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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (June 4, 1984)
This is the final Emerald for Spring term. See you on June 18 Oregon daily emerald Monday, June 4, 1984 Eugene, Oregon Volume 85, Number 168 Ducks win NCAA. It was a perfect end to the 1984 track season. )im Hill, after finishing third in the 5,000, leads his teammates in hoisting the championship trophy high for the crowd of over 14,000. And after the showing-off, it was a quick dip in the steeplechase pit for coach Bill Dellinger. The Ducks were predicted to finish second behind Washington State University; but in the end, the Ducks depth did in the Cougars. Led by Joaquim Cruz' first-place double in the 800 and 1,500 and Kory Tarpenning's unexpected second in the pole vault, the Ducks finished with 113 points to WSU's 9415. Story and photo on page 14. Photo by Mark Pynes Cocaine: it's not just for rich folk anymore By Jolayne Houtz of the Emerald Few people would spend $500 for a gold ring they could keep only one night. But an ounce of cocaine is four times as expensive as an ounce of gold, and more than a few students would be will ing to lay out that kind of cash for a one night coke spree, according to several campus-area dealers. Despite the expense, cocaine is no longer a "rich man's drug," and demand is high, especially for the growing number of occasional users who buy the drug for special events, such as the re cent Clash concert. "For a Tuesday night, demand was way up (for the Clash concert) — it isn't necessarily used solely on the weekends anymore," says a former student cocaine dealer who asked not to be identified. Costs vary according to the dealer's connections and the drug's quality, but cocaine is usually $30 per quarter-gram, $55 per half-gram and $110 a full-gram. Although cocaine generally originates in Bolivia and Columbia, the best tends to come from Peru. "Word has it that it's being processed in the States lately because of the crack-down in those countries," the dealer says. The drug is then shipped to various . distribution areas such as Florida, because of its proximity to South America, and California with its high distribution rate. From there it is dealt out in small amounts to a growing number of small-time dealers. "It's almost a middle-class drug now because of its availability," says a second dealer, also a student at the University. "It's definitely not an elite drug. It's prac tically on the same level as marijuana now." Often students are able to afford co caine because their families are well-off or the student "loses all priorities about where money should go and ends up in extreme debt," says a third student who deals at the University. But most often, the cash is available because a student chooses to use "spen ding money" for cocaine rather than movies or a date. "They would rather spend $30 on Fri day for a quarter than $5 a day Monday through Friday," the first dealer says. But students could end up spending time in jail or maybe the hospital. "I don't understand how people can read stories about the Kennedys or John Belushi and still use it (cocaine)," says Lieutenant Rick Nelson of the Eugene police department. In Eugene, cocaine use has increased tremendously, he says. And according to student users, co caine's increasing popularity is at tributed to many factors. "It makes people forget about their worries because it's fun, and it's exciting because it is illegal," says an occasional cocaine user. "One reason is it gets your body and mind happy, but it doesn't fog your memory like alcohol — you can remember what happened the next mor ning and there's rarely a hangover," says a second student user. "It's not addictive to the point that after two lines you're saying, 'God, who's TV can I steal?"' the first dealer says. But cocaine is one of the most addic tive drugs around, because it builds tolerance so quickly, says Mark Miller, director of the University's Drug Infor mation Center. The more often someone uses cocaine, the more they require to achieve the same euphoric affect, Miller says. Co caine increases alertness, euphoria and body temperature, but decreases ap petite, Miller says. Users become over alert, over-reactive, aggressive and have trouble controlling their tempers. "It becomes a true form of psychosis," he says. Next to alcohol, cocaine is the biggest drug problem on campus, Miller says. Campus dealers have an average of about 20 customers, 10 of whom could be described as regular users. One dealer says he sells one-half to one ounce of cocaine per week, while another source puts the figure between an eighth and a quarter of an ounce. Continued on Page 4