I was re-watching Carlito's Way, which is set in 1975, the other night.

Carlito meets his old partner, Rolando, who is obviously well-off and surrounded by bodyguards. Carlito remarks that he looks like he's doing well for himself. Rolando replies, "Why not? Business is good." Carlito asks, "Smack?" Rolando replies, "The coca business, filete. That's all there is. Heroin is dead."

Is there any truth to this statement? Was Heroin "dead", at least in comparison to Cocaine, in the mid to late 1970s?

When did each drug peak and nadir arguably?

Of course. Heroin started booming since the early 40s, although it was used by the city "elite" in the 30s too, but then throughout the 50's, 60's and so it had been very widespread. Coke started getting introduced to the general population (I mean apart from the elite, because it was pricey) and became available to most people in the 70s, and late 70s. By 1980s it had already boomed enough that around 20-30% of the population claimed to have tried it. It had its up and then its downs in the early 90s and since then it has seen its little ups post 2000.
And don't forget about prescription drugs, benzos and painkillers, especially post 2000s. Whole different world.

Tough question cause it's hard to know what you mean by "dead". I'm too young to know first hand but I've heard that when coke really started making waves in the late 70's early 80s that I'm sure heroin sales weren't as great. But at the same time there was still a ton of addicts on dope buying heroin throughout the 70s,80s90s,00s.. you name it. And I'm sure there was some crews or groups of criminals who were becoming very rich still off the heroin trade in the 70s and 80s... cocaine just got that huge widespread hype that came with it with all the studio 54 shit and rich people doing it. Also claiming there was studies that doing a line of cocaine is no more addictive than eating an m&m.. really funny few years later the crack era hit. Pretty sure I've never seen someone give away their car for a bite of an m&m. Interesting stuff though I would like to know more

By the 80's everyone was in discos if not they were in rock rooms and either way it was a coke fest !!!!

Smack was looked down upon because everyone knew what it did to your body by late 70's.

But " there was a big market in the inner city and they had millions hooked ! Coke would catch up as far as people realizing that they were getting hooked on blow .

Now we're have a oxyContin epidemic and we all know what happens if you can not get the pills HORSE !!!! and it's eating up caucasian communities big time.

are the white boys from the. North east still having an oxycodone fest? Or have they became so hard to get that everyone's on the heroin now. Everyone says the Oxus are impossible to get but I still get a script once a month for 180

The heroin never really dead but in the 19 80s the cocaine was more profitable and everyone wanted to snort coke because was a sign that you're rich enought to buy it. In cocaine cowboys are explaned that n the nightclubs and discos there was table with horizontal mirrors to the make strips of coke.
In the 1990s "turned back" even if ecstasy or meth was choose because more people fEar the AIDS due the neddles.

Within the Chinatowns it has always been big in particular after the pizza connection bust.