According to the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), approximately 8.6 million Americans aged 12 or older reported trying crack cocaine at least once during their lifetimes, representing 3.5% of the population aged 12 or older. Additional 2007 NSDUH data indicate that approximately 1.5 million (0.6%) reported past year crack cocaine use and 610,000 (0.2%) reported past month crack cocaine use.4

Results of the 2007 Monitoring the Future survey indicate that 2.1% of eighth graders, 2.3% of tenth graders, and 3.2% of twelfth graders reported lifetime use of crack cocaine. In 2006, these percentages were 2.3%, 2.2%, and 3.5%, respectively.5

Percent of Students Reporting Crack Cocaine Use, 2006–2007

	8th Grade		10th Grade		12th Grade
	2006	2007	2006	2007	2006	2007
Past month	0.6%	0.6%	0.7%	0.5%	0.9%	0.9%
Past year	1.3	1.3	1.3	1.3	2.1	1.9
Lifetime	2.3	2.1	2.2	2.3	3.5	3.2

Approximately 68.3% of eighth graders, 76.0% of tenth graders, and 63.6% of twelfth graders surveyed in 2007 reported that taking crack cocaine occasionally was a "great risk."6

Percent of Students Reporting Risk of Using Crack Cocaine, 2007

Say "great risk" to:	8th Grade	10th Grade	12th Grade
Try crack once/twice	47.3%	56.4%	47.3%
Take crack occasionally	68.3	76.0	63.6

Approximately 1.3% of college students and 3.9% of young adults (ages 19-28) surveyed in 2007 reported lifetime use of crack cocaine.7

Percent of College Students/Young Adults Reporting Crack Use, 2006–2007

	College Students		Young Adults
	2006	2007	2006	2007
Past month	<0.05%	0.1%	0.3%	0.3%
Past year	1.0	0.6	1.1	1.0
Lifetime	2.3	1.3	4.4	3.9

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Health Effects

Cocaine is a strong central nervous system stimulant. Physical effects of cocaine use, including crack use, include constricted blood vessels and increased temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. Users may also experience feelings of restlessness, irritability, and anxiety.8

In addition to the usual risks associated with cocaine use, crack users may experience acute respiratory problems, including coughing, shortness of breath, lung trauma, and bleeding. Crack cocaine smoking also can cause aggressive and paranoid behavior.9

The duration of cocaine's immediate euphoric effects depends upon the route of administration. The faster the absorption, the more intense the high. Also, the faster the absorption, the shorter the duration of action. The high from snorting is relatively slow in onset, and may last 15 to 30 minutes, while that from smoking may last 5 to 10 minutes.10 Smoking crack delivers large quantities of the drug to the lungs, producing effects comparable to intravenous injection. These effects are felt almost immediately after smoking, are very intense, but do not last long.11

Cocaine is a powerfully addictive drug. A tolerance to the cocaine high may be developed and many addicts report that they fail to achieve as much pleasure as they did from their first cocaine exposure.12

Of an estimated 108 million emergency department (ED) visits in the U.S. during 2005, the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) estimates that 1,449,154 were drug-related. DAWN data indicate that all forms of cocaine were involved in 448,481 ED visits.13

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Treatment

Crack cocaine represented 71% of all primary cocaine admissions to treatment in 2006. From 1996 to 2006, the number of admissions to treatment in which crack was the primary drug of abuse decreased from 195,751 in 1996 to 178,475 in 2006. Crack admissions represented 11.9% of the total drug/alcohol admissions to treatment during 1996 and 9.9% of the treatment admissions in 2006. The average age of those admitted to treatment for crack cocaine during 2006 was 38 years. Additionally, 49% of primary crack admissions were African American, 41% were white, and 8% were Hispanic.14

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Arrests & Sentencing

During FY 2004, cocaine was the primary drug involved in Federal drug arrests. There were 12,166 Federal drug arrests for cocaine in FY 2004. The DEA made 7,082 arrests for powder cocaine and 3,921 arrests for crack cocaine during FY 2004.15

During FY 2007, there were 5,477 Federal defendants sentenced for crack cocaine-related charges in U.S. Courts. Approximately 95.8% of these cases involved crack cocaine trafficking. Approximately 0.6% of the crack cocaine cases involved simple possession.16

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Production & Trafficking

Crack is cocaine that has been processed from cocaine hydrochloride to a free base for smoking. Crack cocaine is processed with ammonia or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and water. It is then heated to remove the hydrochloride producing a form of cocaine that can be smoked.17

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Legislation

Cocaine (all forms) was first Federally-regulated in December 1914 with the passage of the Harrison Act. This Act banned the non-medical use of cocaine; prohibited its importation; imposed the same criminal penalties for cocaine users as for opium, morphine, and heroin users; and required a strict accounting of medical prescriptions for cocaine. As a result of the Harrison Act and the emergence of cheaper, legal substances such as amphetamines, cocaine became scarce in the U.S. However, use began to rise again in the 1960s, prompting Congress to classify it as a Schedule II substance in 1970.18

Schedule II substances have a high potential for abuse, a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States with severe restrictions, and may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.19 While cocaine can currently be administered by a doctor for legitimate medical uses, such as a local anesthetic for some eye, ear, and throat surgeries, there are currently no medical uses for crack cocaine.20

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Street Terms

21 Common Terms Associated with Crack

Term	Definition	Term	Definition
Bingers	Crack addicts	Oolies	Marijuana laced with crack
Geeker	Crack user	Rooster	Crack
Jelly beans	Crack	Tornado	Crack
Moonrock	Crack mixed with heroin	Wicky stick	PCP, marijuana, and crack

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Crack Facts & Figures

Overview

Extent of Use