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  Pass A Drug Test for Cocaine Drugs

Cocaine

Street terms for cocaine: blow, nose candy, snowball, tornado, wicky stick1

What are the different forms of cocaine?

  • White crystalline powder

  • "Crack" or "rock" cocaine is an off-white chunky material.

How is cocaine used?

  • Powder cocaine is generally snorted or dissolved in water and injected.

  • Crack cocaine is usually smoked.2

Who uses cocaine?

  • Cocaine is the second most commonly used illicit drug in the United States.

  • About 10 percent of Americans over the age of 12 have tried cocaine at least once in their lifetime, about 2 percent have tried crack, and nearly one percent is currently using cocaine.3

How does cocaine get to the United States?

  • The United States-Mexico border is the primary point of entry for cocaine shipments being smuggled into the United States.

  • Organized crime groups based in Colombia control the worldwide supply of cocaine.4

How much does cocaine cost?

  • Cocaine prices depend upon the purity of the product.

  • In 2001, cocaine purity declined by 8 percent, from 86 percent pure in 1998 to a 78 percent pure in 2001. The decrease in purity indicates a decrease in the supply of cocaine in the United States.5

  • Cocaine remained low and stable, which suggests a steady supply to the United States.

  • Nationwide, prices ranged from $12,000 to $35,000 per kilogram.6

What are some consequences of cocaine use?

  • Cocaine is powerfully addictive.7

  • Smoking crack can cause severe chest pains with lung trauma and bleeding.8

  • The mixing of cocaine and alcohol create cocaethylene while increasing risk of sudden death.9

  • Cocaine-related deaths are often a result of cardiac arrest or seizures followed by respiratory arrest.10

Detection of Cocaine in Urine

Cocaine is one of the most abused drugs in the United States. Isolated in 1859 and brought to attention through a series of papers by Dr. Sigmund Freud, cocaine was subsequently adopted as a useful topical anesthetic. Its non prescriptive use was illegalized by the Harrison Act of 1914.

Pharmacological Effects
Generally, 50-100 mg of cocaine is necessary for intranasal "snorting" associated with a "high". Cocaine injected intravenously is often mixed with heroin, referred to as "speed balling". Cocaine, in the form of a very pure free base, "crack" is smoked in a pipe. The more direct and concentrated the route of administration, the faster habituation occurs. Euphoric feelings produced by cocaine eventually give way to depression, paranoia, habituation, and other dysfunctions. Primates (monkeys), given the choice between cocaine and food, have died while continuously choosing cocaine. Clearly a dangerous drug, cocaine is not a cheap or easy high, has serious addictive properties, and societal consequences.

Laboratory Methods
Cocaine and its primary metabolite benzoylecgonine are routinely detected by a variety of laboratory techniques. TOX.NET LABORATORIES utilizes the immunoassays for initial screening with confirmation of positives by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS).

Cutoff and Detection Post Dose
The initial screening cutoff level is 300 ng/ml for cocaine and its metabolite benzoylecgonine. Use of cocaine for euphoria may result in positive urines above this level for 48-72 hours post dose. Longer times will be observed in the habituated person using large quantities. The GC/MS cutoff level is 150 ng/ml.


More About Cocaine

Colombian Cocaine Purity (seized in the United States): 1998=86.0%, 2001=77.7% Declining Cocaine Purity Levels Are a Step in the Right Direction

Purity levels of Colombian cocaine are declining, according to an analysis of samples seized from traffickers and bought from street dealers in the United States. The purity level has declined by eight percent, from 86 percent in 1998, to 78 percent 2001.

 


 


Recent Cocaine Cases

Law Enforcement Deals Major Blow to Crack Organizations
North Charleston Drug Dealers Taken Off the Street

photo - crack cocaine The DEA has announced the indictment and arrest of 19 persons involved in multiple large scale crack cocaine distribution organizations in North Charleston, South Carolina. In addition to the 19 subjects who were indicted on federal drug charges, an additional 11 persons involved with these organizations were charged with violations of the drug laws of South Carolina. The indictments and arrests are the result of an 8-month cooperative law enforcement effort.

North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey stated "We are very pleased that the Drug Enforcement Administration recognized our need for assistance to rid our streets of drug traffickers. Today's events are the culmination of many months of our combined efforts. With DEA's further assistance in addressing the demand for drugs we will now return to these communities to begin the process of rebuilding them."

1Office of National Drug Control Policy, Street Terms: Drugs and the Drug Trade.
2National Institute on Drug Abuse, Infofax: Crack and Cocaine, October 2001.
3Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Summary of Findings from the
2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, September 2001.
4Drug Enforcement Administration, Drug Trafficking in the United States, September 2001.
5Drug Enforcement Administration, STRIDE Report, August 2002.
6Office of National Drug Control Policy, Pulse Check: Trends in Drug Abuse, November 2001.
7Office of National Drug Control Policy, Drug Facts: Cocaine, May 2002.
8Drug Enforcement Administration, Drug Descriptions: Cocaine.
9National Institute on Drug Abuse, Infofax: Crack and Cocaine, October 2001.
10Office of National Drug Control Policy, Drug Facts: Cocaine, May 2002.

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