NCJ Number
110620
Journal
Contemporary Drug Problems Volume: 14 Issue: 3 Dated: (Fall 1987) Pages: 461-492
Date Published
1987
Length
32 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the history of the use of coca products in the United States up through the current prevalent use of crack, featuring a study of drug use patterns among a sample of Miami juvenile delinquents.
Abstract
The history of the use of coca-leaf products in the United States is traced from the importation of Vin Coca Mariani, a coca extract mixed with wine, in the latter part of the 19th century. Following medical research in the early 20th century and the passage of the U.S. Pure Food and Drug Act, the popular use of cocaine declined, and its use moved into the worlds of crime and the avant-garde, where it remained for some 40 years. During the late 1960's and early 1970's cocaine use moved into mainstream society, where it continues to prosper. 'Freebase' and 'crack' are used as more potent cocaine products. A 1986 study of 308 Miami street delinquents' self-reported criminality and drug use found that more than 90 percent reported some type of police contact construed as an arrest, and more than 90 percent had used alcohol to the point of intoxication, marijuana, cocaine, and crack at least once. There was significant exposure to organic solvents and inhalants, PCP and other hallucinogenic drugs, speed, prescription sedatives and analgesics, and heroin. Regular multidrug use was widespread. The history of cocaine use suggests that the use of various drugs comes in fads, with crack being the current fad. When this fad fades, some other drug that has fallen out of fashion will likely be rediscovered. 5 tables and 47 notes.