CRIMINAL ACTIVITY AND CRACK ADDICTION

The association of crack and criminal activity is commonly believed but not well documented or characterized in any systematic studies of crack addicts. In this survey of 200 crack addicts, daily use of crack correlated more with illicit, criminal activities to obtain a supply of crack than to demographic features. Correspondingly, felony and cocaine dealing was associated with total dollars spent on cocaine but not to other demographic features such as level of property or affluence. Moreover, the majority of crack addicts in this sample used cocaine intranasally before starting crack use. The mean age from onset of crack use to seeking help for cocaine addiction is less than 3 years. Severity of crack use and addiction as measured by daily use was associated with psychosocial consequences more than other demographic features.