7 States Where Cocaine is Used the Most

7 States Where Cocaine is Used the Most

It's not Wall Street power brokers or Silicon Valley tech giants. According to a recent survey, the highest cocaine use in the country is seen among residents of cities in the Rocky Mountain and Southwest regions of the United States.

According to the American Addiction Centers, Phoenix, Arizona, has the highest rate of cocaine use in the nation, with almost 23% of its adult population having used the drug at least once.

With almost 22.5 percent of respondents reporting having used the drug at some point, Mesa, Arizona, came in second. Additionally, both cities were among the top 10 cities in terms of the proportion of residents who had smoked marijuana.

With the exception of Phoenix, all of the cities on the list have populations under 632,000, although all reported cocaine consumption rates above 21%.

Cocaine has a strong potential for abuse but also has medical uses because it is classified as a Schedule Two drug by the Drug Enforcement Administration, which also places it in the same category as morphine and amphetamines, including those used to treat ADHD.

The 1980s saw a spike in cocaine use, particularly among the upper-middle class and wealthy, and a peak in illicit manufacturing and trafficking during that time.

Due to the explosive growth of opioids in the illegal drug market and the decline in the price of coca in Colombia, usage fell in the early 2010s. However, public health professionals have cautioned that the stimulant is making a huge resurgence.

​The following cities had the highest rates of cocaine use: Mesa, Omaha, Nebraska (22.2 percent), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (22%), and Las Vegas, Nevada (21.9 percent).

The cities with the highest percentage of people who have taken cocaine are Tulsa, Oklahoma; Wichita, Kansas; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Tucson, Arizona; and Fresno, California.

California , Arizona, Nevada, Nebraska , Kansas, Colorado and Oklahoma