Pubdate: Thu, 22 May 2003
Source: South End, The (MI Edu)
Copyright: 2003 The South End Newspaper.
Contact:  http://www.southend.wayne.edu/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2932
Author: Amy McCullough, The Lantern

DIP IN COCAINE PRICES INCREASES DEMAND

COLUMBUS, Ohio - It's a never-ending, always changing cycle that agitates 
the heart, can cause the shakes and can even be fatal.

Powdered cocaine is a stimulant drug with powerful side effects, both 
mental and physical, and it is once again gaining popularity.

Cheaper prices and a surplus in supply are two of the main reasons for the 
drug's resurgence, according to the latest report from The Ohio Substance 
Abuse Monitoring Network.

"Cocaine was really popular in the '70s, but then everyone started to hear 
about people dying. Really, the education worked in the '70s, and the use 
of powdered cocaine went way down," said Stacey Frohnapfel Hasson, a 
spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services.

"Now we have a new generation of people who are turning towards powdered 
cocaine because they haven't heard much about it. We have to start over 
again - that's the way it is with drug prevention," she said.

For the most part, accessibility to the drug continues to increase 
throughout the state. The latest data suggests a significant decrease in 
price has led to the recent popularity of powdered cocaine.

The price of a gram of powdered cocaine has essentially been cut in half 
over the last year. What used to cost $80 to $100 a gram can now be found 
for only $40 to $60.

Drug dealers are pushing the drug more because of an excess in the crop. 
Supply is driving the market, said Paul H. Coleman, president and CEO of 
Maryhaven, an alcohol and drug treatment center.

"All of this goes in cycles, and it is driven not only by user demand, but 
actually more so by dealer supply," said Coleman. "People need to 
understand that when they are being asked to use drugs, they are being 
asked to support criminals who don't care that the use of these drugs ruin 
people's lives."

The increasing availability can be found in both active and recovering drug 
users, according to the report.

Data from the Columbus Division of Police Narcotics Interdiction Unit has 
shown a one to 10 increase in the number of cocaine presses seized during 
the first nine months of 2002 - averaging about one per month.

Although powdered cocaine has traditionally been glamorized by Hollywood 
and professional athletes, it is no longer the trend.

Today's drug use can be found in all age groups and socioeconomic classes.

Drug users undergoing treatment have reported a new wave of users hitting 
suburban high school students; however, powdered cocaine is still prevalent 
among 20- to early 30-year-old club-goers.

Another surprising trend that seems to be on the rise is the number of 30- 
to 50-year-old working class professionals and housewives who have taken up 
the drug.

"[Addiction] affects people regardless of race, education, class or 
income," Coleman said. "It can take somebody who is under a bridge in San 
Francisco or it can take a major league ball player."

Many powdered cocaine users are under the misconception that it is a safe 
drug, Frohnapfel Hasson said. Within the user community, there are both 
positive and negative stigmas attached to the various methods of use and 
forms of the drug.

"Because people think there is less of a problem with snorting something, 
[users] are more likely to try powdered cocaine, even if they haven't done 
it in the past," she said. "It's seen as being safer than crack. There's 
really no reason to make that assumption, but people have it anyway."

Even though there is not a standard means of controlling the drug's flow, 
there are more than 120 anti-drug coalitions fighting to bring awareness to 
individual communities.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens