. Just 3 to 11 percent of cocaine clients in all areas are below 20 years old. While sources report that there appear to be more young cocaine users seeking treatment in the Northwest, unlike the younger heroin clients, these young cocaine users are more likely to be new to treatment.
