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Crossing theHne
Cocaine has a reputation for being a showbiz drug that’s not too harmful in small doses. Wrong. Max Robertson explodes some fanciful myths.
‘ onle get a kiek from eoeaine.‘ \\ role (‘oIe I’orter III 'I (iet it Kiek
()ul ol'You‘. ‘I‘m sure that il/I look eyen one sniff/I'hat \yould bore me Iert‘ilieaIIy.’ II~ tlIlI_\ L‘\L‘I'}tlllL' felt that \yay. Despite the high—profile eaxualliex Danniella\Vextbrook‘s llo\e. 'I’ara I’allner 'I‘oinkinxon‘x l'i‘rmlt Skinner .Y/Ion' debaele (and indeed her lloxel :llltI Illthl t‘eeentIy Kale .\Io\\\ ealleeIIetI IlloiIeIIIllg L‘tlllll‘tlel\ there are some for \\Ilolll lIltlI Iille oi white powder \IiII glitters \\ itll allure.
I.el\ be t'eaIixlie: people take eoeaine beeatlse it makes them feel e\hilat'ated. eonl'ident. energetie and \e\y. What a pity it's so dextruetiy e.
You'ye heard all [Ilix before.
right'.’ So \\ ho are you going to listen to'.’ Not me. I suspeet. But maybe you'll be eonyineed by e\pert opinion: not 'IlI\I professional e\pert\. bill the people \yho‘ye learned it from first—hand e\perienee. \VIlzll do they haye to my about the Ill}IIl\ ol' the white Iine'.’ 1. It's not really addictive IIere‘x Iil'olltlfitly (IIILI IIUII_\\\U(KI \tar 'I'aIIuIah Bankhead: “('oeaine habit-I‘orming'.’ ()l' eourxe ltot. I otight lo kttoyy. I'ye been using it I‘UI'_\L‘11I'\.~
I‘axhion queen Donatella Versaee tells a similar tale: 'In the beginning I Ilad ll great time. I tIItIII.I feel I \yas addieted. You just feel more ayyake. more aware. l’nl‘ortunately it didn‘t eontinue like that . . .'
2. You don't need to take a lot. ('oeaine is a ‘greedy‘ drug. In Ilix autobiography Slur ’Ii‘yym'. Red Hot (‘hili l’epperx l'rontman .-\nthony Keidix \yrile\ that eoke ‘\\a.\ a bad drug to be doing \\ hen you didn‘t ha\ e a lot of money. beeause the tninute it's gone. you xx ant more‘. 3. Showbiz stars use coke and stay on top.
Long-term eoeaine ll\e eauses lots of long-term mental and physieal
40 THE LIST t ‘- -‘ .s
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problems. inelude Ills and psychosis. Robin Williams said. '(‘oeaine . . . what a wonderful drug. Anything that makes you paranoid and impotent'.’ Yeah. giye me that?‘
In Iaet. eoeaine addiets. eyen rieh
and successful ones. ollen end tip destitute and desperate. .-\l'ter her [fast/{riders eontraet \\ ax terminated. largely thanks to her eoeaine addietion. I)annie|la Westbrook found herself penniless. Iiying with her three-year-old son Kai in one room aboye a pub. l'nable Ill eope. she eaIIed \oeiaI seryiees. intending to put Kai into eare. "I‘o tnake the eaIl \yas hardf \aid \Veslbl'ook. .But then she asked . . . "Are you the I)annie|la Westbrook?" "Yeah." "I‘m \ol‘l'}. \\ e ean’t help you — we help people \\ ho ean't afford to help [IlelllseI\'e.\.m 4. But surely casual use is okay - just now and again? .-\.\I\ beat poet Alan (iinsberg: Iliggling your knees blank-eyed in the rain —- \y hen it snows in your nose you ealeh eoId iit your brain.‘
.-\nd the physical dangers are alarming too. Here‘s Professor Jeremy Pearson. associate medical direetor at the Britiin Heart
Cartilage inside Tara Palmer-Tomkinson’s nose was destroyed by years of cocaine use, as is clearly visible in this photo taken Rip - rllu2000, six years “ . ' ’ h wontlntoronab.
I-‘oundation: '(‘oeaine is bad neux for the heart. liyen eaxual use eauses dangerous inereaxex ill blood pressure and heart rate \yhieh ean lead Ill ehesl pilllh. I‘Atll' \tlIIIL‘ eoeaine tlxel‘x this eotlItI IeatI lo a heart attaek or stroke. (‘oeaine ll\e ean sel'ltlll\I_\ damage young and healthy hearts.‘
5. Okay, so it's dangerous - but it's still cool.
IIere'x \\ hat Martin Barnes. ('hiel
Iixeeutiye of the drttg information eharity I)rugSeope. hax to \;l_\2 'I haye ney er understood why a drug often taken in toilet\ is thought to be sophistieated or glamoroux.‘
Bill let‘s Ieay e the last hold lo ['8 eomedian Bill (‘osbyz '(‘oeaine magnifies your personality. Yeah but u hat if you're an asshole."
Cocaine Anonymous Scotland, 0141 959 6363. Meetings are held daily in Glasgow, and weekly in Edinburgh and Irvine. www.cauk.org.uk
Know the Score, 0800 587 5879 Provides information and advice on drugs in Scotland. Calls are free and confidential and will not show up on your phone bill. www.knowthescore.info
Case study: The ex-addict
David (not his real name) is a 34-year-old entrepreneur and former cocaine addict who has been clean for five years.
'I had a really good start in life — private education, Iovrng parents — but I always felt there was something missing. I started drinking at eleven and in my early teens I got into cannabis. speed. acid and magic mushrooms.
'I started my own business and tried cocaine f0r the first time at 19. It did nothing for me at first but I was enjoying the buzz of being my own boss and coke became a part of that. It felt fantastic. I had loads of money and could get what I wanted. In reality I was Still living with my parents and the money I was earning was gOtng on coke.
‘As my business progressed so did my habit. I got involved with criminals who had more access to coke. I was spending more money than I was earning. The police raided my house and business and I went bankrupt.
'I went away travelling for a year, but I couldn't live without coke. To cover up I drank a lot and took a lot of cannabis. I returned to the UK, picked up my old friendships and got into coke again.
“Then one of my friends got killed after bingeing on coke. He was crossmg the A1 to get away from the people he imagined were following him — he was completely paranoid. The only thing we cared about was how we were going to get more coke for the funeral. After that two more friends died using coke and my life began to unravel again. I had blackouts. I got into fights. I did regrettable things.
'I was paranoid. I thought my phone was bugged and I thought people were coming to get me. It also made me horny but I had a very bad sexual dysfunction and I couldn't have sex.
‘At my very lowest I went to Cocaine Anonymous and managed to stop. But I soon started again and felt like I wanted to die. I didn't even have the spirit to attempt suicide.
‘I didn't know where else to get help. I phoned someone I had met at Cocaine Anonymous and it was then that I heard about the programme of recovery. I found a way out.‘