Quantitative and qualitative changes in cocaine use among American high school seniors, college students, and young...

Based on the data presented in this chapter, there is clearly no cause for complacency about the problem of cocaine use among the Nation's youth. Lifetime prevalence is at a disturbingly high 15 percent among high school seniors and over 20 percent among college students. Prevalence is considerably higher, around 30 percent, among young adults in the age range of 19 to 28, and reaches nearly 40 percent for people in their late twenties. The use of cocaine is higher among males than among females; higher in the West and Northeast and lower in the North Central and South; and distinctly lower in rural, compared to more urban, areas. The prevalence figures made clear that cocaine use has by no means become a rare behavior among young people. And the new form, crack, has made substantial inroads among these populations. Among high school seniors, more than 1 in 20 have tried crack cocaine. Although these figures are very high, there is encouraging news in the slight downturn in prevalence that occurred in 1986 and particularly in the sharp decline in 1987. Clearly, these declines were not due to any reduction in perceived availability of cocaine, which actually increased. The declines appear to be due primarily to the increasing recognition that cocaine use is dangerous and caries substantial risk of harm. On the other hand, there is reason to be concerned about the situation with respect to crack cocaine. Some indicators suggest that use of crack cocaine is not declining to the same extent that other cocaine use is. Moreover, this study does not represent well the populations of inner cities, with their extraordinarily high dropout rates; it may well be that the epidemic is continuing to grow there.