cocaine - search results

The government has reignited the controversy around punishments for ‘middle class cocaine users’ with the announcement that a forthcoming white paper will set out tough new sanctions for drugs offences. People who choose to take drugs on a “casual” basis will face meaningful consequences Writing in The Telegraph, crime and policing minister Kit Malthouse […]

A man in recovery from alcohol and cocaine addiction is preparing to launch a £7m rehab and behavioural health centre – the only purpose-built facility of its kind in the UK.

[…] discovered. They are thought to be part of the UK arm of a ‘well-established’ organised crime group that used Dutch and British front companies to import heroin, cocaine and cannabis hidden in lorries carrying vegetables and juice. The group is responsible for importing more than 50 tonnes of drugs, says the agency, with six […]

Junaid tells us how he became involved in making a film for the 2017 Recovery Street Film Festival. In 2015 I was using crack cocaine and daily endangering my own life. I was involved in car crime and mentally and physically not in a very good place. The first time I got arrested and […]

[…] establish a £3.6m National County Lines Coordination Centre as part of its new Serious Violence Strategy. The strategy identifies ‘the changing drugs market’ – in particular, around crack cocaine – as ‘a key driver harming our communities’. Last year saw a 23 per cent increase in the number of people seeking treatment for crack (DDN, […]

The analysis shows that cocaine has by far the largest estimated consumption levels and market value of the six drug types measured

There were just under 311,000 opiate and crack cocaine users in England in 2022-23

[…] It would be hard to imagine a less deserving case for free healthcare than Callie, a US citizen who was jailed in 2007 for supplying heroin and cocaine. I am sorry that he is said to be depressed and to suffer from diabetes and high blood pressure, but he was part of a trade […]

[…] – success under any name is a triumph "Evidence for controlled heroin use "A road less travelled – Sweden’s pursuit of abstinence "The other side of the cocaine route – saving lives in Jamaica "Approaches to addiction series 5: Psychodynamic approaches to addiction Drugs And Alcohol Todayaims to bring readers the best in new […]

[…] children with learning disorders. Even more interestingly, low levels of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in the body have been associated with increased risk of relapse among cocaine addicts. Another important nutrient involved with mood states and cognition is folic acid. Low levels have been associated with depression and with poor response to antidepressants. […]

[…] consider what might be coming our way. Denmark’s population of 5.6m includes an estimated 17,000 injecting drug users, principally using opiates but with an increasing use of cocaine. National statistics for drug-related deaths, collected by the police since 1970, and by the health service since 1995, show that since 2000 there have been around […]

[…] at New York’s Mount Sinai Health Systems state. While xylazine is commonly mixed with opioids, in the UK it has also been detected ‘alongside stimulant drugs such as cocaine, and found in items sold as counterfeit codeine and diazepam tablets’ The researchers conducted a study of almost 1,300 people with suspected opioid overdoses in US […]

[…] the last two years, while more than 152,000 exited – almost half of whom had successfully completed their treatment. The proportion of people starting treatment for powder cocaine was up by one percentage point to 20 per cent – the highest since records began – while the proportion of those seeking treatment for ketamine […]

[…] dynamic with gang-based organisations. It’s fragmented, digitalised – and no country can isolate itself anymore. Social media dealing is one of the key platforms. The glut of cocaine is a real problem with semi-submersibles carrying it all around Europe.  Synthetics are a real challenge, but we also have over-supply of plant-based drugs. The dealers […]

[…] used as an adulterant in heroin, the report adds. There was a 4 per cent decrease in drug treatment starts compared to the previous quarter, with powder cocaine now the most commonly reported main drug for people being assessed for treatment. There is an ‘urgent’ need for coordination to improve the country’s ability to […]

[…] for accessible housing, or create a structured daily routine. For many people, substance use can be a coping mechanism. Alcohol may help someone feel more confident. Crack cocaine might block out intrusive thoughts. Opiates might relieve pain. Understanding the factors that substances help individuals to manage is essential to helping them replace those strategies […]

