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The way we snort now: with less frequency and with less potent cocaine. The Miami Herald crunched the numbers (which aren’t exactly anything new) and found cocaine use has declined in South Florida. That doesn’t mean the War on Drugs has actually worked. Of course not. We’re just doing cheaper drugs because we have less money.
The Herald says statistics like people rushed to the emergency room for coke-related overdoses, and the number of people seeking treatment for cocaine and crack addiction are both significantly down. Part of the reason? Cocaine is the most expensive drug per dose, and users are getting less bang for their buck. Today’s cocaine is considerably more watered down and cut than that pure yayo from the ’80s.
That’s all good and well, but South Floridians still love their drugs. As anyone who hasn’t been under a (crack) rock for the past few years knows, South Florida has been ground zero for pill mills cranking out prescriptions for things like oxycodone. Unsurprisingly, deaths related to prescription pills are on the rise. Crystal Meth also kills more Floridians each year than coke. So instead of doing the classics, Floridians are just doing hill billy heroin and white trash bathroom concoctions.
And of course, there’s the factor the Herald doesn’t tell you. South Florida still leads the state of Florida in most cocaine-related statistics.
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