10 cocaine facts

Cocaine is a powerfully addictive drug of abuse. Once having tried cocaine, users cannot predict or control the extent to they will continue to use the drug.

10 cocaine facts

1. Approximately 35.9 million Americans aged 12 and older have tried cocaine at least once in their lifetime, according to a national survey, and about 2.1 million Americans are regular users
2. It is estimated that 22 to 25 million people have tried Cocaine at least once
3. In 2001, cocaine purity declined by 8%, from 86% pure in 1998 to a 78% pure in 2001 (The decrease in purity indicates a decrease in the supply of cocaine in the United States)
4. Drug enforcement personnel estimate that about 2,500 Americans every day try cocaine for the first time
5.  Cocaine is the most frequently reported illicit substance associated with drug abuse fatalities and causes three times more deaths than any other illegal drug. However, prescription drug abuse has recently passed cocaine abuse as the leading cause of all drug-related deaths
6. The United States-Mexico border is the primary point of entry for cocaine shipments being smuggled into the United States
7. Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud is one of the more famous proponents of cocaine. After trying the drug for the first time in 1884, he recommended it as a useful treatment for depression, alcoholism, and morphine addiction
8. Men are more likely to use cocaine than women, as the drug is associated with living dangerously and wildly, but the gender gap is beginning to decrease. According to 2008 statistics, there are approximately 700,000 new male users each year in the U.S. and about 500,000 new female users
9. Pure cocaine was first used in the 1880's as a local anesthetic in eye, nose, and throat surgeries because of its ability to provide anesthesia as well as to constrict blood vessels and limit bleeding 
10. Approximately 10% of people who begin using cocaine will immediately progress to serious, heavy use of the drug