Cocaine and Crack - Preferences
Virtually all
crack users have also used powder cocaine, only around
20% of powder cocaine users have ever smoked crack.
Consolidated
1998/1999 data
|
Ever/Never used (drug)
|
Never used Crack
|
Ever used Crack
|
Totals:
|
|
Never used Cocaine
|
1519
|
11
|
1530
|
|
Ever used Cocaine
|
1381
|
309
|
1690
|
|
Totals:
|
2900
|
320
|
3220
|
Initiation to cocaine/crack
The graph below
shows the relative rates of initiation (first use) of
drugs by year, i.e. the ration of the number first using
a particular drug, to the expected number based on age
and average age at first use of respondents during a particular
year. The relationship breaks down in the most recent
3 years due to the way the formula works (last updated
with 1998 data), but shows higher than average rates of
heroin initiation from 1974-84, and higher rates of crack
initiation from 1989-95.
Attitudes
to Crack & Cocaine (Subjective Ratings)
Respondents
were asked to give drugs ratings (marks out of ten), with
10 being the most positive, and 0 the most negative response
(5 being neutral). Attitudes towards both cocaine and
crack had become generally more positive in 1999 compared
to recent years, suggesting the drug to be gaining social
acceptability among drug users.
|
Year
|
1994
|
1997
|
1998
|
1999
|
|
Cocaine
|
5.47
|
5.55
|
5.70
|
6.17
|
|
Crack
|
2.09
|
2.06
|
1.82
|
2.53
|
Effects
of an arrest on attitudes towards, and use of cocaine/crack.
Those who had
been arrested for drug offences gave significantly higher
ratings for crack than those who had clean records.
|
Crack
- effect of arrest on attitudes
|
|
Arrest
|
Cannabis
|
No
|
Yes
|
Totals
|
|
Other
|
No
|
1.87
|
2.59
|
2.03
|
|
drug
|
Yes
|
4.06
|
2.82
|
3.07
|
| |
Totals
|
1.92
|
2.65
|
2.11
|
|
Drug
Use Status by Drug Arrest History
|
| |
Arrested
respondents
|
"Clean"
respondents
|
|
Drug
|
Current
users
|
Might
use
|
Never
use
|
Ceased
using
|
Current
users
|
Might
use
|
Never
use
|
Ceased
using
|
|
Cocaine
|
490
|
24
|
93
|
79
|
1037
|
197
|
469
|
121
|
|
Crack
|
110
|
37
|
317
|
37
|
151
|
91
|
1053
|
35
|
|
Heroin
|
209
|
32
|
263
|
61
|
237
|
91
|
1002
|
61
|
|
Bliss/Semeron
|
7
|
29
|
147
|
9
|
17
|
57
|
540
|
9
|
|
base
|
840
|
|
|
|
2782
|
|
|
|
|
Arrested/Clean
ratios
|
|
Drug
|
Total
Users
|
Might
Use
|
Never
Use
|
Given
up
|
|
Cocaine
|
1.56
|
0.40
|
0.66
|
2.16
|
|
Crack
|
2.41
|
1.35
|
1.00
|
3.50
|
|
Heroin
|
2.92
|
1.16
|
0.87
|
3.31
|
|
Bliss/Semeron
|
1.36
|
1.69
|
0.90
|
3.31
|
Those who had
been "busted" for drugs offences were significanty
more likely to be using heroin or crack cocaine, and were
35% more likely to be willing to try crack cocaine (and
69% more likely to be willing to try an unknown (fictitous)
drug) than users with clean records. Nearly 50% of crack
users first tried the drug after being arrested for offences
involving other drugs.
