What Causes the State to be so High on the Cocaine List?
During the 2022 midterm election, candidates for office in Colorado practiced some mudslinging. Instead of ads telling voters what each candidate would do, it seemed as if the advertising was focused on making opponents look bad.
One example of this could be seen in the governor’s race. Incumbent Governor Jared Polis focused on opponent Heidi Ganahl’s beliefs when it came to abortion and her connections with former president Donald Trump. Ganahl tried to point out all the bad things that have happened in the state and blame them on Polis’ leadership.
One of the main issues Ganahl focused on was the drug problem, specifically the fact that Colorado has the highest cocaine use rate out of all the other states in the country. In fact, the statistic was used in several campaign ads for Ganahl including billboards across the state and television and radio commercials.
At one point it was hard to go anywhere without hearing how Coloradans use more cocaine than people in any other state. The campaign ads blamed Polis and Democratic policies that have released more criminals from jail and lowered the penalties for possessing drugs.
Surveys Show More People in Colorado Admitted to Using Cocaine than in any Other State
Determining the exact usage rates of an illicit drug is difficult because not every user is going to admit to using an illegal narcotic. The statistics discussed are based on a survey conducted every year by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration.
The survey goes out to several people over the age of 12 and it asks them a variety of questions including if they have used illegal drugs and what narcotics they used. And as Fox 31 reported last August, the survey indicated that 2.24 percent of the state’s population over the age of 12 reported using cocaine in the last year. This statistic puts Colorado number one in the country followed by New Hampshire, Vermont, New York and California.
How can the Government be Blamed?
During the campaign, the Republican candidate pointed to Polis’ administration. The main thing she claimed that caused the high cocaine use was the passing of House Bill 19-1263, which went into effect in March 2020.
The bill essentially lowered the criminal penalties for small possessions of all illegal drugs within the state. Now, 4 grams or less of any Schedule I or Schedule II narcotic including meth, cocaine and heroin is only a misdemeanor charge instead of a felony.
According to an article published by KOAA News5, proponents of the bill claimed that the law change would help people struggling with addiction. But, others said that the bill would have the opposite effect and fewer people would seek treatment.
Colorado is not New to High Cocaine Use Numbers
However, even though cocaine use data shows that Colorado is the number one state, high cocaine usage is not a new thing for the state. 5280.com reported in 2005 that the state was the first in the country for cocaine use with those over 12 years of age.
The article used data compiled over two years (2002-2003) by the National Survey on Drug Use & Health and found that 3.9 percent of people over 12 had admitted to using cocaine. And Colorado and Arizona were the only two states that ranked in the top five for all three age groups, 12-17, 18-25, and 26 and older.
In fact, a Colorado Drug Threat Assessment that was completed by the National Drug Intelligence Center in May 2003 reported that cocaine was “a significant drug threat to Colorado.” According to the data, a survey conducted in 1999 and 2000 reported that 2.5 percent of residents over 12 reported abusing cocaine in the year prior to the survey. The national average during that same time period was 1.6 percent.
The drug threat assessment also reported that cocaine is the drug most often associated with violence in the state. This mostly has to do with the fact that cocaine distributors often resort to violence to protect their distribution operations or to collect debts.
Reasons for High Cocaine Usage
The threat assessment points out that powdered cocaine is readily available all throughout Colorado. The assessment reports that 38 of 68 law enforcement leaders across the state reported that cocaine was highly available in their jurisdictions.
According to an article published by The Recovery Village in Palmer Lake’s website, there are a few things that could be to blame for Colorado’s cocaine problem. “Colorado’s location may be partly responsible for its high cocaine use,” the article reported. “Easy access to eight different interstates and a central location make it an ideal spot for drug dealers crossing the borders to the north or south of the United States. Because of the state’s proximity to drug-production sites in California and Arizona, traffickers are easily able to transport illicit substances into Colorado via vehicles, package-delivery services and even aircraft.”
Others have claimed that cocaine-use rates increased after the state legalized marijuana and allowed recreational sales starting in 2014. But, most evidence does not suggest that this is the case.
According to Aspen Ridge Recovery’s website, states that have legalized marijuana have not shown drastic changes in substance use. “Cocaine use stayed relatively even since legalization,” the website post published in October 2021 reported. “In the four states where marijuana is legal, cocaine use fluctuated between 2 to 3 percent, a steady rate over the last five years.”
[…] Interstates 25 and 70 running through the state are major drug trafficking channels. Last March, The Maverick Observer reported that Colorado is number one in cocaine use across the country. Large amounts of other drugs like fentanyl have also been found in the state in increasing numbers […]