Cocaine Ain’t Cool (and why you shouldn’t do it)

OPINION | RONGOĀ / DRUGS

Written by Simon Saez (Anonymous Contributor)

Cocaine is one of the worst recreational drugs that I can think of, besides glue huffing and meth. This is for a wide variety of different reasons. It is clear that there are drug options that are cheaper, longer acting, and less ethically suspect than cocaine. So why is coke so popular, and why is its usage in New Zealand increasing rapidly? 

Pharmacologically, cocaine is very short-lasting and requires increasingly higher doses for the desired effect to be achieved once tolerance is established (which also happens very quickly). This is a perfect combination for a drug addict; in fact, this is a perfect combination for a drug DEALER (italicised)*. A chemical substance that is addictive and doesn’t last very long is an ideal product for drug manufacturers and dealers to sell to consumers. Cocaine is not popular because it’s a good product; it’s popular because it makes money. 

According to recent statistics, the vast majority of people using cocaine in New Zealand are European and male, with high incomes. The people that I know who use cocaine almost all fit into this demographic bracket. They also have some of the biggest egos and talk the most amount of bullshit out of everyone I know. Coincidence? I think not. Personally, I have tried cocaine a total of 3 times - twice drunk and once while sober. It was okay, but I remember thinking that speed made me feel more ‘on’, and MDMA made me feel more euphoric, and if I was desiring either of those effects, I would easily pick one of those drugs instead of cocaine. 

Some punters claim to only use coke to stay up and awake while they are binge-drinking, and they couldn’t care less about the actual chemical effects aside from keeping themselves awake. This just sounds fucking depressing to me, like if you’re that sleepy from drinking, you’ve probably had too much and should just go to sleep. Doing coke to stay awake for your drunken shenanigans sounds cool and exciting in theory, but in reality, what’s far more likely is just sitting around with a bunch of other idiots at 5am, loudly discussing creative projects and business plans that will never materialise. Furthermore, when alcohol and cocaine combine in the body, they actually create a third, more toxic substance called cocaethylene that is particularly dangerous to the heart. 

Part Two of why cocaine is awful is the fact that from plant to powder, manufacture to customer, this drug is drenched in blood and suffering. There can be no ethical consumption of a substance that is smuggled and sold in a ruthlessly competitive market that is defined by its extreme violence. The cocaine trade is mostly controlled by Mexican and Colombian drug cartels that have been terrorising Central America for decades, with the torture and murder of both enemies and innocents being commonplace. Every time someone in NZ buys a gram of coke, they are lining the pockets of murderers.

One might argue that, with most drugs being illegal, any purchase of a drug is handing money over to a criminal. While this is technically true, I suspect that it will be obvious to the reader that there is a vast difference between an LSD chemist in Amsterdam or a weed grower in Opotiki and the paramilitary criminality of the cocaine cartels. Yes, the drug trade of other substances causes death, addiction and untold misery (in NZ we are familiar with this, with our long history of difficulties with meth), but in my experience, cocaine seems to enjoy a sort of glowing status in our society as relatively benign. This is a lie, and needs to change.

In conclusion, cocaine ain’t cool (and you shouldn’t do it). Aside from the relatively lacklustre effects in comparison to other drugs, its questionable customer base being mostly rich white guys (who do not need to be adding more weight to their often colossal egos), and the toxic dangers of mixing cocaine with alcohol - the drug is inextricably intertwined with death, addiction and suffering at the hands of the cartels and criminal organisations. The purchase of cocaine, even in New Zealand, supports and finances some of the most vicious and morally bankrupt people in modern history. Interestingly, though, if you type ‘coke death squads’ into Google, it will not return information about the cartels. Instead, it will show information about a very different type of coke, also addictive and run by another powerful and shady multinational organisation, that also murdered people in the pursuit of profit. 

I think both are bad.