The thin white line

The Scottish police are hoping that middle-class liberal guilt will help curb cocaine use. Fat chance, says Brian Boyd

Cocaine is the new fur. Or that is what the Scottish police force would like people to think about the super, soaraway drug.

As in Ireland, cocaine is likely to be Scotland's most-used illegal drug in a matter of years, and drug-enforcement agencies there are shifting their attention away from publicising the health risks associated with the drug. Instead, they are asking users to consider the violence, murder and child exploitation that lie behind the line of white powder that is whipped out at dinner-parties.

Cocaine should be better viewed as a "morally irresponsible" lifestyle choice, it is argued. Michael McDowell made a similar observation last October when he claimed: "If you do a line of cocaine in Foxrock you are personally responsible for the murder of somebody, say, in Coolock or Clondalkin or wherever."

This new attempt at curbing dramatically rising cocaine-use levels is, says the Scottish police, aimed at middle-class cocaine use through an appeal to conscience. Leading the Scottish campaign is Gill Wood, of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, who says: "You see people boycotting certain products, refusing to buy disposable nappies, choosing organic vegetables, trying to satisfy themselves their shopping basket is full of Fair Trade goods.

"But some of these same people think nothing of having a line of cocaine that's caused immeasurable harm to others. There is horrendous violence associated with the production of the drug, with people being murdered, serious organised crime, children being mercilessly exploited. These are direct consequences of a strong customer base. If people were truly socially-aware in their lifestyle choices, they wouldn't take cocaine."

By guilt-tripping a certain section of cocaine users - the same users who would typically go out of their way to buy Fair Trade coffee - authorities are hoping to make cocaine use as unfashionable as, say, wearing a fur coat. Scottish police hope to target local music festivals this summer, highlighting how cocaine is an "unethical" choice.

One of the major difficulties with increased cocaine usage is the fact that, as drugs go, it provides a relatively clean hit. This means that the "functioning cocaine addict" is more likely to shy away from treatment. As Minister of State Noel Ahern, who has responsibility for the national drugs strategy, told the Dáil last December, middle-class cocaine users "think recreational use is for the film-star set, with no health difficulties attached. It is difficult to get these people to avail of treatment. They are much slower to realise they have a problem. Many people are reluctant to admit that they are 'druggies' and to avail of the services."

The social representation of cocaine is that of a glamorous drug. Media mentions of it are not to do with the death squads involved in its distribution, but more with the fact that it is a drug favoured by supermodels and rock musicians. By viewing the drug as another "celebrity" accessory, it's little wonder that cocaine proves to be so popular among wannabe professional types.

Tests carried out on Irish bank notes have shown that there is more residue of cocaine on €50 notes than on €5 or €10 notes - for some people this attests to cocaine's VIP status.

Any meaningful attempt to address the growth in cocaine usage needs to acknowledge the fact that it is a very efficient drug. As Sigmund Freud (an enthusiastic user) noted, it causes "exhilaration and lasting euphoria, which in no way differs from the normal euphoria of the healthy person. You perceive an increase of self-control and possess more vitality and capacity for work. In other words, you are simply normal, and it is soon hard to believe you are under the influence of any drug. Long intensive physical work is performed without any fatigue. This result is enjoyed without any of the unpleasant after-effects that follow exhilaration brought about by alcohol."

Cocaine that hasn't been "stamped on" (cut with baking soda or an equivalent) will provide very good results, which is why so many people take it. It will stimulate the central nervous system and it will, if taken properly, give rise to feelings of intense happiness and increased energy.

And it can work out good value for money: depending on the dosage and purity of the cocaine taken, the high can last for several hours.

However, like all drugs, cocaine is a toxin. It interferes with your brain's chemistry, never mind your heart rate and your respiratory system. It can kill you. Once the effects of the drug wear off, you will experience a very unpleasant "crash" or come-down. It is addictive both physically and psychologically and (with the user always the last to know) it has a very good chance of turning you into an irritating and tedious bore.

Instead of hanging around music festivals telling people that the money they spend on cocaine does not, in fact, go directly to the peasant farmers who harvest the coca leaf, or trying to persuade middle-class users that cocaine is awfully politically incorrect, the authorities might be better served in advising cocaine users that while the drug does work, there are inescapable and frequently perilous consequences. And not just for the middle classes.