Increase in Colombia’s Coca Crop May be Leading to Increasing Cocaine Use in U.S.

There are early signs that cocaine use and availability is on the rise in the United States for the first time in almost a decade, according to a new State Department report on the global narcotics trade. The increase may be due to an expansion in Colombia’s coca crop, according to The Washington Post.

The report notes that according to test samples of cocaine seized in the U.S., 90 percent originated in Colombia. The State Department said cocaine trafficking from Colombia is at record levels.

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the number of young Americans who admitted to trying cocaine for the first time increased 61 percent from 2013 to 2015. The survey found one in 20 American adults ages 18 to 25 used the drug in 2015.