NCJ Number
172387
Date Published
1998
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study examined the consequences of cocaine use and patterns of controlled use in a community sample of 100 multi-mode users in Toronto, Canada.
Abstract
Although use at least 10 times in the past year was a criterion for inclusion in the study, at the time of interviews nearly one-third had not used cocaine in the past 3 months. The overall pattern was for a peak followed by a drop-off in both amount and frequency of use compared to initial periods of experimentation and heaviest use. Most had quit or reduced their use without professional help, suggesting that the natural history of cocaine use is a self-limiting phenomenon of relatively short duration. Fear of adverse health, social, and financial consequences, rather than concern for legal consequences, was the most important influence on this de- escalation. One implication of this study is that potential and early-stage cocaine users need accurate information about both the pleasures and pitfalls of this seductive drug. Given the lack of deterrent effect of a prohibitionist criminal law, along with its personal, social, and economic costs to society, a more rational drug policy would focus on the risks and benefits of cocaine and other illicit drug use in all its forms and aim to reduce the actual harms users do to themselves and the community. 13 references, 3 tables, and 2 figures