COCAINE

Cocaine, also referred to ask 'coke' and 'blow' is a psychostimulant - meaning

it speeds up the central nervous system and the messages going between the brain and

the body. There are three different forms of cocaine; the most common form is cocaine

hydrochloride, a white, crystalline powder. Cocaine hydrochloride is predominately

'snorted', but can also be injected, rubbed into an individuals gums, or added to

drink/food. Other forms of cocaine are freebase (lower purity white powder) and crack

(cocaine crystals), which are usually smoked. Upon consumption, the user may

experience increased happiness, confidence, alertness, sex drive, blood pressure and

heart rate, as well as unpredictable, violent or aggressive behaviour, reduced appetite

and/or indifference to pain. High doses and frequent heavy use can also cause ‘cocaine

psychosis’, characterised by paranoid delusions, hallucinations and out of character

aggressive behaviour. These symptoms usually disappear a few days after the person

stops using cocaine.

Cocaine Use Statistics

In 2018, around 2 in 5 EDRS participants had reported using cocaine, at a median frequency of three times in the past 180 days. This rate and frequency of cocaine use is significantly higher than use in the past 5 years of the EDRS study, and consistent with rates of use in prior to this (one-third to one-half of participants using the drug in 2009-2011

In 2018, the majority of consumers continued to regard cocaine as ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’ to access; however, there seemed to be an increase in availability compared to previous years
Tasmania Police seizures of cocaine over the past three years have been greater in both number and weight than the last decade (average 19 seizures, 122g per annum in 2014/15-2016/17 compared with 2 seizures, 24g per annum over the 2007/08-2013/14)

In 2018, around 1 in 10 IDRS participants had reported using cocaine, at a median frequency of three times in the past 180 days. The rate and frequency of cocaine use has been consistently low among IDRS participants over the past decade. This is also apparent in data from the Tasmanian needle and syringe program

The low level of use of cocaine is clearly suggestive of low availability of the drug locally. However, Tasmania Police seizures of cocaine over the past three years have been greater in both number and weight than the last decade (average 19 seizures, 122g per annum in 2014/15-2016/17 compared with 2 seizures, 24g per annum over the 2007/08-2013/14)

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