Cocaine-related problems in the city of São Paulo, 1982-1986.

From 1982 to 1986, there was an overall increase in the number and amount of illicit cocaine seized at São Paulo. There was a total of 1,552 seizures of illicit cocaine, which were confirmed by testing in the laboratory of the Technical Service of Forensic Toxicology, a section of the Medical-Legal Institute of São Paulo. The increase in cocaine seizures was accompanied by an increase in cocaine-related mortality. Although there were no cocaine-related deaths reported in the city before 1982, there was an increasing trend in the number of such deaths during the five-year period that followed.