News Cocaine Seizures in Europe up Almost Fivefold in a Decade

[4DQSAR]

Latin American organised crime ‘may operate in 16 European countries’

Cocaine seizures in Europe are up more than fivefold in 10 years as a host of cartels take root. A four-month Guardian investigation reveals the true scale of a continent-wide shift

www.theguardian.com

I've been watching it happen in the UK.

From the invention of the £5 'crack deal' to people running through tens of thousands of pounds a month.

It seems unlike most opioid users who can at least fall back on methadone, because there is no current substitution therapy, people with a cocaine problem are far less likely to go to a local HR unit (Aspire usually) and ask for help.

FYI it's just my opinion that while researchers pay with Ritalin as a possible substitute, amfonelic acid exists as does the even more active homologue in which that pendent benzyl moiety is swapped for a phenyl ether. Now I wouldn't like to guess but I would be VERY tempted to add a para fluoro to that pendent aromatic as it sits in the same lipophilic pocket as cocaine BUT if the para doesn't work then the meta. But in either case it metobolically hardens the product.

I don't think substitution therapy is a good thing in the long term but if the result is a medication where one oral dose lasts for 12+ hours then at least it means users aren't redosing in a compulsive manner.

 

[arrall]

This is probably going to be a more productive conversation in DPMC.

 

[arrall]

I don't think substitution therapy is a good thing in the long term but if the result is a medication where one oral dose lasts for 12+ hours then at least it means users aren't redosing in a compulsive manner.

I think that the only solution is to address what is causing people to get addicted in the first place - for those who want to get off the drugs, that is.

 

[4DQSAR]

@arrall - Sorry. I entirely forgot to add that the role of the medication is to address those problems because the person is at least more stable.

 

[tryptakid]

I am moved it to DPMC since that forum could use a topic and is more suited for this post.

I think that there is definitely a link between Opioid Treatment Programs and cocaine use. Once users are stabilized on opioids - they look for other drugs to start using to have fun with if they aren't engaging in active recovery/sobriety. Since opioids are off the table - people naturally start looking to cocaine as a viable alternative.

Meth is big right now in the US due to it's low cost, widespread availability due to it being manufactured in the same labs as fentanyl in Mexico. Never been cheaper to be a tweaker than right now. You can easily get on methadone or suboxone and then spend your days scrounging money for a 30$ eight ball of meth to tweak all day/all night, rinse and repeat. Cocaine has the limitation of needing coca plantations to produce it, whereas meth and fentanyl can be synthed in a lab easy peasy.

Wouldn't be surprised if the cartels started fucking around with some of the phenidates at some point. There's a whole bunch of RC cathiniones and phenidates that are just as easy to produce and have enthusiast users that have demonstrated marketability.

 

[4DQSAR]

You missed it - ethylphenidate was one of the very first RCs.