By Tom Chadwick
MIDDLE class cocaine users in the UK are seemingly willing to turn a blind eye to the violence, poverty and destruction that the drug trade brings both in Mexico and at home.
The latest figures from the crime survey of England and Wales show that cocaine use has risen in wealthier homes whilst falling among the poorest.
Statistics show that the use of powder cocaine among households earning more than £50,000 a year increased from 2.2% in 2014/15 to 3.4% in 2017/18. In the lowest income households earning less than £10,000 a year, the proportion reporting cocaine use fell from 3.4% to 2% over the same period.
The figures led to Metropolitan police commissioner, Cressida Dick criticising middle class users who she says fret over fair trade and global warming but see no harm in taking a bit of cocaine, adding “there is misery throughout the supply chain.”
The UK has the highest proportion of cocaine users in the EU, with London reporting the highest concentrations in water levels across Europe.
The statistics also showed a sharp increase in the number of 16-24 year olds taking cocaine in the past year. 6% of this age group reported taking cocaine, despite an overall decline in the number of young people taking drugs.
With Netflix screening dramas such as Narcos and El Chapo which show bloodshed, torture and murder as a result of the cocaine industry, it is somewhat surprising that many who consider themselves ethical and responsible members of society are willing to ignore the violence that the trade results in, both abroad and at home.
The feeling that cocaine use is unethical has been around for a while. In 1982, Harpers published an opinion piece by David Owen called “Boycott Cocaine” where he wrote “Murder is as much a part of cocaine culture as tiny silver spoons and rolled up hundred dollar bills.”
According to a PBS report in 2015, based on numbers released by the Mexican government, between the years of 2007 and 2014 164,000 people were murdered in the country. They noted that one report linked 55% of Mexico’s murders to cartels, who control the production and trafficking of cocaine.
In 2005, over 23,000 people were killed as a direct result of the cocaine trade in Colombia alone, the country which supplies 80% of Britain’s coke.
But far from seeming concerned at the murder, deforestation, animal extinction and pollution of local water supplies not to mention the ever escalating problem of gang violence and county lines gangs, it seems UK users are actually being blamed for an upsurge in production of cocaine.
According to the European Drug Report 2018, cocaine production is being ramped up in South America to satisfy the West’s appetite for the drug. The report noted that several indicators are trending upwards citing wastewater analysis, drug seizures and hospital admission rises in relation to the drug.
The latest reports suggest that cocaine production has increased by 31% year on year, hitting record levels in 2017 when some 1,400 tonnes were cultivated on 171,000 acres. Drug violence for the same period was blamed for Mexico’s record of more than 29,000 murders in 2017, many of whom were civilians.
Closer to home, there has been much debate on the role of cocaine users in the rising levels of gang violence in the UK.
Writing for The Guardian Recently, Iman Amrani said “It’s clear that western cocaine users have to accept they are contributing to violent crime that has left hundreds of thousands dead in Latin America over the past decades, and is spilling on to British streets.”
He added “If your money funds the market, you are complicit in the consequences.”