Sydney awash with coke

Steve says:

02:04pm | 14/12/09

It’s going to be a sad day for a lot of people when they finally figure out how to work cocaine into the road side drug testing kits.

Daniel says:

02:06pm | 14/12/09

Sad.

AFR says:

02:12pm | 14/12/09

Why we continue to waste our efforts in fighting a “war on drugs” is well beyond me. Lets just lealise them all and get on with it.

BMJ says:

02:12pm | 14/12/09

The funny thing is how behind the media is with all this.

Coke has been booming in Sydney for years and years.

It’s not the typical junkie that’s driving the boom either. It’s lawyers, doctors and the city suits with more money than they could possibly imagine keen to get off chops after a “hard” weeks work.

Dan says:

02:18pm | 14/12/09

I agree with AFR. The so-called ‘war on drugs’ is absurd. Just legalise all drugs, tax them like with alcohol and tobacco, and treat them as a health problem rather than a lawℴ issue.

ChrisG says:

02:23pm | 14/12/09

what a depressing piece ...

I’m not sure what is the more troubling indicator of a sick and degenerating culture - the spread of coke abuse as the means to have fun; the way you have reported this, including your exchange with your friend; the content of the magazine you worked for; or the fact that intelligent people can own up to regularly observing illegal and life destroying behavior and not assure us that they reported it to the Police

if coke abuse is an epidemic, surely it is because you and others who claim to so regularly come across its use tolerate it?

a particularly unedifying and unhelpful contribution

Steve says:

02:31pm | 14/12/09

BMJ: “It’s lawyers, doctors and the city suits”...you could add journalists and newspaper editors to that

Zeta says:

02:49pm | 14/12/09

...and yet, the NSW Police Force dog squad will be, each and every single Friday / Saturday night, waiting dilligently outside dance clubs and raves in Moore Park picking up kids with Ecstacy.

When was the last time anyone saw the Dog Squad hit the Ivy? Or Establishment? If only those toilets could talk.

Cocaine makes people more confident, aggressive, and on the flip side, more paranoid - traits that are valued in society, even if the contributions of the drug’s peddlers are not. Yet it is those drugs that unlock the untapped potential of the human mind and help us see that this is not the only reality available to us that are targeted by the authorities.

It’s those same authorities who have given their complicit approval of the cocaine industry. Men in suits and the afore mentioned ‘beautiful’ people do cocaine. Rock stars do cocaine. When the CIA funds black operations, they trade in cocaine. Meanwhile those same authorities tell us Ecstacy causes your spinal fluid to run backwards, Cannabis gives you schizophrenia and other psychedelic drugs are marginalised as being for freaks and hippies.

For what it’s worth, I reckon the Australian Government has learned what the United States Government learned long ago - that’s it’s cheaper and more effective to participate in the cocaine trade while targeting other drugs than it is to target them all equally, effectively taking a cut of the proceeds which intelligence and law enforcement divert towards keeping out all those drugs that make young people wonder if they really should be getting up everyday to work in a system that will eventually grind them into dust.

Wesley Snipes’s Nino Brown character said it best in the much maligned New Jack City: “I mean, c’mon, let’s kick the ballistics here: Ain’t no Uzi’s made in Harlem. Not one of us in here owns a poppy field. This thing is bigger than Nino Brown. This is big business.”

N says:

03:17pm | 14/12/09

Frankly I don’t care who is using this junk be it hookers or $1000/Hr lawyers. ChisG makes a prudent point, in that because coke, or any illicit drug use, has become so mainstream, no one cares anymore. Frankly I’m dismayed that the police turn, what seems to be a blind eye to this, yet they’re happy to book lesser crimes. A world gone mad it would seem.

Would legalisation alleviate this issue? I doubt it. While the vast majority of developed nations classify drugs such as coke as an illegal substance, drug taking Australians have a snow flakes chance in hell that it will become legal here.

I will agree with AFR and Dan, the war on drugs is absurd. I attest this to the fact that there is no “war”. Its smoke and mirrors people; arrest a couple of mid level dealers, destroy a few crops to appease the populous and that’s all the work necessary for another year. If Australia was serious about a war on drugs, it would need to be exactly that, a WAR. You can’t have a war without the blood, guts and violence that comes with it, ask any veteran. Unfortunately the illicit drug trade employs to many people and generates ridiculous amounts of capital. Ask yourself, why would the government want to shut down such a lucrative industry?

Sam Cleveland says:

03:29pm | 14/12/09

No Chris G, you’ll excuse me if I jump in… but this is actually an incredibly well-phrased and insightful contribution from Wendy.
This is among the best Australian reportage of 2009.
Zeta’s response was also very thought-provoking. Kudos in particular for quoting Nino B over Tony M.

Terrific stuff from you both.
(That’s Wendy and Zeta by the way, not Chris G and whomever).

SAM.

stephen says:

03:51pm | 14/12/09

I once lived about 200 metres from that coke sign, for about 7 years. In Kings Cross you’ll see and hear a lot of uninteresting things, because most of the human activity is driven by drugs. No will, (except under the duress of violence,) no imagination, and I met no-one under the impression of a substance who was kind. If you want to see an Earthly Avatar, come to the ‘Cross.

