Book Digest: Ten Years of Cocaine: A Follow-up Study of 64 Cocaine Users in Amsterdam, Cops across Borders: The Internationalization of U.S. Criminal Law Enforcement

• Published date: 01 July 1994
• Date: 01 July 1994
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/002204269402400315
• Subject Matter: Book Digest

BOOK

DIGEST

Cohen,

Peter

and

Arjan

Sas. Ten Years

of

Cocaine: A Follow-up Study

of

64

Cocaine Users in Amsterdam. Amsterdam: Department of Human

Geography, University of Amsterdam, 1993, 128 pp., Dfl. 32.50 (including

postage), paperbound.

This study followed-up the authors original study in 1987 of 160 experienced

"non-deviant" cocaine users in Amsterdam. A main conclusion of the 1987

study was that despite many negative side effects, a very large majority of the

investigated users gave no evidence of "ever losing control." The incidence of

negative effects corresponded to the level of use. The authors speculate this

may have been why only 2 %of the respondents consumed cocaine at a high

use level (2.5 g a week or more) when interviewed.

The follow-up study aimed at examining the original respondents use patterns

since they were first seen in 1987. Specifically, did a proportion of the

original respondents develop problem-related patterns of use?

If

this

happened, what kind of problems were experienced and in what proportion of

the sample? To examine the reliability of self-report data, the authors also

asked some test-retest questions relating to respondents' cocaine and other

drug use. Basically the same interview schedule was used in 1991 as in 1987.

As also found by Murphy et al., 1989 and Erickson 1992, in their longitudinal

studies of community-sampled cocaine users, the authors concluded that the

main tendency of experienced cocaine users over time is toward decreasing

levels of use, stability of low level use, and abstinence. Evidence was found

that a proportion of the non-abstinent follow-up respondents (6% of the total

follow-up group) had encountered difficulties with their use of cocaine. All

but one continued cocaine use at moderate levels or quit cocaine without

seeking help. The authors conclude that the absence of police intervention in

individual cocaine use and small scale distribution does not necessarily create

a large group of cocaine users unable to control their levels and consequences

of abuse.

Nadelmann,

Ethan

A. Cops Across Borders: The Internationalization

of

u.s.

Criminal Law Enforcement. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State

University Press, 1993, pp. 254, $16.95, paperbound.

This book was originally intended to examine the evolution of U.S.

international drug control policies. From his early focus on the role played by

the U.S. State Department, the author's intent and attention soon shifted to the

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the nature and challenges of all

criminal justice efforts with an international dimension. Although the DEAs

worldwide presence appeared unique in both international relations and

enforcement of American drug laws, the author found that the challenges

facing the agency and its basic function had many historical parallels and

antecedents both in and outside the U.S. By no means was the DEA found to

be the only agency involved in operating undercover in foreign countries.

The author found a largely unexamined, large scale intersection of criminal

justice and international relations. A sparse literature on transnational crime

568 JOURNAL OF DRUG ISSUES