One of the most severe recent indictments of U.S. drug policy in the Andes comes from an unusual source: a fashion magazine.
In September 2006 (old news, but CIP doesn’t have a subscription), “W†magazine – one of the most-circulated fashion publications in the United States, ran a six-paragraph article contending that “cocaine is fast regaining its status as the party drug of choice for the young and fabulous.â€
Coke is back, and everyone–from the staffs of major fashion houses and the young social set to underage celebrities and their hangers-on–is hoovering it. “It’s like smoking a cigarette; nobody cares,†says one fashion insider. … In the last year, such casual use has become so prevalent that the country’s high-end rehabilitation centers are already feeling the effects. As Richard Rogg, the CEO of the upscale Promises treatment facility in Malibu, California, points out, “It’s definitely on the rise in New York We are getting some pretty high-functioning people out of the city who are addicted to cocaine.â€
We have known that cocaine supplies have been unaffected by “Plan Colombia†and other militarized, supply-side strategies in the Andes. The price of cocaine is lower now than it was when Plan Colombia began; “W†magazine notes that “the going rate for a gram of coke in New York has dropped from $100 to $60.â€
The United States has at least had the luck of seeing demand for the drug remain flat over the past ten years or so. Cocaine has been out of style among the drug-consuming public, who have turned of late to marijuana, heroin and synthetic drugs like Ecstasy and methamphetamines. Cocaine has been relatively passé, associated with the ’70s disco culture, the ’80s greed decade, and the devastating crack plague of the late ’80s and early ’90s.
When a top U.S. fashion magazine forecasts a coming boom in cocaine use, though, it can only be good news for Colombia’s guerrilla and paramilitary groups (as well as other powerful Colombians who benefit from the drug economy).
If “W†is correct – and if more Americans follow the example of their more fabulous fellow citizens – there will be more money for weapons, more money for murder, and more money to dismantle the rule of law in Colombia.
This latest tidbit comes from an unorthodox source of information. But it offers further evidence that Plan Colombia has failed as a counter-drug strategy. The need for a new direction is becoming ever more urgent.
March 27th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
Ours indeed is a global economy. Thus, we here in the U.S. buy Wal-Mart alarm clocks imported from China and party cocaine imported from Colombia.
As John Donne has written, “No man is an island, entire of itself. Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were.
Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee.”
Thus, the tragedy of Colombia is also the tragedy of the United States. Colombians may suffer more than we do; but we are the great perpetrators of the drug trade as all of us on this forum know.
Maybe we should be extraditing both Chiquita executives and “beautiful people” to Colombia.
March 28th, 2007 at 1:43 am
As far as the magazine article is concerned, I am not too surprised. I live about 100 miles from NYC in a small, ruralish and upper middle class town. I am also in college. Being in a small town, everyone knows everyone. So while I may be at friends apartment at a party, it is guaranteed someone, usually 3 or 4 people are doing cocaine (which utterly disgusts me and I tell them what they support by doing it constantly, to at least try to publicly embarrass them). There has been a recent jump, in the last 6 to 8 months, of people I know in my town doing cocaine. And by jump, in August last year I knew 5, now i know 20. And by “know,” I know for a fact (journalism major too), as they usually openly discuss it. Cocaine is also very cheap in this area. Last year, one kid asked me what the national average was for a gram. I told him roughly $100. He told me he could get an ounce of cocaine for $800, so roughly $30 a gram.
It is a sad day when drugs become “chic,” especially those, cocaine and heroin, that cause such suffering. Maybe we should start indicting cocaine users as giving material support to terrorists. Or maybe we should note the tragic, and dead-on accurate, words of Colombian journalist Manela Guerrero, in the documentary “Getting Away With Murder”: “Here in Colombia, we ask ourselves, ‘Who is selling most of the weapons and arms to the government?’ The United States. ‘Who sells Colombia most of the
chemicals needed to process drugs?’ The United States. ‘What country has the highest number of consumers of the illegal drugs produced here?’ The United States. But where are all the killings and massacres? Colombia.”
March 28th, 2007 at 1:45 am
I should note that this is my town. Other, more upper class towns near me have higher cocaine use rates, but this is in now indicative of any pattern, especially on a larger level, just my situation not too far from NYC.
March 28th, 2007 at 1:51 am
Ok, I shouldn’t post at almost 2 am after I’ve just gotten out of work, that should read: “…no way indicative…”
June 10th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Coke id definitely “back” and i have a feeling it will only continue to spread. I also live in a college town in California, which is a very close-knit social community. I honestly cant think of a single friend and fellow student who has not at least tried it by now. Im talking about good, popular, active kids who are in the student body, fraternities and sororities, social clubs, team collegiate sports, etc. when i first came to school 4 years ago it was more taboo, people would do it in bathrooms or behind locked doors before returning to the party. Now however, this has changed greatly. Now, i’ll walk into a friends house and see ten people sitting around a glass table, beer in one hand, straw in the other ..at 4 in the afternoon! -and this is extremely commonplace here, usually ending with empty beer boxes, rolled up pieces of paper and dirty tissues scattered about, and an intense feeling of self-loathing as the sunrises and you are still wearing the now sweat covered outfit from yesterday. and it happens again the next night.
I am having a hard time with this personally, for many the key to keeping your life together seems to be moderation and regular detox periods in which you stop using completely for a few days.. but its not that easy for everyone. At this point if i want to keep all my friends, boyfriends, etc. i will have to learn to deal with it being around me. Its back and it is seen as sexy, glamorous, upscale, and accepted by most. Its now the normal thing to do, anytime, anyplace.
if any one would like to pray for my friends and I it would be much appreciated, I have been praying for all of you out there facing this problem. hope this story helps someone in some way …thank you for listening