Hooked, drugs in Spain and the gateway to hell

Hooked, drugs in Spain and the gateway to hell

BY NICK SNELLING

In 2006 Spain overtook the United States in having the highest per capita number of cocaine users in the world. In 2007 well over 2 ½ tons of cocaine was seized at Madrid’s Barajas airport alone and it has been estimated that 94% of all Euro notes circulating in Spain have traces of the drug. In 2005 Spain accounted for half of all the seizures of cannabis resin in Europe and three quarters of the total amount seized. Clearly, Spain is at the forefront of the European war against drugs.

Unfortunately, according to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCCDA), Spain has become the gateway for drugs to enter Europe. An impossible to protect, 3,000 km coastline has made Spain vulnerable and a gift to determined smugglers, with Galicia’s rugged coastline nicknamed the ‘Sicily of Spain’. Originally renowned for its tobacco smuggling, this area is now the main entry point for cocaine from Latin America. Meanwhile, Spain´s proximity to Morocco (which produces 70% of the world´s cannabis resin) means that it is the obvious place to land and distribute the drug throughout Europe.

Spain, obviously, has many Morroccan and North African immigrants living and working in the country, together with strong cultural and linguistic ties with South America. Some of these people provide an ideal network for traffickers and, having assimilated into Spanish life, are able to move drugs in Spain,with little difficulty, into the rest of Europe.

The problem for Spain is that invariably there is always eventually a correlation between drug trafficking and actual usage. Smugglers pay off distributors with drugs and the drugs themselves are generally cheaper the closer they are to the point of distribution. As a consequence, drug usage in Spain has increased, encouraged by the new wealth produced across Spanish society by the long economic boom of the past fifteen years. This has been exacerbated by an acceptance of drug taking, particularly with regard to cannabis, amphetamines and (most dangerous of all) cocaine.

Between 1986 – 1996 there was an explosion of heroin consumption but that has constantly declined over the past ten years. Considered ‘dirty‘ and dangerous, due to its intravenous use, it is now mostly confined to the margins of society. That said, 15% of all addicts being treated now were addicted to heroin and some 80,000 people in Spain are currrently being prescribed methadone.

The real problem now is cocaine, which has spread rapidly through Spain during the past ten years, initially using the drug distribution networks previously set up for heroin users. However, cocaine has penetrated every strata of Spanish society from the poor to the educated and wealthy. Highly addictive and an expensive habit to maintain, cocaine has managed what heroin never could. It is perceived as a ‘clean’ drug – perhaps because it is a white ‘antispectic-looking’ powder that is mostly inhaled without the awkward and intrusive paraphenalia of syringes and needles.

Certainly, cocaine is a widely considered to be an acceptable recreational drug, with the United Nations estimating that it is consumed by 3% of the Spanish adult population. It is an effective stimulant both physically and psychcologically and is, with its easy administration, ideal for socialising. In the words of Francisco Verdu Asensi (Vice President of the Spanish Association for the Study of Drug Addiction): ‘cocaine was guaranteed to be successful in the environment of pleasure and recreational activities’.

The trouble is that the more cocaine you take the more you need to gain the same affect, until it becomes an all-encompassing compulsion that will destroy every aspect of your life. As Francisco Verdu Asensi says, with all the authority of a specialist psychologist, cocaine quickly produces for an addict ‘multiple complications: physical, psychological, social, judicial and economic’ with any treatment a ‘tortuous journey’ against an horrendous ‘recividist sickness’.

Certainly, Vicente Pla Escolando (chief co-ordinator for the Proyecto Hombre in Gandia) agrees. ‘There is, in fact, no safe or acceptable drug and that includes alcohol. The end result of drug taking is always the same – a ruined life that will be desperately hard to put back together.’ Emphatically, this includes cannabis, despite its ‘safe’ image. In fact, it is the first step on the drugs ladder and can have enormously harmful affects, particularly on immature bodies.

There are signs that drug taking in Spain is stabilising with some signs of a decrease. Indeed, a positive report (Estudes 2006-2007) recently indicated that students believe that drugs are too easy to obtain. This appears to be the first step in reducing usage – a change in the very perception of the acceptablity of drug taking, together with a realisation of the risks involved.

Most Spanish professionals seem to agree that the most effective way of fighting drug use is for society to openly acknowledge that a significant drugs problem already exists. This should then prompt a philosophical change in what society believes is acceptable conduct. Because now, as Vicente Pla Escolando points out, ‘everyone expects instant gratification in their lives regardless of how it is obtained. And drugs dangerously deliver, in the short term, exactly that gratification – with no effort or sacrifice required.’

