Frances Perraudin’s article on cocaine deaths (Call for urgent investigation as cocaine deaths soar again, August 20) is timely. Cocaine is a potent stimulant but relatively expensive compared to other illicit drugs. Early use, say at a teenage party, primes later, adult use – this drug “memory” is a risk factor for addiction.
Having followed the use and problems of cocaine in Britain for a quarter of a century, I can see why in 2018, marketing cocaine is so successful. Very large numbers of British people have tried it in their youth. Now primed to its stimulant action, and faced with the hopelessness of UK austerity, their grown-up use starts – but the lift to mood and energy is only brief.
So they begin using cocaine hits more frequently, perhaps chain-smoking rocks of crack. That drug-seeking, chain-smoking behaviour is accelerated by the stimulant properties of their drug. Unstable mental states, dangerous high-dose use and increasing dependence on more crack take over.
To reduce drug deaths, the government needs to understand the context in which its citizens use cocaine, and how bleak environments lead to lethal use.
Woody Caan
Editor, Journal of Public Mental Health
• Using aid money to enforce the so called “war on drugs” is nothing but bad news for development (UK aid minister hails ‘double win’ of heroin crackdown in Tanzania, 20 August).
Prohibition and the enforcement of illicit drug policies is one of the most overlooked development issues. It destroys the livelihoods of poor farmers, restricts access to medicines in Africa, criminalises the vulnerable, and fuels violence and inequality globally. From Ghana’s moves towards decriminalisation of possession to Uruguay’s legal regulation of cannabis and Bolivia’s legal coca programme, countries across the world are rejecting the damage caused by prohibition and pursuing clear alternatives.
Evidence – including from programmes funded by UK aid – shows that harm reduction significantly improves the health and welfare of people who use drugs, particularly when accompanied by decriminalisation. It’s time for UK development policy to recognise the development impacts of prohibition. Instead of paying for it, UK aid money should fund evidence based harm reduction, sponsor research with affected communities, and support countries who want to end this failed war.
Natalie Sharples Head of policy and campaigns, Health Poverty Action
Bangyuan Wang Senior adviser, International HIV/Aids Alliance
Danny Kushlick Head of external affairs, Transform Drug Policy Foundation
Ann Fordham Executive director, International Drug Policy Consortium
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