Jay says:

03:55pm | 14/12/09

This points to the real reason why the “war on drugs” cannot be won: there is nothing that even remotely resembles a community consensus that drugs should be illegal. During the 70 odd years of prohibition (depending on which drug you are talking about) the usage has gone up for most of them. The starkest example of this is ecstasy, from unknown to endemic in no time.

The sooner we stop assuming that there is something “wrong” with people because they like to get high, the sooner we might come up with some real solutions for the social fall-out from drug taking. What I do know is that the negative social impacts of drug taking are not going to be solved by criminalising even greater proportions of our communities.

Glenn says:

03:57pm | 14/12/09

I call hearsay, bullshit and flat out sexism on every word of this column.

Gavin says:

04:01pm | 14/12/09

You should make smarter choices in regards to who you hang out with. I’m mid 30’s get out and about and live in Vaucluse in the Eastern Suburbs. I have never once been offered or even heard of anyone taking coke. Must be the wannabe blow-ins from the west that you hang out with.

Adam says:

04:16pm | 14/12/09

This is so poorly written. And I don’t believe your ‘playboy-type’ story for one second.

James says:

04:21pm | 14/12/09

I guess it is the best explaination for why Sydney has turned out the way it has

megan says:

04:27pm | 14/12/09

oh gavin you made me laugh! was there any point to your post other than to tell us where you live? hip hooray for you 30 something living in vaucluse.

I dont think you’ve been offered drugs because you have no friends… no your mum doesn’t count.

Cassidy says:

04:37pm | 14/12/09

Ergh I’m actually getting of sick of going out on a Friday/Saturday night and before long everyone starts scrounging around for $300. What ever happened to a good ol night of solid binge drinking?

Paul Horn says:

04:44pm | 14/12/09

Oh how super inner city trendy you are madam. Just so sophisiticated and urbane. Sitting around the top spots with your “Sex and the City” girlfriends living the high life and sucking down all that counterculture. No square flies on you hey! Street cred, whoa you’ve got in bucketloads!!

There is a solution to the glorified rock counterculture drug problem - its called the death penalty !! Put Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Amy Whininghouse and her dropkick boyfriend what’s his name in front of an Indonesian firing squad then watch the demand from the sophisticates dry up.  Our stinking media idolises drug addiction as it does with all forms of degeneracy!

Why is Singapore infinitely more successful with controlling drugs than this nation of halfwits? Here we have drug pushers laughing their heads off at pathetic sentences handed down by progressive deviate high court judges. Funnily enough when those same filth are faced with a real justice system such as that in Indonesia or Singapore the smile quickly disapperars and real fear sets in. If that little twerp Scott Rush miraculously escapes the death penalty and I hope to God he does not I would lay odds 100 to one that he will never commit another crime in his lifetime were he ever to return!

Singapore had tens of thousands of heroin addicts in the 70’s, this number has reduced to less than 1500 now. Conversely this countries heroin problem has increased substantially and numbers in the hundreds of thousands! Not only that their recidivism rate is incredibly low due to programs designed to teach the addict personal responsibility and it is non negotiable. Certainly more successful than the disgusting and pathetic “harm minimisation” approach championed by idiots that have no idea of how to control the problem!

I know the inner city elite will collectively gasp at the mere mention of the Singaporean approach but it is because of their thinking that we have such a large drug problem. I challenge any progressive idealist to expain away Singapores unmitigated success. Why is it that we never consider their approach when seriously questioning the best way to tackle this problem? 

If the Indonesian Government requires volunteers to man their firing squads I am only too happy to volunteer providing it is the Aussie drug pushers on the receiving end.

24 yrs says:

04:47pm | 14/12/09

for once, I agree with AFR.
I’m a young woman who’s been offered Coke a number of times, and (cue shock/horror) refused the offer.
We all have a choice to make. I’d suggest any dangers of it are more well known to people now than a decade, or two decades ago.
People are free to make their own choice and own the consequences.

Adrian says:

05:13pm | 14/12/09

If a consenting adult wishes to use cocaine they should be able to. If you don’t want to use it, dont. Don’t like being around people who use it? don’t invite them to your parties, don’t go to the types of bars they like to hang out at. Or even better, ignore them and continue along your pious journey through life.
Pretty simple.

I’m a single professional who has been ‘abusing’ coke for over 10 years both in Sydney and across the US and Europe. Never been fired, never had to steal, never adversely impacted anyone else’s life directly. Any indirect harm my usage has caused is the fault of those who enforce the ruinous policies that allow violence to control the trade in a sought after commodity.
if we stopped wasting our time and money on the lunacy we call drug laws, we might not be facing problems funding our schools, hospitals et al.

Also, Gavin - you’re either the a world class troll or the most oblivious man in the east.

Carl Palmer says:

05:20pm | 14/12/09

All I could think of whilst reading this post was “…you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave…”

I’ve hung out with a cross section of people over the years and musicians were the worse – that was awhile ago. I’ve been with a number of well to do people in recent times and their “drug” is really good bottle(s) of wine from their well stocked cellars. Not seen much cocaine around the place – I mustn’t be a cool person.  When our daughters went to Uni daughters we never heard the “C” word though other drugs were mentioned.

Wendy, if as a society we are really concerned then the heading should read “Sydney awash with Alcohol”.  Some of the fallout from this weekends police blitz in Sydney was just beyond belief - makes this cocaine article pale into insignificance. We don’t have a cocaine problem we have a serious alcohol problem.

