The abuse of recreational drugs, both licit (e.g., alcohol and nicotine) and illicit (e.g. cocaine,
marijuana) by athletes far outweighs their abuse of performance-enhancing drugs (e.g.
anabolic steroids). The situation is not unique to athletes; many factors contribute to
recreational drug use. They include age, genetics, family influences, peer pressure,
education and mental health factors.
The abuse of cocaine in sports first attracted national attention in 1986 with the cocainerelated
sudden deaths of basketball star Len Bias and football star Don Rogers. The use of
cocaine at the collegiate athlete level peaked in the mid-1980s at about 17 percent, and fell
dramatically over the ensuing decade to less than two percent. While many factors are at
play motivating an athlete to use cocaine, several points are particularly noteworthy. First,
cocaine is generally not used to enhance performance. Second, athletes are thought to be
vulnerable to recreational substance abuse because of some combination of the following
variables: fame, fortune, free time and a feeling of invincibility.
Derived from the coca plant, cocaine is a naturally occurring ecgonine alkaloid. Cocaine
hydrochloride is the form of the drug that is inhaled. However, it decomposes when heated.
Freebased cocaine and crack cocaine (both lacking the hydrochloride), are heat stable, and
therefore are smoked.
Cocaine’s effects on the brain are complex and share many similarities with amphetamine.
Many of its effects relate to its ability to interfere with the neurotransmitters in the brain,
particularly dopamine and norepinephrine.
Most abusers of cocaine inhale, or “snort,” the drug. Recreational users may snort as much
as one to three grams per week. Smoking crack or free-based cocaine is the fastest way of
getting the drug to the brain. Euphoria can occur within three to five minutes and last for less
than ten minutes. Addicted individuals can “binge” as frequently as every ten minutes to
maintain a sensation of intense euphoria.