Following an overview of the evolution of the drug abuse treatment system, this paper discusses the implications for system response to the cocaine epidemic. These including the fall and rise of the public system, different clients and treatment methods, lack of connection to the health and mental health systems, hypertrophied management information systems, and lack of referral mechanisms. While matching clients to the most appropriate treatment programs is supported by several studies that have investigated how outcomes for different sorts of clients vary with the types of treatment they received, in reality, most clients entering public treatment programs do not receive individualized attention and assessment. This paper argues that matching might not improve overall effectiveness of the system, but that a system based on emergency triage procedures might be required especially when treatment slots must be rationed. According to triage reasoning, the less severely addicted may have better outcomes from intensive treatment than the more severely addicted. 1 table, 4 figures, 33 references, and 1 appendix