Supply-Side Disruption in Cocaine Production Associated With Cocaine-Related Maternal and Child Health Outcomes in the United States.

Abstract

To investigate the effects of precursor chemical regulation aimed at reducing cocaine production on cocaine-related maternal and newborn hospital stays in the United States. We analyzed monthly counts of maternal and neonatal stays from January 2002 through December 2013 by using a quasi-experimental interrupted time series design. We estimated the preregulation linear trend, postregulation change in linear trend, and abrupt change in level. The number of monthly cocaine-related maternal and neonatal stays decreased by 221 and 128 stays, respectively, following the cocaine precursor regulation change. We also observed a further decline in per-month maternal and neonatal stays of 18 and 8 stays, respectively. A supply-side disruption in the United States cocaine market was associated with reduced hospital stays for 2 vulnerable populations: pregnant women and newborns. Results support findings that federal precursor regulation can positively reduce cocaine availability in the United States.