Cocaine and crack in Amsterdam: Diverging subcultures

Recreational cocaine use spread rapidly in Amsterdam at the end of the 1970 s, particularly as a "party drug" in clubs and discotheques. At the end of the 1980s, the role of cocaine as party drug was largely taken over by ecst asy. In contrast first cocaine and then crack cocaine increased in populari ty among heroin addicts and marginalized street youth, including homeless y outh and young prostitutes. Today, experimental use of crack is also observ ed among young people from socially deprived neighborhoods, especially amon g ethnic minorities. This article describes, mainly on the basis of ethnogr aphic studies among these groups, the evolving and diverging patterns of us e among trendsetting party youth and their marginalized counterparts. Impor tant differences may be observed between groups related to socio-economic b ackground, the role cocaine plays in their lives, transmission routes, and different operating market mechanisms influenced by drug policy. For party youth, cocaine use mainly serves recreational purposes. In contrast, for pr oblem youth, cocaine, and now especially crack, contribute to multi-problem behavior within the context of their marginalized lifestyles.