Zeta says:

05:25pm | 14/12/09

@ Paul Horn - you’re underestimating the problem and clearly have no idea how the drug economy works. Australia, or more specifically, Sydney, is in the same place as London was in the late 1980s, early 1990s when it comes to cocaine. At an equivelent price, it was a drug for, ‘trendy sophisticates’ and celebrities. But as demand spiked, so too did the supply, and as a result, the price of the drug decreased sharply. In 1997, a point of coke could be bought for 1 pound. The drug, already popular, reached epidemic proportions.

The problem with cocaine supply is that it’s uneven. At the moment, we have a glut of cocaine as a result of diminished DEA activity in South America and the re-opening of poppy fields along the pakistan / afghan border, the situation just five years ago was much different.

Once the focus in the United States shifts away from the Middle East and back on Peru and Bolivia, the supply will dry up.

Then cocaine users who can’t afford the escalating prices turn to cheaper, less processed forms of crack cocaine. Then the real problems start.

So it’s not just a Northern Suburbs problem, eventually, it will be everyone’s.

Christine says:

05:46pm | 14/12/09

This article is so boring it makes me want to do a line. Or TEN.

Justin says:

05:49pm | 14/12/09

Paul Horn, you’re a strange type. When you put the figures out, yes, the Singaporean method does seem to illicit fantastic results. But at what cost? Do you have complete faith in the legal system, is it not possible for an innocent person to be put to death? Is that sort of collateral damage a reasonable by product.

I’m not sure I’d be touting government sponsored murder as a solution to enhance a persons sense of personal responsibility in what is for the most part (And it scales with the type of drug of course), a victimless crime (I’m referring to posession, not to the dealers here.).

ark says:

06:02pm | 14/12/09

Hilarious ..

“over to say hello but instead mumbled nonsensical bull while chewing the inside of her mouth like a masticating cow.”

Another drug causes that , certainly not coke

Jamers Hunter says:

06:11pm | 14/12/09

well well what a surprise !!  I have preformed at functions round sydney and esp a couple in the oxford street area and the number of times dressing rooms ,cool rooms( and still toilets) become defacto snorting rooms is hard to comprehend unless you step back and see that it is an all encompassing demographic that use it and as its expensive the people with more money use more and more often.
Me ,I would legalize most of the illicit drugs and tax them and use the profits to fund facillities for abusers of all drugs inc cigarettes and booze.
after all if so doing kept the criminals out of the system and removed the social stigma so health precautions could be followed then we would all be better off.. That includes joe average whos house would be less likely to be broken into to fund an illegal expensive habit.
Iv been in show biz for some yearts ,so have had a reasonable exposure to this.  james hunter “baby hanibal” http://www.circusbizarre.com.au

Glenn says:

06:24pm | 14/12/09

And I call bullshit on those Singapore figures quoted by that sicko who wants to kill people.

a don says:

06:36pm | 14/12/09

Cocaine users are drop-kicks. They take this drug either ignoring or just plain ignorant of the violent criminal supply chain. See No Country for Old Men. Morons. Totally un-cool idiots.

Steve says:

06:48pm | 14/12/09

@Paul Horn - You take delight in the thought of people’s deaths. That makes you infinitely more deprived morality than any drug dealer.

Mr T says:

06:59pm | 14/12/09

Hmm so your friend barters sexual favours off young girls with offers of cocaine.  No wonder public violence is on the rise with playboy types like him on the scene. Drunk or sober they must be lining up to give him a belting.

Cocane is the fashion... seemingly! says:

07:07pm | 14/12/09

Take yourselves to the Downing Centre and and see it first hand.  Drug infested individuals punting for a lesser charge.  Pitiful to see.
It also seems to be a common practice for the certain type of industries.

Terry Wright says:

07:17pm | 14/12/09

@Paul Horn (04:44pm | 14/12/09)
*cough* Bullshit.
Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam etc. all have massive drug problems and the death penalty. And Singapore’s so called “official” figures as are rubbery as yours.

“Singapore had tens of thousands of heroin addicts in the 70’s, this number has reduced to less than 1500 now. Conversely this countries heroin problem has increased substantially and numbers in the hundreds of thousands!”

So there’s hundreds of thousands of heroin addicts in Australia and only 1500 heroin addicts in Singapore. Where do you get your information from ... A Current Affair? Today Tonight? The Daily Telegraph? Need I say more.

“Why is it that we never consider their approach when seriously questioning the best way to tackle this problem?”

Because it’s a sham. That’s why moral crusaders and anti-drug zealots always cite Sweden and not Singapore as the ideal system for dealing with drugs. Singapore’s underground drug population is as active as any other SE Asian country but they do not seek medical help (out of fear) and are therefore not counted. Add to that how Singapore selectively quantify who is a drug addict and how many detained users quickly admit they are now clean and you get a very different picture to what you paint.

Also, your comment about Scott Rush is disgusting. His family are in real pain at the moment and I hope they don’t read your smarmy, sickly, self righteous dribble. We know for a fact that tough drug penalties do not lower drug use or reduce drug dealers. There is nothing to be gained from Scott Rush facing the death penalty and another shattered family become victims of the “War on Drugs”.

