NSDUH: Cocaine use increases among young adults

Cocaine use increased among young adults on a national level and at state-level in 16 U.S. states, according to a recent report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

“Recent findings suggest that cocaine use may be reemerging as a public health concern in the United States,” Arthur Hughes, MS, of the Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality at SAMHSA, and colleagues wrote. “For example, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) indicates that in 2015, 968,000 people aged 12 or older initiated cocaine use in the past year (0.4% of the population), which was higher than in each of the years from 2008 to 2014. The 2015 estimate represented a 26% increase compared with 2014, with 766,000 new cocaine users in the past year (0.3% of the population), and a 61% increase compared with 2013, with 601,000 new cocaine users in the past year (0.2% of the population).”

To determine past-year estimates of cocaine use among adults aged 18 to 25 years in the U.S., researchers analyzed NSDUH data for 2014 to 2015 using a small area estimation methodology in which state-level data are combined with county and census block group/tract level data from the state.

Overall, an estimated 1.7 million young adults used cocaine in the past year. Cocaine use increased from 4.51% in 2013-2014 to 4.98% in 2014-2015.

Cocaine use ranged from 4.22% in the Midwest to 6.06% in the Northeast.

Among the 10 states with the highest rates of cocaine use among young adults, six were in the Northeast (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont), three were in the West (Arizona, Colorado, and Oregon), and one was in the South (Delaware).

States with the lowest rates of cocaine use were mostly in the South and Midwest.

Frances M. Harding

Sixteen states experienced an increase in cocaine use from 2013-2014 to 2014-2015, of which the majority were in the South (n = 6) and Northeast (n = 5).

Past-year cocaine use did not change among the remaining 34 states and Washington, D.C.

“These increases signal the need for states and communities to continue working together, educating and training others on the dangers of cocaine use,” Frances M. Harding, director of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention at SAMHSA, said in a press release. “Pursuing a comprehensive prevention strategy has proven to be our most effective approach to address substance use issues.” – by Amanda Oldt

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.

Reference:

Hughes A, et al. The CBHSQ report: State estimates of past year cocaine use among young adults: 2014 and 2015. Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Available at: http://www.samhsa.gov/data. Accessed December 20, 2016.