Crack or Coke?

The expectation of this article was that smokers of crack cocaine would have more problems and complications with treatment, than intranasal users of cocaine. All of the participants for this study had to be at least eighteen or older, meet the criteria for being dependent on cocaine, and could not meet the criteria for bipolar disorder or dependent upon alcohol usage. Participants had to self-report substance use, as well as have urine toxicology screenings to see if the individual had traces of cocaine in their systems.

There were five different types of treatment, which was carried out for twelve weeks. This study contained four hundred and twelve cocaine-dependent treatment-seekers, majority of which reported that smoking was their method of using cocaine. The individuals were also divided up by their ethnicity when it came time to reporting the route of administration and usage. Most smokers were single and had had an anxiety disorder at one point in their lives.  Most intranasal users were younger and/or less experienced with using cocaine. Most arrest of cocaine users was Caucasian smokers, and most intranasal arrest was African Americans.

There were not any significant difference in the ASI between smokers and snorters. Within treatment, intranasal users tended to have better outcomes than smokers. They also tended to have longer stays in treatment, and had longer days of abstinence during the last two weeks of treatment.  Individuals that snorted cocaine also had better outcome twelve months after the treatment than smokers. The study also showed that smokers of crack were evenly distributed between Caucasians and African Americans, which contradicts other studies. Smokers also had more employment problems than intranasal users, which caused them to be financially dependent on others.

The sample sizes between smokers and intranasal users were not proportionate, which could have cause a skew in some of the findings throughout this study. Another aspect that could have skewed the results was the fact that users had to self-report when they used cocaine, because it is possible that some individuals were not truthful.

   

Abstract