As for the article, oh pleeeease. It reads like a article from the CourierMail’s special report - The Drug Scourge. Over the last few months, there has been some real shockers by News Ltd writers about cocaine. Look them up, you won’t be disappointed. Like all fantastical, overblown articles, for every reported situation there’s a 1000 completely different outcomes. But I suppose you can’t get much attention with a headline that reads, “A very small percentage of Sydney sometimes uses coke”. For the record, according to the latest National Drug Strategy Household Survey, only 1.6% (275,000) of Australians have used coke in the last 12 months. Hardly an epidemic.

In 1995, The World Health Organisation produced the most comprehensive report ever about worldwide cocaine use but their funding was threaten by the US unless they buried it - the report contradicted US/UN drug policies.The report exposed how the UN and some countries act in complete defiance to the facts and evidence. The report also revealed much less cocaine use than claimed by the press and only a few use-related problems. Most users were recreational users and only a very few were intensive injecting users.

“Most programmes do not prevent myths, but perpetuate stereotypes and misinform the general public. Such programmes rely on sensationalised, exaggerated statements about cocaine which misinform about patterns of use, stigmatise users, and destroy the educator’s credibility.”
-WHO Report (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jun/13/bad-science-cocaine-study)

a don says:

08:19pm | 14/12/09

Terry needs to have a cup of tea and a lie down

a don says:

08:24pm | 14/12/09

QUOTE ADRIAN 5:13 PM I’m a single professional who has been ‘abusing’ coke for over 10 years both in Sydney and across the US and Europe. Never been fired, never had to steal, never adversely impacted anyone else’s life directly. UNQUOTE

What a total tool. Congratulations on the decapitation of a Mexican child. You are one of the selfish morons who has no idea how this drug is sourced from poor people. Oh did you vote Green for environmental safety. Not drinking Chardonnay any more? Oh skim latte was that? Moron.

awick27 says:

08:45pm | 14/12/09

Please, all those in favour of a European approach are kidding themselves. LEGALIZATION WILL NOT STOP ADDICTION. Since legalization of marijuana in Holland, heroin addiction levels have tripled.

http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/demand/speakout/speaking_out-may03.pdf

And while those with a legalization agenda have tried to smear the war on drugs as pointless and ineffective, it has been proven to have beneficial results,

‘The Legalization Lobby claims that the fight against
drugs cannot be won. However, overall drug use is
down by more than a third in the last twenty years, while
cocaine use has dropped by an astounding 70 percent.’

http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/demand/speakout/speaking_out-may03.pdf

Mr T says:

09:13pm | 14/12/09

awick27 .... 2003 called and they want their statistics back.

Zeta says:

09:19pm | 14/12/09

@ awick27 - So… because Holand legalised cannabis, drug users decided to start using heroin? Wow, that’s the kind of thing I’d expect the US Department of Justice to say so they can justify their multi-billion dollar drug enforcement budget, oh, wait a second, the Department of Justice really did say that to justify their multi-billion dollar drug enforcement budget?

That makes so much sense, a legal, safe drug on the streets at a price determined by the market and taxed. Of course it’s obvious people would instead turn to an addictive, dangerous, drug the price of which is determined by machette wielding thugs in South East Asian, South American and the Middle East.

I wonder, if someone who didn’t have an open cheque book from the world’s largest bureaucracy took a look at those figures, maybe they’d say that heroin and cannabis demographics are completely different, and their respective markets unrelated.

NS says:

09:21pm | 14/12/09

awick27: Marijuana has never been legalized in The Netherlands, but it has been decriminalized since the 70’s .I challenge you to find any Western nation that HASN’T seen heroin addiction levels multiply many times over in the last 40 years; it’s got naught to do with the Dutch harm reduction policy. Quoting DEA propaganda doth not an argument make.

Daniel says:

09:56pm | 14/12/09

For what its worth. I wasnt surprised by this story in the slightest.It goes on every weekend with people I know. If people think differently they need to wake up.

Terry Wright says:

09:56pm | 14/12/09

Don ... you’re a tonk. Adrian already said:
“Any indirect harm my usage has caused is the fault of those who enforce the ruinous policies that allow violence to control the trade in a sought after commodity.” And he is dead right.

It’s the self righteous attitudes like yours that help enforce such inane polices like Plan Columbia and The Merida Initiative. That’s where the real grief comes from, not the tripe you claim. You may not have noticed but attitudes have changed somewhat from decades of carnage caused by the “War on Drugs”. Your lot had your chance and failed spectacularly.

@Ark (06:02pm | 14/12/09) - Good pickup.

@awick27 (08:45pm | 14/12/09) - Citing the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is not a good start. Especially when the report is from 2003.  Heroin use is actually declining in the Netherlands because of their heroin assisted treatment (HAT) programs. You forgot to mention that the increased heroin use cited in the report happened globally not just The Netherlands. Also some drug use might be down but other drugs are up e.g. ecstasy, meth etc. But it doesn’t matter because over the last 40 years, drug use is well up.

Remember the DEA still believe that cannabis is as dangerous as heroin and has no medical benefits. They also claim MDMA is as dangerous as heroin. The last I read about them, an officer arrested a man for having bong water and tried to argue that the defendant was going to shoot it up or drink it.

BTW, has anyone else noticed that the only contribution here from the anti-drug brigade involves lies, exaggeration and malice to others?

