GDCADA | Cocaine - Statistics, Related Resources & Links

General Information Short & Long Term Side Effects Statistics Related Resources and Links

Short Term Effects

Adults 18 to 25 years old have the highest rate of current cocaine use, compared to other age groups. ¹
Cocaine is the second most commonly used illicit drug (following marijuana) in the U.S. More than 34 million Americans (14.7%) age 12 or older have used cocaine at least once in their lifetime. ⁶
Up to 75% of people who try cocaine will become addicted to it. Only one out of four people who try to quit will be able to do so without help.
Cocaine is a $35 billion illicit industry now exceeding Columbia’s top export, coffee. ⁹
Each day 5,000 more people will experiment with cocaine. ⁹
Cocaine is a $35 billion illicit industry now exceeding Columbia’s top export, coffee. ⁹
Up to 75% of people who try cocaine will become addicted to it. Only one out of four people who try to quit will be able to do so without help.
Cocaine hydrochloride is very stable. It binds closely to the ink in in paper currency. FBI chemists have discovered that traces of cocaine can be found on almost every dollar bill in circulation. ⁶
One in ten workers knows someone who uses cocaine on the job. ⁸
Texas is a distribution and trans-shipment area for cocaine transported (via passenger vehicles & tractor-trailers) to destinations throughout the nation. Illicit transporters favor the exploitation of the commercial trucking industry to move bulk (multi-hundred kilogram) quantities of cocaine. Smaller loads are routinely seized from private vehicles or human couriers utilizing public transportation. ⁸

Resources & Links
Your Brain on Cocaine: Chronic cocaine use harms brain circuits that help produce the sense of pleasure, which may help explain why cocaine addicts have a higher rate of depression.
Cocaine: Abuse & Addiction: Detailed report examining the latest research findings. For a general audience.
(National Institute on Drug Abuse)
Snorting Drugs and Hepatitis C – Where’s the Link ?

Sources ¹ Drug Policy Information Clearinghouse (Office of National Drug Control Policy), Fact Sheet, November 2003. ³ National Institute on Drug Abuse (U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services), Infofax: Cocaine No. 13546, November 2000. ⁵ Substance Abuse Mental Health Administration (U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services), National Survey on Drug Use & Health, 2003
⁸ Drug Enforcement Administration (U.S. Dept. of Justice), Briefs & Background, Drugs & Drug Abuse, State Factsheet, TX, Feb. 2005. ⁹ cocaineaddiction.com