NCJ Number
202533
Journal
Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse Volume: 2 Issue: 1 Dated: 2003 Pages: 67-83
Date Published
2003
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study examined ethnic differences in the use of crack versus powdered cocaine.
Abstract
As crack cocaine use grew to epidemic proportions in the mid-1980’s, Congress responded by passing the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, which instituted tough new penalties for the use of crack cocaine while it left the penalties for powdered cocaine untouched. An outcry ensued, with protestors claiming the law to be aimed at minority members, who disproportionately use crack cocaine. Despite the widely held assumption that African-Americans are more likely to use crack cocaine while Whites are more likely to use powdered cocaine, scant research has examined the validity of this claim. As such, the author examined data from 6,732 adult arrestees in Houston who completed the Drug Use Forecasting (DUF) Program between 1990 and 1994. DUF is now called the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) Program and between 1990 and 1994 Houston was one of the jurisdictions collecting survey data for this National Institute of Justice program. The survey focused on demographic information and the arrestees’ history of drug use. A urine sample was also collected to validate self-reported drug use data. Results of logistic regression analysis revealed that the most significant predictors of self-reported 3-day powdered cocaine use were being White and ever having injected illegal drugs. The most significant predictors of 3-day crack cocaine use were being African-American and ever having injected illegal drugs. However, the relationship between being African American and recent crack cocaine use diminished over time while the relationship between being White and recent powdered cocaine was strong over the 5-year study period. Findings are comparable to previous research that has failed to find a significant relationship between race and preferences for crack cocaine over powdered cocaine. The findings also lend support to the argument that the Anti-Drug Abuse Act does not unfairly target minorities. However, the pharmacological effects and health hazards of powdered versus crack cocaine are similar; therefore it is necessary to reevaluate any law that sanctions the use of one type of cocaine more harshly than the other type. Tables, references