Cocaine Use Increasing, More Dangerous

(Summer 2018) According to the most recent Quest Diagnostic Drug Testing Index™, positive tests for cocaine among American employees have escalated for the past five years across all sample types. The rise in cocaine use is even more concerning when coupled with the fact that drug overdose fatalities are climbing due to cocaine that has been mixed with fentanyl. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) revealed that 7% of cocaine confiscated in New England during 2017 also contained the powerful opioid. This is 4% higher than in 2016. Connecticut has witnessed deaths due to the deadly combination more than quadruple over the past three years.

The DEA notes that individuals generally spike cocaine with fentanyl to “speedball.” Users then experience the stimulating effects of cocaine while at the same time feeling the impact of a nervous-system depressant. In other cases, fentanyl may be inadvertently combined with cocaine when being prepared for distribution. It is also suspected that drug cartels may be cutting cocaine with fentanyl to widen the population of individuals succumbing to opioid addiction.

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