Here in my neighborhood it is. Cocaine and it's paraphernalia seem to be all to much out in the open. I belong to my neighborhood watch program and have mentioned that convenience stores throughout my city have crack pipes and drug sales related (tiny little zip-locks, the size of a quarter) items for sale right at the register for everyone and anyone to purchase or view. Nothing has been done, I'm told the retailers can sell what they like..
These are sold with little fake flowers in them to thinly veil the intended use of the glass container, I have seen many folks just toss the fake flower as soon as they buy it.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/ghs-newsservice/archive/x469083059/g0000005fd960c990d156ee5790823c2d5d862f06b1053c.jpg

These tiny bags are sold as "Convenient for Jewelry and Coins!" $1.99 for a package of 50, of course they are empty and neatly packaged. This whole subject in my neighborhood really gets under my skin.
http://z.about.com/d/alcoholism/1/0/F/v/1/cocaine07.jpg
Permalink | Report

It is highly unlikely that it is 100% of the bills that have traces of cocaine, unless they are polluted.

Either whoever prints the bill, or whoever did the study, or collected the bills for the study hired someone who polluted the bills(unintentional, probably).

It could also be that the test was too small, or collected bills from an area where cocaine usage is common.

For 100% of the bills to have traces of cocaine is statistically unlikely.
Source(s):
Maths class

Permalink | Report

What happens *so I've heard* is that when money contaminated with Cocaine (a very fine powder) enters an ATM machine (or something similar), the Cocaine spreads into the ATM. Thereafter, every bill that passes through that machine picks up some of the drug. Although Cocaine may not be common place in all cities, money is- as long as money is circulating, so is the Cocaine on them!
Permalink | Report

This is my theory about Cocaine traces in Dollar bills.

Cocaine cannot be purchased using credit cards, so it is obvious that they have to be purchased using bills. It is obvious that these bills go through drug dealers and have a definitive chances of it taining the bills with traces. These people buy goods using the dollar bills (again because it is illegal and unaccounted) and thus the dollar bills with cocaine traces spreads throughout the community.

Some people use dollar bills to snort cocaine because its easier to roll up a bill and use it to snort or smoke than carry the snorting rod and getting caught. Thus the noted get traces of cocaine and make it into the community through these people.

My point, cocaine use is not wide spread, but it finds it way into the community in traces. Imagine if we have a swine flu like virus eventually passing through cocaine, innocent ppl getting affected :(
Source(s):
My Fried Brain

Permalink | Report

According to one site, drug use is highest in the age bracket of 18-25, and the highest percentage users are American Indians and/or Alaskan natives, with a rate of use of 2 percent (hard to believe for me). For the other groups: 1.6 percent for African Americans, 0.8 percent for Caucasians, 0.8 percent for Hispanics, 0.6 percent for Pacific Islanders and/or Native Hawaiians and 0.2 percent for Asians.

Drug-statistics.com reports that college students have been increasing their use of cocaine - up to 4.8 percent from 2 percent in 1994.

http://www.cocaineabuse.us/statistics-facts.html

Since the detection methods that can be used by scientist can be very senstive, down to 15 parts per billion with gas chromatography - mass spectroscopy methodology, small levels of contamination of bills could be easily possible - and it would only take a small proportion of the population to assist in the cross-contamination (albeit in a micro-detectable scale) of our paper money.

What was not certain from the study cited in the question, is the sensitivity of the assays and the average levels of cocaine found in the bills. Using other tests, sensitivity of testing ranges as low as 30 parts per billion, also extremely low.

(If you read the attached abstract from a scientific study of cocaine detection methods, you will see numbers like 30 micrograms/L, which is equivalent to 30 ppb.)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14606993
Source(s):
in text

Permalink | Report

Drugs in our cities, what an outrage! Or is it outside of some very tight knit rural communites and maybe a few cults it would be very hard to find anyone without some experience with drugs wether that means personal use or use by a close family member or friend. Hell when I was in high school it was easier to get weed than beer.
The real problem is America's "War on Drugs" It should really be called the "War on Poor People" Since the begining of time man has used drugs and alchohol as a form of escapism for the poor and downtrodden. This "crime" is seen as a public problem and not an individual choice. But if it is so bad why isn't it prosecuted evenly across the board? There are 15-20 times more people in prison for crack than for straight up cocaine. Is it becase crack is a worse choice or is it because crack is more closely associated wth the poor , the inner cities and ,lets face it, minorities?
If nearly all of our paper money (avg life span between 16-24 months for denominations of $1 to $20) is contaminated with drugs it certainly points to a lot of people doing a lot of drugs. Should all these people be labeled as criminals? Most use for themselves and can do so while remaining productive members of society. It is the few that cannot handle daily life that make it seem as if drugs are some evil force just waiting to destroy your life (note: I'm sure some of these people cannot handle real life even without recreational drugs) Also we should not forget that there are plenty of people going through their day high on prescription drugs but thas OK cause the govt gets its share I guess.
Permalink | Report

This is very old news. Studies were conducted by Drug Enforcement Agency in 1980...reported that a great majority of $50. & $100. U.S. currency had traces of cocaine...once it penetrates the fibers, it cannot be removed absent chemical procedure....the high rollers were using the top currency to impress their freinds and influence people!
Source(s):
DEA, experienced drug trial attorney.

Permalink | Report

It's not that a large populace of Americans are using blow. It's just that the traces of blow are easily detectable in even the most miniscule amounts.

Let's say one dealer rolled a $20 bill and let's say that this particular dealer used it to buck a rail. Then lets say that when he got home, he was short on his base cash because he went on a spending frenzy. Most likely the dealer would use the $20 that he previously rolled and put it towards his base cash. So, then let's pretend that the dealer stacked his $20 dollar bills in increments of 50 to make a thousand dollars. In the stack of 50 bills, one of them has a large amount of cocaine all over it, and that stack rubs against more stacks, traces of the drug are going to spread onto potentially, hundreds of bills.

As, coltech88 said above, this cocaine can be traced down to 15 ppb. When any of those bills that the dealer had exchanges hands... whether it be at a convenience store, or from peer to peer, any other bill that it touches, would have a trace of the cocaine from the original snort. The traces of cocaine would spread at an exponential rate.

It's an STD! Ack!
Permalink | Report

Sounds to me like a challenge for the MythBusters. Although, I'm not sure they'd take on an illicit drug myth
Source(s):
http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/mythbusters.html

Permalink | Report

Yes in fact that is very possible due to the fact that one of the ways to take that drugs these days are everywhere. which is in fact very terrible.
Permalink | Report

Most people use debit or credit these days. Most places cash winds up in is in black markets, Drug market and sex market, all places where cash can go in and out without a trace. I wouldn't worry much about cocaine on your dollar bill when you can bet your bottom dollar( Sorry, had to use the pun) Its been in some strippers buttcrack, up some druggies nose and handled by many men and women who do not wash their hands after doing their buisness. Money is filthy, point blank.

But to answer your question, drug use is prominent all over the world. Since there is no longer such a thing as "pure cocaine", It is "watered down" with so much other crap that practically anyone can afford it these days. Also with all the s--t happening with the economy and stuff, depression and anxiety have gone up so people could be turning to a cheaper and more obtainable way to numb their pain.
Permalink | Report