Comments on: Is cocaine killing our young people? Where are the facts?

By: Barbara

Barbara — Tue, 06 May 2008 09:29:34 +0000

Zoe! Email me please?????

By: Susan

Susan — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:46:04 +0000

I visited you in prison last year. I hope you are out and am wondering how to connect. We were the two women who brought you shampoo etc….. I have prayed for your release. Where are you now?

By: Frank

Frank — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 23:42:11 +0000

zoe, where are you now? What is your book called?

By: zoe savage

zoe savage — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 19:53:16 +0000

my name is zoe savage and i have spent the last 5 years in ecuador for carrying cocaine to london,i was set up by a friend,x friend.i am working on some projects at the moment and i also wrot a book in prison with a lot of info about that dirty drug.please let me know any way i can help in helping others

By: Sophie

Sophie — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 21:22:14 +0000

Us kids. We dont look up to see how dangerous cocain is! We get fucking asked if we want some or offered n most of us say ok!:@ I know that! I’m a bloody 12-13 yr old. I DO NOT TAKE COCAIN! N i wont but a few of ma mates do. N they dont wanna stop n they’ve seen what it can do to u. They dont care. Sum people do. N they try 2 stop but they cant. I think Frank is so rong! He has A BIT OF A IDEA

By: Sophie

Sophie — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 21:17:19 +0000

Right. I’m a bloody kid! Listen it doesn’ help ALL DA ADVERTISMENTS. We just get offered them and we say ok.

By: Frank

Frank — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 12:04:11 +0000

I’m with you 100% on the heroin problem.

And unfortunately chances are the cocaine problem will turn into a much bigger crack problem which in turn will get ignored as it moves into the same social strata as heroin.

By: John Sull

John Sull — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 09:44:37 +0000

I beg to differ Frank. Routes of addiction are different for different drugs. The rush obtained from coaine (due to a build up of dopamine in the neuroreceptors) is so strong that “during periods of abstinence from cocaine use, the memory of the euphoria associated with cocaine use, or mere exposure to cues associated with drug use, triggers tremendous craving and relapse to drug use, even after long periods of abstinence” (US National Institute of Drug Abuse). The fact that people need to re-abuse cocaine to retain this high after a period of abstinence constitutes an addiction to cocaine.
With your regards to your point on alcohol abuse/addiction, you may not be too wrong in what you say. Check out this page http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/conditions/addictions/typesaddiction_alcohol.shtml and the survey attached. Medically, your number of 100% might not be far off.

On another point, its interesting that we have had a chroic heroin problem for over 20 years in this country, but since it is not a middle class drug (like cocaine), it gets very little news coverage.

By: Frank

Frank — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 01:28:34 +0000

If you are willing to accept norms because their norms that’s fine, me I prefer to question.

My point in relation to alcohol was to point out to John that his definition of addiction was factually incorrect.

We could discuss the role of the media in society alone ad infinitum, however my argument still stands that hysterical anti drugs stories may be counter productive to any efforts to get young people to avoid drugs or at least avoid killing themselves while taking them.

As for finding it hard to accept any level of use of cocaine is safe, William Burroughs used it practically his whole life and had this to say about it: “The desire for cocaine can be intense. I have spent whole days walking from one drug store to another to fill a cocaine prescription. You may want cocaine intensely, but you don’t have any metabolic need for it. ”

So is it smart or safe? No, but it IS possible to use and not die. As with alcohol, albeit cocaine is a more psychologically addictive drug.

here’s another interesting article, and another one

I don’t understand why you bring up this point about accepting facts. Either you feel I am guilty of this or you don’t - which is it?

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:35:23 +0000

The media’s job is to sell advertising… not to inform or educate us Frank.

I dare say if alcohol were a new product on the market today that it would be much harder to legalise it… but there you go, that’s the socitey we live in and they are the norms we have accepted over the generations. I don’t think it is an argument that will get very far.

I have to say I would be siding with John on this issue. I find it very hard to accept that cocaine use is safe at any level and as former minister for justice McDowell said those who take coke have blood on their hands!

If you are only willing to accept the “facts” that suit your side of the argument- I’m not saying you are necessarily- then there is no point in even getting into the debate on this issue.