[…] shards, just like ketamine does, but with a distinctive smell, not unlike mephedrone. The other looks like white granules, which also has a distinctive smell, not unlike cocaine. Both batches are likely to be variations of ketamine known as analogues. They have an unusually stimulating effect. At least one of them is also producing […]

[…] profitable markets in Asia and Oceania, there are signs that Latin America is becoming an increasingly important destination for European MDMA, the report states – using traditional cocaine trafficking routes ‘in the opposite direction’. Gangs also sometimes engage in ‘barter deals’, it says, where MDMA is exchanged for cocaine ‘with no monetary exchange’. Meanwhile, […]

[…] had an extremely dysfunctional childhood in Liverpool, and losing my dad at a young age hit me hard. By 38, I was relying heavily on alcohol and cocaine to cope. Things only got worse when my mum was diagnosed with cancer. I had to give up my childhood dream of becoming a jockey to […]

[…] hangover… be careful not to overdo the legally sanctioned fun. Slightly confusing then, to look at a substance through both lenses. We’re familiar with the devastating effect cocaine can have on lives. What’s interesting is the cultural normalisation that’s contributing to the statistics (p6). If drug use starts in a safe setting and escalates, […]

[…] in wheelchairs with limbs missing (as result of infected femoral vein injection sites) slumber in public under the influence of Lady Morphia or wheel around in crack cocaine induced confusion. Homeless people lie in shop doorways or on the pavement. The inner city of Manchester today makes the Piccadilly Gardens of 1985 look like […]

[…] 2011 and reversing the declining trend of recent years (DDN, March 2013, page 5). There was also an increase in the proportion of deaths involving stimulants including cocaine, following a decline in 2009 and stabilisation in 2010. London had the highest proportion of cocaine-related deaths at 15.2 per cent, while Liverpool recorded more drug-related […]

[…] 2011 and reversing the declining trend of recent years (DDN, March 2013, page 5). There was also an increase in the proportion of deaths involving stimulants including cocaine, following a decline in 2009 and stabilisation in 2010.  London had the highest proportion of cocaine-related deaths at 15.2 per cent, while Liverpool recorded more drug-related […]

[…] received more than 255 referrals and treated over 150 people. The majority of those treated required a detox, with substances ranging from alcohol, cannabis and ketamine to cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin. This pathway is groundbreaking and offers people the chance of a seamless treatment pathway to help address their co-morbidities and gambling addiction. […]

[…] the latest OHID figures, around half of people in treatment are smokers, but less than 5 per cent have even been offered a smoking cessation referral (www.drinkanddrugsnews.com/ten-per-cent-increase-in-people-entering-treatment-for- cocaine).  ‘There is a massive mismatch,’ says MacKintosh. ‘Think about dual diagnosis. We’ve been banging on about this for a quarter of a century, but often it’s […]

[…] known as nitazenes, have adulterated a number of illicit drugs in the UK. It’s not clear exactly when this began, but evidence of them being present in cocaine and heroin was detected in 2021. Nitazenes are broadly equipotent to the fentanyls – or in layman’s terms, they’re many times stronger than heroin and morphine. […]

[…] 2013, page 15). ‘I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing,’ he says. ‘There have been suggestions that falls in the number of cocaine deaths could be attributed to people using mephedrone instead – perhaps it’s a safer stimulant. But because mortality monitoring is so unregulated, and because the hospital […]

[…] World at One on BBC Radio 4 to promote the book and explained how writing kept him ‘connected’ to part of himself during his 20-year struggle with cocaine and heroin addiction. ‘Poetry helps me to be able to express myself with some of the things that I struggled with, some of the dark parts […]

[…] of people entering substance misuse treatment in England smoked tobacco. In the 2016 NDTMS report, 45 per cent of people treated for illicit opioid use smoked crack cocaine and 17 per cent smoked cannabis (Hulin, 2019). Despite the high levels of smoking, only 2 per cent of people were recorded as having been offered […]

