Cocaine abuse and addiction continues to be a problem
that plagues our nation. In 1997, for example, an estimated
1.5 million Americans age 12 and older were chronic cocaine
users. Although this is an improvement over the 1985 estimate
of 5.7 million users, we still have a substantial distance
to go in reducing the use of this addictive stimulant.
Science is helping. For example, we now know more about
where and how cocaine acts in the brain, including how
the drug produces its pleasurable effects and why it is
so addictive.
Cocaine is a powerfully addictive stimulant that directly
affects the brain. Cocaine has been labeled the drug of
the 1980s and '90s, because of its extensive popularity
and use during this period. However, cocaine is not a
new drug. In fact, it is one of the oldest known drugs.
The pure chemical, cocaine hydrochloride, has been an
abused substance for more than 100 years, and coca leaves,
the source of cocaine, have been ingested for thousands
of years.
Pure cocaine was first extracted from the leaf of the
Erythroxylon coca bush, which grows primarily in Peru
and Bolivia, in the mid-19th century. In the early 1900s,
it became the main stimulant drug used in most of the
tonics/elixirs that were developed to treat a wide variety
of illnesses. Today, cocaine is a Schedule II drug, meaning
that it has high potential for abuse, but can be administered
by a doctor for legitimate medical uses, such as a local
anesthetic for some eye, ear, and throat surgeries.
There are basically two chemical forms of cocaine: the
hydrochloride salt and the "freebase." The hydrochloride
salt, or powdered form of cocaine, dissolves in water
and, when abused, can be taken intravenously (by vein)
or intranasally (in the nose). Freebase refers to a compound
that has not been neutralized by an acid to make the hydrochloride
salt. The freebase form of cocaine is smokable.
Cocaine is generally sold on the street as a fine, white,
crystalline powder, known as "coke," "C,"
"snow," "flake," or "blow."
Street dealers generally dilute it with such inert substances
as cornstarch, talcum powder, and/or sugar, or with such
active drugs as procaine (a chemically-related local anesthetic)
or with such other stimulants as amphetamines.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Department
of Health and Human Services. National Institute on Drug
Abuse. (2002, February 18). NIDA Research Report - Cocaine
Abuse and Addiction (PHD813, NIH Publication No. 99-4342)Washington,
DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved October
03, 2002 from the World Wide Web:http://www.drugabuse.gov/ResearchReports/Cocaine/cocaine2.html#what
- Beginning in 1965, the estimated incidence of cocaine
use rose steadily to its 1983 peak (1.5 million new
users). Subsequently, the number of new users per year
declined steadily until 1992 (0.5 million new users)
and then began a steady increase to 0.9 million new
users in 2000.
- The annual number of new cocaine users has generally
increased over time. In 1975, there were 30,000 new
users. The number increased from 300,000 in 1986 to
361,000 in 2000.
Source: U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services. Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration. (2002, September 4). Results
from the 2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse:
Volume I. Summary of National Findings (Office of Applied
Studies, NHSDA Series H-17 ed.) (BKD461, SMA 02-3758)Washington,
DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved September
26, 2002 from the World Wide Web:http://www.samhsa.gov/oas/nhsda/2k1nhsda/vol1/chapter5.htm#5.coc
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Cocaine Addiction:
