Korte samenvatting
"Between the dessert and the coffee with calvados the mirror is presented with a line of coke."
"There are people who do it once in a lifetime or just for a kick, for instance sexually. But in my case it is simply that I'm addicted."
There are many myths linked to cocaine. It is often considered the champagne or caviar among drugs. Lyrical descriptions such as snow or Columbian marching powder are used. It is said to be the drug of the jet set and yuppies, to be used as a sexual stimulant (aphrodisiac) and so on. In recent years, however, the image of cocaine has become tarnished. The traditional picture of the cocaine user has changed. Use, and abuse, of cocaine is no longer restricted to a specific group.
To date, little has been known about cocaine in Europe. The Rotterdam City Council commissioned the research bureau Intraval to investigate the nature, spread and extent of cocaine use in Rotterdam. Similar studies have been conducted in Barcelona and Turin. This book presents the results of the study of cocaine use in Rotterdam. A combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods are used in order to illuminate light into the 'sea of darkness'. New methods have been developed to estimate the extent of cocaine use. Lengthy descriptions of different types of cocaine lyfestyles are given. In this way, a wealth of useful information has been gained regarding nature and extent of cocaine use.
The study shows that cocaine is an extraordinary drug. It is used by a surprising variety of people as far as age, sex, socio-economic backgrounds and present socio-economic positions are concerned. People are attracted to cocaine for a wide variety of reasons. Cocaine can have different and diverse functions, even for one and the same user. On one occasion it might be an 'additional extra' at a party. On another, it could be purely instrumental, for instance to help someone to keep on going through the night. Sometimes it serves to help the user cope with, or surpres, problems. For some users, their whole life appears to revolve around cocaine. They will go to extreme lengths to acquire it. For others, it scarcely plays a role. As soon as problems linked to cocaine occur, they quit using the drug.
Cocaine is not by definition addictive. It appears to be a two-faced drug, depending on the way it is used. Sniffing can, apparently, be pursued without too many negative consequences. Basing is a more risky method. It can lead (in short time) to compulsive consumption. All in all, cocaine is not the harmless drug some people claim it to be.
Table of Contents
1.1 Demand and supply
1.2 Research question
1.3 Contents of Book
2.1 Estimation methods in drug research
2.2 Snowball sampling
2.3 Network analysis
2.4 Research design
2.5 Development of research
Notes
3.1 Opportunity structure
3.2 Background characteristics
3.3 Methods of use
3.4 Frequency and amount
3.5 Effects
3.6 The addiction concept
3.7 Cocaine, alcohol and other drugs
3.8 Connections with deviant and criminal behaviour
3.9 Cocaine and sex
3.10 Cocaine and XTC
3.11 Quality of cocaine
Notes
4.1 Drug carreer
4.2 Pattern
4.3 Location
4.4 Method, frequency and amount
4.5 Income, crime and cocaine trade
4.6 Problems and contacts with assistance
4.7 Connections between important variables
Notes
5.1 Analysis and construction
5.2 The Burgundian type
5.3 The experience type
5.4 The situational type
5.5 The distinctive type
5.6 The hedonist type
5.7 The routine type
5.8 The poly-drug type
5.9 The cocainists
5.10 Summary
Notes
6.1 Analysis of personal networks
6.2 Estimation of extent
Notes
7.1 Conclusions and recommendations
7.2 Methodological aspects
