DIP IN COCAINE PRICES INCREASES ITS DEMAND

It's a never-ending, always changing cycle that agitates the heart, can
cause the shakes and can even be fatal.

Powdered cocaine is a stimulant drug with powerful side effects, both
mental and physical, and it is once again gaining popularity.

Cheaper prices and a surplus in supply are two of the main reasons for the
drug's resurgence, according to the latest report from The Ohio Substance
Abuse Monitoring Network.

"Cocaine was really popular in the '70s, but then everyone started to hear
about people dying. Really, the education worked in the '70s, and the use
of powdered cocaine went way down," said Stacey Frohnapfel Hasson, a
spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services.

"Now we have a new generation of people who are turning towards powdered
cocaine because they haven't heard much about it. We have to start over
again - that's the way it is with drug prevention," she said.

For the most part, accessibility to the drug continues to increase
throughout the state. The latest data suggests a significant decrease in
price has led to the recent popularity of powdered cocaine.

The price of a gram of powdered cocaine has essentially been cut in half
over the last year. What used to cost $80 to $100 a gram can now be found
for only $40 to $60.

Drug dealers are pushing the drug more because of an excess in the crop.
Supply is driving the market, said Paul H. Coleman, president and CEO of
Maryhaven, an alcohol and drug treatment center.

"All of this goes in cycles, and it is driven not only by user demand, but
actually more so by dealer supply," said Coleman. "People need to
understand that when they are being asked to use drugs, they are being
asked to support criminals who don't care that the use of these drugs ruin
people's lives."

The increasing availability can be found in both active and recovering drug
users, according to the report.

Data from the Columbus Division of Police Narcotics Interdiction Unit has
shown a one to 10 increase in the number of cocaine presses seized during
the first nine months of 2002 - averaging about one per month.

Although powdered cocaine has traditionally been glamorized by Hollywood
and professional athletes, it is no longer the trend.

Today's drug use can be found in all age groups and social-economic classes.

Drug users undergoing treatment have reported a new wave of users hitting
suburban high school students; however, powdered cocaine is still prevalent
among 20- to early 30-year-old club-goers.

Another surprising trend that seems to be on the rise is the number of 30-
to 50-year-old working class professionals and housewives who have taken up
the drug.

"(Addiction) affects people regardless of race, education, class or
income," Coleman said. "It can take somebody who is under a bridge in San
Francisco or it can take a major league ball player."

Many powdered cocaine users are under the misconception that it is a safe
drug, Frohnapfel Hasson said. Within the user community, there are both
positive and negative stigmas attached to the various methods of use and
forms of the drug.

"Because people think there is less of a problem with snorting something,
(users) are more likely to try powdered cocaine, even if they haven't done
it in the past," she said. "It's seen as being safer than crack. There's
really no reason to make that assumption, but people have it anyway."

Even though there is not a standard means of controlling the drug's flow,
there are more than 120 anti-drug coalitions fighting to bring awareness to
individual communities.