[…] says YouGov.  The figures are even higher  among Labour voters, with 76 per  cent believing that the government  isn’t doing enough to tvackle  addiction issues and 70v per cent  that the government is failing  to reduce drug-related harm.  Among those surveyed overall, 7  per cent reported having had an  addiction problem themselves, with  b0 and bb per cent respectively  reporting that they’d had a  friend or family member with a v problem. While less than a vfifth  believed that criminalisation of  people who used drvugs was the  right approach, there was little  support for decriminalisation of  most drugs. Although  45 per cent supported  the decriminalisation of  cannabis and 28 pevr cent  magic mushrooms, just  b7 per cent supported  decriminalising MDMA  and b5 per cent  cocaine.  The figures for heroin  and crack cocaine were  bb and b0 per cent  respectively. More than half  of respondents, however,  backed the introduction of  consumption rooms, with  just a quarter stating that  they were actively opposed.  This reflects the findings  of a separate poll of b,500  people carried outv by Redfield and  Wilton Strategies on behalf ovf the  APPG for Drug Policy Reform, which  found that 49 per cent supported  overdose prevention centres. The  poll also revealed that more than 60  per cent supported drug checking v facilities at festivals and 67 per  cent supported naloxone provision,  while the most popular outcome  for people found in possessionv  of small quantities of drugs was  education or treatment rather than  prosecution.  The Redfield and Wilson results  […]

[…] drugs. Although 45 per cent supported the decriminalisation of cannabis and 28 per cent magic mushrooms, just 17 per cent supported decriminalising MDMA and 15 per cent cocaine. The figures for heroin and crack cocaine were 11 and 10 per cent respectively. More than half of respondents, however, backed the introduction of consumption rooms, […]

[…] support – Leo’s story I didn’t pick up my first drink until the age of 20 but from that point, I drank very heavily. In the mid-1990s, cocaine became part of my story as well and the consequences started to kick in. By 2000, I was completely out of control, barely hanging on to […]

[…] and morphine). This is 4.8% higher than in 2019 (2,160 deaths) and 48.2% higher than in 2010 (1,527 deaths). There has also been a five-fold increase in cocaine-related deaths since 2010 – with 777 drug poisoning deaths registered in 2020 involving cocaine, compared with 144 such deaths registered in 2010. There are also increasing […]

[…] of deaths, and men accounted for more than two thirds of overall deaths. While just under half of fatalities involved an opiate, the number of deaths involving cocaine was up by almost 10 per cent to 777 – more than five times the figure from a decade ago. The rate of drug poisoning deaths in […]

[…] – butr it could reinforce existing values and beliefs and serve up scapegoats. Through the vampire images of heroin users from the 1920s, the Reefer Madness and Cocaine Fiends films of the 1930sr, and the political rcampaigns focusing on drug use as a morral weabness, there was an individual parthology narrative that hadn’t changed […]

[…] overdue.’ Meanwhile, the latest ONS figures show no change in overall drug use or class A drug use in England and Wales over the last year. Powder cocaine continues to be the second most commonly used drug after cannabis, although the proportion of frequent users fell from 14.4 per cent to 8.7 per cent. […]

[…] research has moved on and taken over from anecdote. However, let’s not dismiss the value of experience either. There are well over a thousand Narcotics Anonymous and Cocaine Anonymous meetings in the UK every week. They are full of clean and sober recovering addicts. Each individual’s personal experience of recovery is a powerful reminder […]

[…] about the consequences of the Scots’ Benzo policy that has encouraged a huge black market? What about the teens in the M25 corridor who are learning about cocaine – how long before they learn about how, to quote Lou Reed, ‘Valium would have helped that crash’, and that uppers are always followed by downers? […]

[…] In particular, the HIV prevalence has been rising since 2002 among those who have been injecting for less than three years. Increasing evidence suggests that injecting crack cocaine is a major factor. The report also found that while levels of HIV remain high among current IDUs in London, with around one in 25 infected, […]

