interesting research into cocaine and prostitution

If you go here http://gateway.nlm.nih.gov/MeetingAbstracts/ma?f=102197200.html you can see some interesting research to do with cocaine use among different groups of prostitutes, including escorts. I have emboldened the most interesting parts.

OBJECTIVE: To determine patterns of cocaine use in relation to HIV risks. METHODS: Two groups of prostitutes were interviewed about drug use: 86 participants in a clinic study of HIV/STD risk (gp.A); 64 participants in a non-clinic study on the streets of West London (gp.B). Follow-up interviews were conducted with a sub-group of 46 clinic attenders (gp.A1) about cocaine use in relation to sexual behaviour. RESULTS: In a standardised interview of risk behaviour, 50 of 86 women (58%) in gp.A reported ever using cocaine. Twenty-nine (34%) reported current use (past 3 months); 6 of these reported use of freebase cocaine/crack. In gp.A1, 19 of 46 women (41%) reported current use of cocaine, 14 at work and 6 of these only ever at work. Cocaine use was reported by women working on the streets and in hotels, through escort agencies and madames, in flats and saunas and through private referral. Reports suggest an increase during 1989 in cocaine-bookings (where cocaine use is a condition of commercial sex). Two of 23 women reported unsafe sex exclusively in association with cocaine-bookings. In gp.B, 15 of 64 women (23%) reported current cocaine use, of whom 12 used freebase cocaine or crack. CONCLUSION: Cocaine use is common in all types of prostitution and reportedly increasing at work in relation to client demand, where it may be associated with HIV risks. In these groups, crack use cannot be analysed independently since the terms freebase and crack were interchangeable and reportedly linked with other forms of cocaine use in all cases. These results indicate a different pattern of cocaine use in the London sex industry at the current time than that reported elsewhere.

This research is saying that all types of prostitues - including high-class prostitutes - are likely to be using cocaine. No one is surprised that street girls use cocaine or crack cocaine, but many will be surprised that escorts do too. I am not sure what 'cocaine-bookings' are, I will try to find out more about this.