Despite a large decline in the number of users and the expenditure of tens of billions of dollars on law enforcement, the total amount of cocaine consumed in the United States has been stuck at its mid-1980s peak for almost a decade. This seeming paradox is explained by the fact that the number of heavy users is growing, making up in consumption for the overall decline in the number of users. Further, analysis shows that the current policy emphasis on stemming the supply of cocaine is far less effective in reducing consumption, and far more expensive, than treatment programs aimed at controlling demand. According to the study, treatment is seven times more cost-effective in reducing cocaine consumption than the best supply-control program and could cut consumption by a third if it were extended to all heavy users. Despite the advantages of demand-control programs, Congress has been loath to fund them and they are unpopular with middle-class taxpayers, who see drug treatment as wasting money on a group of people who cannot be trusted and who have no desire to be helped. Figure