Cocaine Surge
Cocaine production in Colombia has steeply increased, resulting in a profusion of cocaine in the U.S. and Europe.
Seizures of cocaine increased 10% in Orange County last year, says District Attorney David Hoovler, with poundage increasing as well as seizure numbers. That included 11 kg in May in “Operation Hot Lunch,” which involved use of a food truck in Newburgh and 10 other vehicles to distribute cocaine around Orange County. The investigation also found 10 guns with high capacity magazines, ammunition and 90 grams of fentanyl, all recovered by the Orange County Drug Task Force (OCDTF) and several other law enforcement agencies, local, state and federal. The operation resulted in 26 arrests.
Buyers were located around the county, Hoovler said. “The profit margin used to be with heroin, but people are afraid of heroin with fentanyl. Now the profit is with coke for the middlemen and wholesaler. The price is down when the market is flush.”
The source of the profusion of cocaine was identified by a recent Washington Post story, describing an “explosion in the cocaine industry, a trade that is far bigger and more geographically diverse than at any point in history. South America now produces more than twice as much cocaine as it did a decade ago. Cultivation of coca crops in Colombia, the origin of most of the world’s cocaine, has tripled, according to U.S. figures, and the amount of land used to grow the drug’s base ingredient is more than five times what it was when the infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar was killed in 1993.”
As for who the Orange County cocaine dealers’ customers are, Hoovler said, “Buyers are more well off and buy small amounts for recreational use.”
However, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found a 14.5 percent decrease in overdose deaths in the U.S. between June 2023 and June 2024, Hoovler said the numbers in Orange County had been “similar to past years,” and he didn’t know whether deaths were related to cocaine or heroin, since dealers may contaminate one drug with another, resulting in autopsies finding both in the victim’s system.
In Port Jervis, when asked about cocaine findings, Police Chief William Worden, said, “We have found no unusual upsurge in our cases specifically involving cocaine. Cocaine in powder and rock form and heroin with fentanyl remain prevalent within the Tri-State region,” perhaps reflecting longstanding growth.
However, just across the county border, in Pike County, Eastern Pike Regional Police Chief Chad Stewart said he had seen a “bump” in cocaine cases in the 25-50 age range. He attributed that to cocaine being “readily available and cheaper.”
Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin confirmed the increase in cocaine seizures over the last year.
“I’d suggest that less fatal overdoses shows a shift in the drug trade,” he said, noting that a district attorney in southeast Pennsylvania had “indicated a drop in overdose deaths from fentanyl.”
“Because overdose deaths bring heavy law enforcement investigations, dealers shift to cocaine and methamphetamine,” Tonkin deduced.
Meanwhile, between 2018 and 2022, cocaine overdose deaths in New York State increased by more than 125%, with other deaths from psychostimulants, such as methamphetamines rising by more than 268% during that same time frame, according to Evan Frost, spokesman for NYS Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS).
Rehabilitation centers in both New York and Pennsylvania also report encountering more cocaine users. Jeff Spitz, executive director of Restorative Management, with outpatient offices in Newburgh, Middletown, Port Jervis and Monticello, has seen a 20-30% increase in cocaine users showing up for treatment, he said. Some also take other stimulants, like methamphetamines and adderal.
“Cocaine gives a more intellectual and emotional high, not a physical addiction like opiates. We see synthetic opiates mixed in. The majority of clients come in because of the drug’s negative consequences. They were pulled over by police and want to avoid jail or they could lose their family, house or job. Unless negative consequences threaten, people rarely come in for treatment. Why would they come in?” Spitz said, referring to the appeal of the drug’s effects, which are addictive.
Heart attacks and strokes resulting from use of cocaine and other stimulants may also motivate users to pursue therapy, which is mostly talk therapy, Spitz says, as medication assisted treatment has not been developed for cocaine.
Shannon Wisniewski, supervisor at Carbon Monroe Pike Drug and Alcohol Commission, said she noticed a “flip” in clientele from clients with marijuana and opiate issues to those with stimulant use addictions.
“Maybe they had prior overdoses and had been using stimulants for two to three years, or over their life with other drugs and alcohol. Often they’re self-medicating for anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, trauma or PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder), with no prior treatment.”
Although, as she noted, cocaine and stimulants result in no physical withdrawal, according to OASAS, “Cocaine is a highly addictive substance with serious medical and mental health consequences. Despite these concerns, there are no Food and Drug Administration-approved medications for the treatment of cocaine use disorder (CUD). Although many medication-assisted treatments (MATs) have been investigated, no clear guidelines exist for clinicians treating patients with CUDs.”
Drugs for depression and insomnia may be used for related issues, as cocaine use often results in anxiety, sleeplessness, behavior changes and weight loss, Spitz said. Research also shows that long term cocaine use can damage metabolism. Because of the quick brief euphoria that cocaine, especially crack cocaine produces, addiction can be difficult to overcome and can result in an array of physical and mental health problems.
“While each individual is different and has different health outcomes and needs in treatment,” Frost, of OASAS said, “in general, cocaine use and addiction can lead to a range of health issues, including overdose, and potentially death. Other effects can vary based on underlying health conditions and an individual’s overall health, but can include heart problems, strokes, seizures, and new or worsening mental health conditions such as anxiety or depression. Cocaine dependence also increases suicide risk, according to a study in the American Journal of Psychiatry in August 2001.
“Stimulant use can cause or worsen pre-existing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular conditions, such as arrhythmias, cardiac ischemia, strokes, and seizures; or can cause or worsen pre-existing mental health conditions, such as anxiety, depression, and psychotic symptoms,” OASAS literature elaborated. “Overamping is a term that is widely used to describe adverse effects of use in which symptoms develop including psychosis, seizure, palpitations, hyperthermia, or cerebrovascular or cardiac events.”
Cocaine is sometimes laced with fentanyl, resulting in overdoses for which naloxone can be useful, but overdoses of cocaine alone are not remedied by naloxone.
Additional information about the health impacts of cocaine is available here, and OASAS provides this treatment information.
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Great article, thanks