COCAINE FOUND ON MORE AREA AUTOPSIES

Cocaine was present in more Gainesville autopsy results in 2005 than
at any other time since the drug was first tracked 18 years ago,
according to an annual report from the state's medical examiners.

The 2005 findings for the Gainesville area mirrored results for the
state, the report released this month showed. There were 1,943 deaths
involving cocaine in both lethal and nonlethal levels, up from 1,702
in 2004 and 664 in 1987. The number of deaths where the person tested
positive for cocaine increased in 15 of the 24 medical examiner
districts around the state last year, including Gainesville,
Jacksonville, St. Petersburg, Orlando, St. Augustine and Miami.

"It is widely available. It is of high purity and it is relatively
inexpensive," said University of Florida toxicologist Bruce
Goldberger about cocaine.

Autopsies in 48 deaths, referred to the District 8 Medical Examiner's
Office in Gainesville, showed the presence of cocaine. That number
was more than triple the 15 cases in 2002. The district covers
Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy and Union counties.

The number of cases fell slightly from 22 in 2004 to 19 in 2005 in
the medical examiner's district for Columbia, Dixie, Lafayette and
Suwannee counties. The 2004 results were the highest ever reported in
that district since data were first collected on cocaine.

Gainesville Police Lt. Bart Knowles with the department's Special
Investigations Division said prices for cocaine haven't changed much
in this area. Generally, an ounce of cocaine runs from $750 to
$1,200, depending on its purity and the supply.

He said he believes the drug is more addictive than others, leading
to its ongoing and apparently rising use.

Florida's growing population is another factor in the number of
deaths statewide, officers and doctors said.

Goldberger and Steven Karch, a retired cardiac pathologist and the
author of more than a half dozen books on the history and effects of
cocaine use, said the rising number of deaths where cocaine was found
is linked to the drug's effects on both the brain and heart after
long-term use.

Cocaine was found most often in Florida autopsies of people 35 to 50
years old in both lethal and nonlethal levels. The second highest age
group was 26 to 34.

"What's finally happened is there's enough (cocaine) around and it's
cheap enough for people to use on a regular basis," Karch said.

Don Ugliano, special agent supervisor for the Florida Department of
Law Enforcement's Gainesville field office, said many factors from
cost to availability could be driving cocaine sales.

Officers from around the area are involved in drug task forces,
Ugliano said. He also is trying to designate Gainesville as a
High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, meaning additional federal
money would be available to pay officers working on drug
investigations and to buy equipment.

As in previous years, prescription drugs continued to be found more
often than illegal drugs in both lethal and nonlethal levels in
autopsies, the medical examiners' report stated.

The three drugs from all the categories considered the most lethal
were heroin, methadone and fentanyl, meaning more than 50 percent of
the deaths investigated were caused by the drug when it was found in
an autopsy. However, heroin was identified in fewer cases than last years.

Except for the decrease in heroin findings, Goldberger said, "I don't
think there are any really positive findings in this report."