Pubdate: Sun, 08 August 1999 Source: Observer, The (UK) Copyright: Guardian Media Group plc. 1999 Contact: http://www.guardian.co.uk/ Author: Richard Reeves, Society Editor BRITAIN FACING COCAINE CRISIS Britain is on the brink of a cocaine epidemic as cheaper, purer powder floods into the country and prices plummet, according to unpublished Home Office figures. With the social stigma attached to taking cocaine diminishing, more people - and from across a broader cross-section of the population - are using the drug recreationally. 'It would be wrong to say there is an epidemic,' said a senior Home Office scientist. 'But we may well be seeing the beginning of something very significant.' Data collected by the Home Office reveal: * a sharp increase in arrests for cocaine possession, from 3,400 cases in 1997 to 4,500 cases last year; * higher purity levels of cocaine seized on the street, with levels running at 63 per cent in the second quarter of 1999 - the highest on record, and up from 51 per cent at the end of last year; * an increase in the average purity levels of cocaine seized by Customs at the border. In the last few months purity levels have been at 75 per cent, the highest on record; * a significant jump in use of cocaine reported to the authorities by users themselves, according to the British Crime Survey published later this month; * a rise in the proportion of people arrested with traces of cocaine or crack in their urine, with more than one in 10 arrestees testing positive; * bigger hauls by Customs and Excise, with more than 3,000 kilos seized in 1998/9, up from 2,300 kilos the previous year. Mike Goodman, director of Release, a drug legal advice service, said there had been a clear change in the use of cocaine. 'It is cheaper and more easily available, and attitudes have changed: its image as a potentially harmful drug is being eroded,' he said. 'It is not just high-rollers any more; groups of hairdressers are getting together to buy a couple of grammes for the weekend.' With the price per gramme down to about pounds 50 - almost half the going rate five years ago - cocaine has become a reliable 'clubber upper' and dealers are offering pounds 20 half-gramme 'specials'. Goodman said cocaine was losing its exclusive status. 'It was always seen as something of a champagne drug, and the price reinforced that,' he said. 'Now that drugs are seen less as coming from the counter-culture, cocaine fits with the lifestyle of the lager drinkers, the guys in the sharp suits.' 'Most people taking cocaine powder seem to be occasional, recreational users and suffer few health problems as a result,' said one Department of Health official. This is in stark contrast to those who smoke 'crack' - which is much more addictive and damaging. Harry Shapiro, from the Institute for the Study of Drug Dependence, agreed that there were limited signs of increased addiction or health problems. 'Given these levels of use, and the amount of cocaine coming in, it is striking that the number of people presenting with addiction or other problems has not risen significantly - which suggests a lot of the use is non-problematic,' he said. 'More people are perhaps prepared to experiment with cocaine than they were,' he said. But Goodman warned that for some people, even cocaine powder could cause medical problems, ranging from depression to paranoia - and that cocaine powder could be a 'gateway' to crack or heroin. 'For a lot of people it is a weekend drug, and for most it probably is not a problem,' he said. 'But there will be some who binge at the weekend, and then get down, get the blues - then they might want more, and it can become compulsive even if it is not actually addictive. For a few it might be a step on the way to harder drugs.' - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea