Ricos e pobres, o mesmo precipício
Público, 1ª página, 9 Agosto
“A Guiné-Bissau é o principal ponto de passagem de cocaina entre a América Latina e a Europa onde chega através de Portugal... Os detidos (por tráfico) foram todos libertados, o director da Polícia Judiciária, cujo trabalho contra os barões da droga tinha sido elogiado internacionalmente, foi demitido, magistrados sofreram pressões para não investigar envolvidos... Activistas anti-droga e jornalistas têm vindo a ser ameaçados. Um pesadelo.”
Sunday Independent (Jornal Irlandês) 29 Abril 2007 (adaptado de “The end of the line”)
Young, intelligent students, people in high-powered jobs, well-known personalities, people in the public eye, many who say they wouldn’t touch any other “dirty” drugs, do it…. Once seen as the champagne of drugs, the cool, clean, cocaine is now being described as at least as addictive as heroin…
People have bought into the cleverly marketed image of cocaine as the clean drug. No teeth problems, no needles in your arms…Many feel it’s quick, clean, painless, and gives you a confidence like no other… In fact, many have no problem saying they take the odd line at the weekend. If cocaine does anything for their status, they think it’ll push it upwards… For a product that hasn’t had one advertisement on TV, on a magazine page or on a billboard in town, it’s doing really well as it continues to spread like wildfire…
John: “I started when I was 19 years old. I was in a bar and I was offered some during the night, but I said no. But as the night went on, I was very drunk and everyone was doing it in the toilets, every time I went to the toilets they were doing it, so a friend just put some in front of me and I took it. I started feeling the effects of it straight away and I just said, “Wow! What is this?” and my friend just laughed. I couldn’t believe the way it made me feel. It gave me such a high.
The only way I can explain it is that, on a scale of 1 to 10, the average person is on a 3 most of the time, sometimes they reach a 5, but cocaine gives you 10 out of 10 high. It gives you complete confidence and you feel you can do anything. I just remember saying “Where can I get some more of this? And I ended up doing it for the rest of the night. Every 20 minutes I was taking a line. I must have spent about 200 € that night. I think I took too much of it the first time, because when I woke up the next day my whole body was shaking.
I had never done drugs before… but the following weekend I was doing it again, on Saturday. Some time later, I would do it every Friday, Saturday, Sunday and then I started taking it during the week too. It was becoming a continuous process… after only three months! At some point, I was spending 600 to 700 € a week on it. I just got to the addictive stage quicker than others. But the rest of the guys I used to be with, they are on it every day now – and they are going to have to give it up some time.
Robert: Like the others, he believes he became addicted the very first time he took it. “It was absolutely brilliant. It was as if there wasn’t anything better. The feeling it gave me was incomparable. It gave me so much confidence. Every time I was on it, anything I did was the right thing to do and anything I said was the right thing to say, well that’s what it seemed like, anyway. It gave me so much confidence. It was as if I was electrified…. After spending around 300 € a day on cocaine at its worst, I decided to ask for help, I realised I had a serious problem. After treatment during several months, I am clean now. Looking back, I can see how people was playing with myself, why they stayed around, while I was putting money into their pockets.”
People think it’s the Rolls-Royce of all drugs, but take note, it’s probably the most dangerous of them all.
“A Guiné-Bissau é o principal ponto de passagem de cocaina entre a América Latina e a Europa onde chega através de Portugal... Os detidos (por tráfico) foram todos libertados, o director da Polícia Judiciária, cujo trabalho contra os barões da droga tinha sido elogiado internacionalmente, foi demitido, magistrados sofreram pressões para não investigar envolvidos... Activistas anti-droga e jornalistas têm vindo a ser ameaçados. Um pesadelo.”
Sunday Independent (Jornal Irlandês) 29 Abril 2007 (adaptado de “The end of the line”)
Young, intelligent students, people in high-powered jobs, well-known personalities, people in the public eye, many who say they wouldn’t touch any other “dirty” drugs, do it…. Once seen as the champagne of drugs, the cool, clean, cocaine is now being described as at least as addictive as heroin…
People have bought into the cleverly marketed image of cocaine as the clean drug. No teeth problems, no needles in your arms…Many feel it’s quick, clean, painless, and gives you a confidence like no other… In fact, many have no problem saying they take the odd line at the weekend. If cocaine does anything for their status, they think it’ll push it upwards… For a product that hasn’t had one advertisement on TV, on a magazine page or on a billboard in town, it’s doing really well as it continues to spread like wildfire…
John: “I started when I was 19 years old. I was in a bar and I was offered some during the night, but I said no. But as the night went on, I was very drunk and everyone was doing it in the toilets, every time I went to the toilets they were doing it, so a friend just put some in front of me and I took it. I started feeling the effects of it straight away and I just said, “Wow! What is this?” and my friend just laughed. I couldn’t believe the way it made me feel. It gave me such a high.
The only way I can explain it is that, on a scale of 1 to 10, the average person is on a 3 most of the time, sometimes they reach a 5, but cocaine gives you 10 out of 10 high. It gives you complete confidence and you feel you can do anything. I just remember saying “Where can I get some more of this? And I ended up doing it for the rest of the night. Every 20 minutes I was taking a line. I must have spent about 200 € that night. I think I took too much of it the first time, because when I woke up the next day my whole body was shaking.
I had never done drugs before… but the following weekend I was doing it again, on Saturday. Some time later, I would do it every Friday, Saturday, Sunday and then I started taking it during the week too. It was becoming a continuous process… after only three months! At some point, I was spending 600 to 700 € a week on it. I just got to the addictive stage quicker than others. But the rest of the guys I used to be with, they are on it every day now – and they are going to have to give it up some time.
Robert: Like the others, he believes he became addicted the very first time he took it. “It was absolutely brilliant. It was as if there wasn’t anything better. The feeling it gave me was incomparable. It gave me so much confidence. Every time I was on it, anything I did was the right thing to do and anything I said was the right thing to say, well that’s what it seemed like, anyway. It gave me so much confidence. It was as if I was electrified…. After spending around 300 € a day on cocaine at its worst, I decided to ask for help, I realised I had a serious problem. After treatment during several months, I am clean now. Looking back, I can see how people was playing with myself, why they stayed around, while I was putting money into their pockets.”
People think it’s the Rolls-Royce of all drugs, but take note, it’s probably the most dangerous of them all.
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