Davo from St Kilda says:

10:11pm | 14/12/09

If i had to live in a third rate city like sydney i’d need all the mind altering substances i could get my hands on too. What a cesspit…

a don says:

10:13pm | 14/12/09

I lived in The Netherlands and 99% of the population had nothing to do with “coffee shops”. In fact the only time we ever went near one was because some visiting friend wanted to see it. And this year the Dutch have started shutting them down because despite their tolerant attitude they see how the low-life criminal element has made made the scene scummy and pathetic. Not at all cool. Drugs are ugly full-stop and anyone who wants to glamorize them is equally as ugly.

awick27 says:

10:19pm | 14/12/09

@Zeta, Since part of The Netherland’s drug policy is non-enforcement, it would make sense that people would turn to harder drugs once their soft, legal drug wasn’t enough of a fix for them. BTW, the same article states that cannabis addiction also increased two-fold. But since both you and NS are quick to dismiss any contradictory viewpoints as propaganda, I guess you wouldn’t care.

Andrew says:

10:23pm | 14/12/09

‘McMafia’ by Misha Glenny.

Mickb says:

10:33pm | 14/12/09

lets all rack up a few lines and not get nasty at each other!!!
p.s. The US Government is the worlds largest coke distributor anyone with half a brain would figure that one out!

Paul Horn says:

11:06pm | 14/12/09

OK Wright you asked for it you got it! Try this link http://www.getformesingapore.com/previous2007/290807_drugaddictionsituationinsingapore.htm    or     http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/Singapore/Story/STIStory_332150.html!!!

I would certainly say these articles are not some tacky tabloid show appealing to fat housewives or welfare mothers with nothing better to do!

In fact the Straits Times article states that drug addiction is up! To 1855 drug abusers!!! 1855 Wright virtually ZERO!!! In fact I challenge you to provide me with figures showing that the drug addiction problem in Singapore has increased at a comparable level to Australia since the 70’s! The best Amnesty can come up with is to bang on about Singapores death penalty andf then produce some tripe about the increasing number of old folk abusing sedatives and sleeping tablets. CRAP! Our problem has increased exponentially since then where theirs has decreased at the same rate.

And if there are tens of thousands of addicts in Singapore as there were in the 70’s where are they all hiding? In some subterranean parallel left wing universe such as the one that occupies the space between your ears? 

The facts are indisputable. Drug addiction in Singapre has DRAMATICALLY DECREASED since the 70’s due to stringent legislation backed up by harsh penalties the pinnacle of which is the death sentence. Only a complete fool or deluded trendy liberal would disagree!!!  At least ADMIT the facts if you wish to be taken seriously!  The thing that gets me with you lot is that with the annihilation of every drug pusher and lets remember the death penalty is reserved for pushers not personal users many hundreds of lives are saved. This fact of course is never considered by the bleeding heart liberal brigade when they bang on about the supposed brutality of the death sentence.

On the matter of Scott Rush this neer do well had over 20 convictions for fraud, drug offences, break and enter etc. 20 damned convictions Wright !!! A fact conveniently ignored by that great bastion of Socialist Marxist filth the ABC when they featured him on the Australian story! LOW LIFE HYPOCRITES!!  Idiots go on about how people deserve a second chance but I think that after 20 damned chances it is pretty clear that this moron will never clean himself up. All of a sudden all of that macho Aussie bravado falls into a heap when faced by a real justice system. For the first time in his pampered self indulged life this dead head is forced to face the reality of his crimes against humanity something our activist pathetic progressive system of law has failed to achieve time and time again.

Like I said it is overwhelmingly accepted around the world (apart from recalcitrant left wing groups) that the drug problem in Singapore is well under control, something that could not be further from the truth when applied to this country or other failed Western liberal democracies!!

Dan says:

12:06am | 15/12/09

a don, coke users are not responsible for the ‘decapitation of a Mexican child.’ The US and Mexican governments, who refuse to legalise drugs and are intent on the ‘war on drugs’ are. Oh, and trying to guess what people drink doesn’t win you the argument. Moron.

Just another Gen Y says:

01:26am | 15/12/09

coke does not make you talk gibberish and chew the inside of your cheek off….that was more than likely speed or pills or both. Just FYI

Bob says:

08:43am | 15/12/09

What’s with all these coke stories leading up to the festive season? This coke phenomena is OLD news. Those people who’ve been out in Sydney in the last 5 years, and who have eyes and a heartbeat knew this crap already.

Given the recent blitz by the NSW Police, and the media’s bad habit of just cutting and pasting media releases these days…

.....I’m guessing its a NSW Police PR campaign.

Why doesn’t the media do a story on lame attempts at viral information campaigns like this?

Jonathan says:

09:11am | 15/12/09

I’m still amazed that the author happily spends time with someone who acquires sexual favours in exchange for illegal drugs. the only people I know who use coke with any regularity are bondi dwellers who (imho) treat it as some sort of status symbol, a way of letting us all know that having a few hundred bucks to blow on a good time means that they’ve “made it”. 

awick27 says:

09:29am | 15/12/09

Everyone claims that the war on drugs is going nowhere, but Syndey has one of the world’s highest street prices for coke - $190,000 per Kg. In comparison, it’s only $30,000 - $35,000 per Kg in the States. What does this mean?

That customs and the AFP are infact making a dent on supply and that they are making life difficult for drug lords. The war on drugs is not as ineffective as advocates for decriminalization would lead us to believe.

And I congradulate the AFP and Customs in doing a good job at keeping Australia safe.

Weq says:

09:42am | 15/12/09

This has all happned before. Its funny how quickly people forget…. The GFC has helped restart the boom. Everyone wants to escape.

Yet authorities are still toteing the same line - cause they love the cocaine money (funding) as much as the dealers do.

Glenn says:

09:44am | 15/12/09

Yeah, Mr Horn whatever. You still want to kill people and to me that makes you a terrible person. Merry Christmas to ya.

James says:

10:34am | 15/12/09

Paul Horn, in the immortal words of Mr T.  “Quit your jibba jabba fool”, you are only doing harm to the anti drug cause.

I am against drug culture cos only people who are ripped think they are cool slumped in a toilet vomiting white froth, staggering about slurring incoherantly or strangling a hooker with a telephone cord after too much ice.

The death pentalty?  You high on crack

Jon G says:

10:56am | 15/12/09

He may not have originated it, but in the words of Robin Williams: “Cocaine is God’s way of telling you you are making too much money” . Or as Denis Leary put it: “Yeah, I’d like to do some cocaine. I’d like to do a drug that makes my penis small, makes my nose bleed, makes my heart explode, and sucks all my money out of the bank”.

Judge Dread says:

11:10am | 15/12/09

If top lawyers, doctors and celebrities think that snorting a substance that has been smuggled into Australia up the backside of an AIDS riddled addict, off a public toilet seat where other people sit to excrete their waste, is cool, then Sydney is definitely going down the gurlger.

I look down upon any twat that purchases a substance that has been produced by slaves under the duress or murdered husbands, beheaded babies and constant rape and torture.

I dob every user into the cops or security at clubs, and I get no greater pleasure than seeing these wannabe celebrity guys and girls, wimper and cry like babies when they are caught and their artificial confidence melt away as they are lead off…..I laugh at them….I will always laugh at them…..Karma is a bitch, and so am I if you do that rubbish anywhere near me, i don;t care who you are!

Observer says:

11:37am | 15/12/09

Dan you are the moron…...you think the govt put the weapon on the hand of a drug lord and said cut off that babies head. You disgust me and YOU are resonsible for every beheaded child in Mexico, your demand if this disgusting drug is what gets children murdered, look no further than in a mirror to see who’s responsible for dead, raped and tortured people who get in the way of drug cartels. Your feeble attempt to justify your foul behaviour is not even ridiculous enough to laugh at…..your a disgrace, go shove you head in a toilet…oh wait a minute you do that regularly when you snort cocaine.

Wayno says:

11:43am | 15/12/09

How about we break this down to a very simple level…what is right and what is wrong. It aint that hard. Dont try to justify actions by blaming someone else, or govt conpsiracies or anything else. The money used to purchase any illegal drug makes it way back to criminals and funds criminal activites…simple and wrong!
Now you make the choice. Will it be the right one or the wrong one?

AFR says:

12:08pm | 15/12/09

Most of the criticisms of coke can be fixed by doing one thing - legalising it. No more snorting off toilet seats, no more drug cartels, HUGE increase in tax revenue, jobs for Aussies.

Steve says:

12:16pm | 15/12/09

Wow, there’s a War on Drugs and since the Law hasn’t won since it started, then it must mean that the Drug users are winning!  I mean they haven’t lost have they?

The problem I see with the Coke issue is, if you increase Police then the price goes up.  When the price goes up more international crims try to bring more drugs in.  Thus making the problem worse.  Decrease the Police efforts then local drug produces increase production.  So realisticly it is a Loose-Loose situation which no one wants to admit too.  You’ll never beat normal Ecenomic activity in the Black Market, but hey the Governments of the world don’t seem to be able to understand the legal Ecenomic activity, so we’ve all lost!

Not Going to use my Real Name says:

12:21pm | 15/12/09

Actually, its not just Sydney and its not just the Paris Hilton wannabees or clean cut men with disposable income who want to unwind (why is coke always pitched as an upper class drug?) who are using lots of coke.  Here in Adelaide I’ve been quite suprised at how coke has spread amongst some groups of people I know.  These guys are plumbers, tradies etc, ie “cashed up bogans” who see coke as part of a big night out, e.g. a bucks night or new years etc, or a boys weekend away and so on.  Some I’d classify as addicts whose personalities and life choices have deteriorated, but most are more casual users who seem to be fine.  Ironically they get their coke from the guys they sell their hydroponic dope crops too.  Yep, many of them have a couple of hydro plants setup in the shed etc, which earns them about $15,000 cash every 3 months or so.  The last one that got caught had about $1500 worth of hydro gear confiscated and got a $900 fine and no criminal record, with a warning not to do it again.  No wonder so many people are doing it, there’s a hydro shop on every corner in Adelaide these days.  Of course its black money they can’t spend in obvious ways, so why not reinvest it back into other drugs, the casino, doing modifications to your car and so on…!  Anyway, I’m getting off topic, but when politicians say “they are tough on crime and drugs” I just laugh and think maybe in the media you are, but looking at the laws and outcomes of the legal system you are actually very soft on drugs, and suspect that they do condone it on some level.  Oh, all those who adopt the generic drugs are bad line, do you include alcohol in your view?

my-body says:

12:56pm | 15/12/09

Why let the government decide what you can and cannot put into your body?

Alcohol and Tobacco cause more damage than any other substances in Australia. No doubt this is due to the widespread availability and low cost. Yet they are still legal, albeit with laughable restrictions.

