NCJ Number
110634
Date Published
1988
Length
14 pages
Annotation
The drug problem that existed 10 years ago is different from the current rising incidence of drug abuse.
Abstract
One reason is the price drop and availability of cocaine. Also, the purity of cocaine has gone up, posing a significant danger to the user's health. From 1983 to 1986, cocaine-related hospital emergencies nearly tripled, and the number of cocaine-related deaths more than doubled. Surveys show that nearly 6 million Americans are current users of cocaine and more than 18 million are current users of marijuana. In the United States, drug use or distribution is involved in 20 percent of murders and rapes, 25 percent of auto thefts, 40 percent of robberies and assaults, and 50 percent of burglaries. The government has responded to this problem by (1) initiating large-scale international drug suppression programs, (2) engaging in aggressive eradication programs, (3) stepping up interdiction efforts by seizing drugs, (4) increasing intelligence-gathering capabilities, and (5) vigorously enforcing the asset forfeiture provisions of the 1984 Comprehensive Crime Control Act by seizing assets and forfeiting profits of drug dealers and traffickers. Local school officials have the opportunity to help young people remain drug free. If young people stay drug free until they are 21, the number of chronic drug addicts can be reduced by 50 percent.