In the 18th and 19th centuries, Western doctors took their cue from Native Americans and used parts of the coca plant to treat everything from fatigue to sexual dysfunction to depression. Purified cocaine was developed in the 1850s as cure for cholera and morphine addiction. Cocaine has extremely limited medical applications today as a topical anesthetic and vasoconstrictor.
In the years leading up to the Prohibition era, cocaine came to be regarded as harmful and addictive, much like alcohol. In 1922, Congress banned the use of cocaine and other narcotics for all but specific medical purposes, but the cat was already out of the bag: Cocaine was here to stay.
In the 1970s, cocaine found a new niche as the status party drug of the wealthy. As the price of coke steadily dropped, its use became widespread. Crack, an inexpensive, smokable form of cocaine, was considered the scourge of the 1980s and ’90s, devastating entire communities.
Cocaine Use Post-2000
Cocaine abuse and addiction reached its peak in the United States in the late 1990s, but has remained relatively stable since 2009. The use of cocaine by teenagers has steadily declined since 2009, though. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 1.5 million Americans used cocaine in 2014, and about 913,000 were cocaine dependent.
In comparison, 2 million U.S. residents abused prescription opioids in 2015, and nearly 600,000 suffered from heroin addiction.
The number of cocaine overdose deaths in the U.S. peaked at about 7,500 in 2006, then declined each year until 2011. Since 2013, that number has been on the rise again. Current toxicology reports in opioid overdose deaths have shown a co-occurring increase in cocaine overdose, without a reported increase in the use of cocaine. This finding illuminates the fact heroin is often “cut” with cocaine, and vice versa. The result is often a fatal heart attack.
Cocaine addiction is devastating for addicts, their families and society. If you find you are unable to stop using cocaine, seek help immediately.