And while smoking is now considered by many to be “a filthy habit” alchol is still entrenched in our culture. This is despite alarming amounts of violent crime in recent times and the well documented damage alcohol can do to a person. Yet it’s still here. Simply because its accepted and so many people enjoy it. Oh yeah and it’s “social”.

I’m very involved in the Melboure strength/gym/bodybuilding scene as well as the inner city bar/club/party scene.  So as you could imagine I see plenty of illegal drug use as well as “legal” drug use (alcohol, tobacco, prescription meds) I’ve seen the adverse effects from abuse of almost all substances (ecstacy is the odd one out here. But wait until this generations disco bunnies hit 50 and I reckon we will have some interesting mental health issues) but that seems to be the common thread, abuse. All these substances are dangerous when used to excess, all have great potential for abuse, and all can be enjoyed in moderation by a responsible user.

Why should we let the law decide our poison of choice?

Food for thought.

Lord Grognard says:

01:25pm | 15/12/09

The immutable law of supply and demand will always overide the petty laws of any Parliament or Dictator.

Troppo says:

01:54pm | 15/12/09

The day we decide to legalise cocaine is the day the drug cartels find other, far more evil ways to make illegal money….. Oh and Steve your views are as awful as your spelling, maybe you should lay off the drugs. The ECONOMICS of illegal activity are what is making idiots like you pay through the nose (mind the pun) for a drug. The AFP and customs efforts are making this drug far more expensive than it ought to be which I for one, am glad of.

Anyone who says its OK in moderation is worse than an addict because cocaine is produced through violence, rape, torture and murder. I don’t see any wineries around the place cutting the heads of children to provide a nice bottle of Riesling. You your justifications are as evil as the drug.

Julien says:

02:15pm | 15/12/09

Drugs are intrinsically linked to insecurities, and the question of fighting a ‘war on drugs’ etc, are perhaps better addressed when considering the questionable moral fiber of society as a whole - and the collective social insecurities which prompt us to turn to means of escaping such as cocaine.

Status, recognition, a need to ‘fit in’ and of course the chemical addictiveness of the drug itself lead to Squires’ description of the current situation as an epidemic. However, changing this scenario must originate from the changing of broader social attitudes and the need for security within ones self - rather than simply attempting to take drugs off the streets while we push each other to remain up to date with trends, discourse, material goods, and other social devices which operate on an exclusionary basis.

Not from the East says:

02:30pm | 15/12/09

To Gavin…...see how many people attack you for daring to suggest they are fools. Gee they are so offended at being implicated in not being from the East…..hilarious, see how petty and pathetic coke heads are.

Taking Coke is done by common people who choose not to be dignified. They are sheep, who do it to be seen as cool, because surely it doesn’t taste that great especially when snorted of a toilet seat where people go to do excrete their waste. They are ordinary and feeble….and they know it!

Not taking drugs nowadays is the act of a truely unique and individual person, who chooses to be better than everyone else. Good on you Gavin I say

Beth says:

03:07pm | 15/12/09

When I was a drug user I was lured into a false sense of ‘belonging’ or of ‘community’ with my fellow drug users. Drugs are often the topic of conversation of drug users, and shared experiences and shared values lead people to feel that they ‘belong’. I did not experience this sense of community elsewhere at the time - and a social creatures this is a basic human need. Even this article demonstrates that strangers are continually acquaintanced off the back of a drug.

Now I hate drugs and avoid drug users altogether, but I know that until we can create a society that is less characterised by alienation we will still have kids snorting lines in toilet cubicles every weekend.

greencloud says:

03:11pm | 15/12/09

Compared to London - and no doubt other parts of the world that I can’t personally vouch for - the coke that makes it to Australia is hardly worth bothering with. A few lines of the stuff you get in Sydney barely even keeps you awake. And at at least four times the price it is in the UK, why would anyone, even a 22-year-old half wit, want to spend over $200 on what’s essentially baking soda with a bit of speed in it if you’re lucky? We’re raising a generation of kids who are going to blow their tiny minds if they ever actually get their mitts on real cocaine. In the meantime, if they’re daft enough, let someone take their money. At least that way they’re enot spending it on anything that’s actually bad for them.

BigBob says:

03:11pm | 15/12/09

Don’t be to worried about the cocaine in N.S.W , they putting up the electricity bills. Its about $900 more a years so the news said. No one will be able to afford a can of coke let alone buy cocaine. Its sad people feel the need to make their lives “feel” a little better. Many seem to have lost the ability to just be able to live and enjoy life. These drugs shorten life. Its tradgic

Tom says:

03:51pm | 15/12/09

What I find amazing is the number of clubs in Sydney that are very obviously heavily involved in the trade. Many are half empty on a Saturday night, and no one inside is drinking anything (after all, beers are going for $9 - people would have to turn tricks to afford to get a buzz on). And yet the owners expect us to believe they purchased their Lamborghinis and mansions legitimately? Please - a child could tell you that they have alternative revenue streams.

And Paul Horn, there is no need for a Copenhagen summit, it is quite obvious that the waste heat from your crack pipe is the cause of global warming.

R says:

04:11pm | 15/12/09

Zeta, Cocaine doesn’t come from Poppies.

Terry Wright says:

04:34pm | 15/12/09

awick27 (09:29am | 15/12/09) said:
“That customs and the AFP are infact making a dent on supply and that they are making life difficult for drug lords. The war on drugs is not as ineffective as advocates for decriminalization would lead us to believe.