[…] UK has severe drug problems compared to most other European countries, coupled with some of the most stringent penalties for drug possession and supply. Escalating heroin and cocaine problems have contributed to a ranking of the second-highest rate of drug-related deaths in Europe. The charity has declared that it is committed to seeking a […]

[…] had used some form of drug. The Irish Times, 2 March Cr ystal meth is becoming more widely available in London, according to a judge. Mixed with cocaine and skunk many people are unaware that they are taking it, which may be an attempt to get people hooked, says District Judge, Justin Phillips. Sitting […]

[…] as few errors as they could. Ever y completed challenge earned points, and used different Ben ‘It showed me ways of enjoying myself without taking cannabis or cocaine’ I found it really exciting. It was interesting learning new skills and I liked the teamwork. I feel I've achieved something and learnt things I wouldn't […]

[…] – a consequent reduction of the 80,000 annual tobacco-related deaths by 4,000. By comparison, around 1,000 deaths a year are estimated to be attributable to heroin or cocaine, and research published in The Lancetrated tobacco as the most harmful of all drugs for ‘chronic physical harm’ (DDN, 6 October, page 6).Smuggled tobacco products are […]

[…] few years, tackling the problem of synthetic drug manufacture and use will pose problems that are very different from those associated with plant based drugs like heroin, cocaine and cannabis, says the report. One is difficulty of measurement, as there are no cultivated fields visible from the air, another is the ease with which […]

[…] a 16 per cent increase in fatalities involving heroin and morphine and a 35 per cent increase in deaths involving methadone on the previous year. Deaths involving cocaine and amphetamines also rose, and the DAT areas of Blackpool, Brighton and Hove and Camden have consistently had the highest drug misuse mortality rates. According to […]

[…] Teeside will be dressing up as support worker Snow White, drug dealer the wicked witch and seven dwarves Moody (steroids),Stoney (cannabis), Easy (ecstasy), Speedy (amphetamines), Snorty ( cocaine), Dizzy (alcohol) and Snoozy (prescription drugs). ‘We thought that by giving the Snow White story a thought-provoking twist more young people would take note of important […]

[…] that drugs have become more difficult to obtain’. Specific policies against drug production usually served to move the problem elsewhere, it says, such as the shifting of cocaine production from Bolivia and Peru to Columbia. Harm reduction, however, though still controversial in some countries, was finding ‘wider acceptance’. The report looked at the period […]

[…] their own cycle of addition. A campaign film and a series of posters can be viewed at www.whatdoyouknowcampaign.blog spot.com Decriminalisation plan Think tank Transform has suggested that cocaine could be sold in pharmacies and cannabis in coffee shops as part of a scheme to decriminalise drugs, while reducing crime and improving health. A new […]

[…] – success under any name is a triumph "Evidence for controlled heroin use "A road less travelled – Sweden’s pursuit of abstinence "The other side of the cocaine route – saving lives in Jamaica "Approaches to addiction series 5: Psychodynamic approaches to addiction Drugs And Alcohol Todayaims to bring readers the best in new […]

[…] herself with a glamorous career as a successful model, which opened up opportunities as a TV presenter. Alongside the lifestyle and heavy drinking she developed a serious cocaine habit, ‘mainly to keep awake as I was also running a nightclub. I had too many jobs, too much money and not enough time in the […]

[…] 15 as we could get into pubs. I left boarding school and went to college for about a year. There, I started smoking cannabis. This led to cocaine use, but I never felt I was addicted. I started taking pills in my late teens too, but my drinking was not an issue at that […]

[…] to support recovery and reintegration, as well as personalised, needs-driven treatment that addresses all kinds of drug use and poly drug use, not just heroin and crack cocaine. ‘Alcohol treatment should be available to all who need it,’ it states. ‘Decision-makers and opinion formers have a responsibility to make sure that taxpayers' money is […]