Cocaine and cannabis are going through a similar spike in popularity that nicotine smoking had decades ago, the main NGOs providing drug rehabilitation services fear.
According to data published last week, while there was a drop in people treated for heroin, the number of those receiving treatment for using cocaine for the first time in their lives increased.
In 2020, almost a third of all people in treatment reported cocaine as the drug which creates the most problems for them, up from 15 per cent in 2015.
Additionally, the number of people receiving treatment for using cocaine for the first time increased from 36 per cent in 2015 to 52 per cent in 2020.
Cannabis is the second most-used primary drug among those seeking treatment for the very first time. And while most people who sought drug-related emergency treatment were cocaine users, the substance which caused the second-highest number of emergencies was cannabis.
The figures were collected from service providers Caritas, Sedqa, OASI and Mount Carmel Hospital and published in the annual Drug Situation and Responses in Malta report.
According to the service providers, a drop in price tag, a sense of trendiness and fear of the side effects of heroin are all contributing to increased popularity of cocaine.
An increasingly accessible drug
OASI Foundation chief executive Noel Xerri explained that people were becoming increasingly scared of heroin as it is the drug that causes the most physical dependency.
“On the other hand, cocaine has become increasingly ‘normalised’ and is considered a ‘recreational drug’,” he said.
“Cocaine has also become more accessible as its price went down from around Lm65 (€150) to €40 per gram. Despite a substantial drop in its purity level, increasingly stressful lives also mean people are constantly after instant gratification, which they believe they will find in cocaine,” he said.
Normalising cocaine use
Nearly half (48 per cent) of those seeking OASI’s support last year were cocaine users, up from 35 per cent in 2017.
“Cocaine and cannabis are going through the same social shift that nicotine smoking had 50 years ago. Back then, nicotine was ‘normalised’ and people smoked anywhere and everywhere. It was deemed rather rude not to offer cigarettes to those around you while, nowadays, smokers move away from people as it is deemed harmful,” Xerri said.
The spike in nicotine smoking we saw back then is being mirrored in cocaine and cannabis use nowadays, he added.
“At OASI, we believe that the legalisation of cannabis further ‘normalised’ cannabis and, contrary to common misconception, cocaine and cannabis use is not limited to any age, societal group or level of education – 14 per cent of those who request our support have a tertiary education certificate or warrant.”
Caritas Malta director Anthony Gatt also noted that nicotine smoking was decreasing, considering increased restrictions and a more widespread understanding of its harms.
On the other hand, cocaine and cannabis are the two substances that Caritas clients report are on the increase in the community.
Caritas has, in fact, seen an increase in its clients who use cocaine: while 25 per cent of all clients in 2012 used cocaine, 45 per cent did so in 2020.
There has also been an increase in the number of cannabis users seeking help: from 14 per cent in 2012 to 24 per cent in 2019 and 20 per cent in 2020.
Gatt believes cocaine is on the increase because of various factors, including increased affluence and a drop in price.
Cocaine is becoming trendier and more popular at parties, where it is consumed in conjunction with alcohol, he noted.
“At the same time, people are becoming increasingly wary of the strong addiction linked to heroin. There are some people who are switching from heroin to cocaine, as the data suggests.
“However, crack cocaine is also extremely addictive, and when cocaine users switch to crack, they are more quickly addicted and eventually enter huge debt, ending up homeless and suffering mental health problems that require hospitalisation. Trends of drug use are constantly changing.”