And I congradulate the AFP and Customs in doing a good job at keeping Australia safe.”

They might be keeping us safe but they are certainly not having much impact on imported drugs. Even Mick Kelty admitted that the AFP and customs only stop about 10-15% of illegal drugs entering Australia. And then there’s the local product.

The “War on Drugs” is joke. When an illegal industry is larger than the oil market or worth more than the whole world’s manufacturing output, then any previous attempt to stop it has been a miserable failure. The black market for illegal drugs is worth $400,000 million dollars per year and only running second to military sales. Over 100,000 million dollars is spent each year trying to stop it.

@Paul Horn (11:06pm | 14/12/09) - Get a grip son. If you blindly believe a dictatorship like government as in Singapore, then wow! A country that has the world’s highest rate of capital punishment (mostly for drugs), public canning and only one real political party might be your idea of utopia but in reality, the population lives in fear. As I said, most drug addicts do not seek medical help for fear of going through the “system”. It seems a bit convenient that the “official” registered number of addicts is completely out of sync with every other country on the planet including those with strict drug laws to match. Where did they all go, you ask? The same place that all addicts go when confronted with harsh drug laws ... in hiding and off the books.

You also mentioned Indonesia as having “a real justice system” which is ironic because Lee Kuan Yew, the “father” of Singapore was best friends with the super corrupt Suharto. Tell us how you concluded that Indonesia, one of the most barbaric and corrupt countries we know of, has a “a real justice system”?
http://insideindonesia.org/content/view/1202/47/

Oh, one more thing.
“Here we have drug pushers laughing their heads off at pathetic sentences handed down by progressive deviate high court judges.”

Funny, I thought drug pushers laughed their heads off at laws that make easy-to-grow plants and worthless chemicals worth up to 17,000 times their value. And every time someone pops their head up and demands we be “Tough on Drugs”, the pushers thank god for being so kind for it seems that under prohibition, money does grow on trees.

Jules says:

05:01pm | 15/12/09

Yuck.  I prefer Pepsi.

steve says:

06:01pm | 15/12/09

no suprise. Sydney is such a wanabe corupt city.

If drugs are that easy to get. You have to ask yourself WHY??

To many people are olviously paid off

Sean says:

11:40pm | 15/12/09

All this talk of problematic drugs is interesting. But I can’t think that the real elephant in the room is the ongoing abuse of other drugs: Alcohol and Cigarettes. I have no problem with a war on drugs. But I intensely dislike hypocrisy and people who are not willing to consider the entirety of an issue. I would like value for money in terms of drugs with a major social consequence. Alcohol and Cigarettes cost us much, much more than cocaine realistically does.

There is an epidemic out there and I think if we open our eyes we would see Alcohol as a particular vice worth fighting a war against. Maybe that’s the line the left wing should take for legalisation of illegal drugs… but when did logic ever take part of our consensus???

At a minimum - Wendy Squires should hang her head in shame - and publicly condemn the action of her friend using cocaine as a leverage for sex (not just ‘tempt my ire’). Not only is that behaviour pathetic and immoral, it is something that any decent person should stand against. Would Ms Squires stand by someone who used a date rape drug so non-chalantly? And what, in reality, is the difference?

Lady T says:

08:56am | 16/12/09

He complains that all women in Sydney are scanks but only activley pursues scanky drug snorting idiots.  Maybe if he engaged in some intelligent conversation with a classy woman over a glass of Shiraz he might actually be surprised to find out that most decent, intelligent and successful women would be disgusted at the offer of a Class A drug. If that was my mate i’d be tellin ghim our friendship was OVER if he chooses to behave like a pimp.

Jennifer says:

10:16am | 16/12/09

So Terry Wright, seeing as you think that 10-15% of coke stopped isn’t worth it, do you then agree that seeing as barely 5% of women survive ovarian cancer we should stop finding a cure, that because on so few people are convicted of rape we should make rape legal, or that because the survival rate of AIDS is so low we should stop trying to find a cure for that as well, or we should make kidnapping and selling women into prostitution legal because trying to find people’s lost daugters is yeilding high results.

Legalising the drug will gain nothing, drug cartels will move onto something far more sinister to keep their money flowing in. The people that make and distribute these drugs couldn’t care less about it being legal, as you say yourself “under prohibition money grows on trees” so people like this will do anything that is illegal. I am for one glad that customs and the AFP are trying to do whats right, despite the odds being stacked against them, winning this war is NOT going to be easy, it is hard that is why only a small percent of people with the will and determination to fight against hard odds exist to protect the rest of us, who quite frankly at sometimes, don;t deserve it.

Beth says:

10:33am | 16/12/09

Jennifer is spot on! Great comment

Peter says:

12:05pm | 21/01/12

And where there is drug abuse, there is violence. Sydney has so much drug abuse(including alcohol abuse) that you never know if someone is going to attack you for nothing. Poor Sydney…it held promise.

Miles says:

06:34pm | 21/01/12

Hey Wendy of 2009,

This is a message to your future self in 2012.

Check out the re-write of this story you do when you get to 2012 in the Sydney Morning Herald:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/hate-to-tell-you-sydney-but-youre-on-the-nose-20120120-1qac3.html

Ya just gotta love time travel.