Interestingly, one of the important strategies used by the Proyecto Hombre to wean addicts off drugs is to show them that it is possible to enjoy life without drugs. Outdoor activities and social events are therefore a vital part of the rehailitation process. However, whilst it is reasonably easy to persuade addicts to stop taking drugs in Spain, the temptation to return to them remains. This is often quickly and disastrously initiated when a rehabilitated addict encounters some new problem in his life which he feels unable to surmount – without the ‘reassuring’ affects of a drug.

As Spain slides inexorably into recession, the concern must be that drug taking will increase along with the myriad, serious social and economic problems that will now occur as the population becomes ever more stressed. As Francisco Verdu Asensi asserts ‘alcoholic drinks are a natural refuge during a recession’ and this is probably now also true for drugs. In which case, the coming years may see a further surge in the appalling tragedy of drug usage and addiction in Spain.

TIMELINE

– DRUGS IN SPAIN –

MAIN DRUGS

Amphetamines, Ecstasy and LSD
These are synthetic drugs that stimulate the central nervous system creating increased confidence, sociability and energy, euphoria and raised sensory awareness. Generally, synthetic drugs are taken in pill form but they can also be snorted and, less commonly, injected or smoked.
In 2005 world production of synthetic drugs was estimated at 479 tonnes.
It has been estimated by the EMCDDA that almost 9.5 million Europeans have tried ecstasy, with almost 3 million having taken it in the past year. It is often associated with young people and the club and party scene.

Cannabis
The most commonly used illicit drug in the world – over 13 million Europeans will have used it during the past 30 days.
Known by a variety of names, such as marijuana, hashish, ganja and skunk. It is a psychoactive product of the plant cannabis sativa. Whilst it has some medicinal qualities, it is mainly used as a recreational drug and is most commonly smoked, inhaled over a vaporiser or consumed orally.
A study published in The British medical journal The Lancet in 2007 stated that cannabis users have on average, a 41% greater risk of developing psychosis than non-users. It can cause short-term memory loss, anxiety, panic attacks and reduce dexterity and motor-skills.

Cocaine
Cocaine is used as a recreational drug, although crack cocaine (the much stronger version) is normally used by marginalised people and is extremely addictive. Cocaine produces a short-lived feeling of exhileration, whilst crack cocaine dangerously produces a brief ´intensity of pleasure completely outside the normal range of human experience´.
After Cannabis, cocaine is the world´s most trafficked drug with global seizures in 2005 amounting to 756 tonnes. Over 12 million Europeans (about 4% of the adult population) have tried cocaine at least once in their lifetimes.

Opiods – mainly Heroin
Heroin is normally either ´brown´ or the much rarer ´white´ heroin from south east Asia. A highly addictive and harmful drug, heroin produces a sense of euphoria and well being (diamorphine being 2-3 times more potent than morphine) – followed by extremely unpleasant and powerful withdrawal symptoms. Heroin is also associated with HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, drug overdoses and poly drug use.
Roughly 6,600 tons of opium were produced worldwide in 2006 – with (incredibly!) 92% still coming from Afghanistan and the rest, mainly, from Mynamar.

The Law

1.         Drug use and possession for personal use is not a criminal offence
2.         Consumption publicly is penalised by administrative fines
3.         Trafficking in drugs is a criminal offence and severely punished

QUOTES

‘Listen to me, and please listen well
When you ride with cocaine, you are headed for hell’
Anon (www.cocaine.org)

‘A cocaine addict can easily spend 1,000 Euros a weekend to feed his habit’
Vicente Pla Escolando
Centro de Dia Gandia, Proyecto Hombre.

‘There is more cocaine in Spain than any any other European Country’
FranciscoVerdu Asensi (Psychcologist) Vice President of the Spanish Association for the Study of Drug Addiction

THE FRONT LINE

Vicente Pla Escolando is the chief co-ordinator for the Proyecto Hombre in Gandia which deals with male drug addiction. A short, handsome, dark haired man, he is 46 and is wearing a black tee shirt, grey chinos and gold rimmed glasses. He is charming, smiles easily, speaks softly and radiates a sense of calm authority. Clearly he is someone used to hearing confidences and remaining discreet. We sit across a glass topped table in the middle of a tidy administration area.

“I have been working with drug addicts since 1991. It is my life´s work and intensely important to me. I first encountered drug problems with my friends many years ago and I saw at first hand the terrible affects they had – not just on my immediate friends but also upon their utterly devastated families.

Rehabilitating drug addicts is sensitive, delicate work that requires the careful long term development of a relationship of trust. To young drug addicts I become a proxy ‘father’ figure whilst with older addicts I become something between a councellor and a caring elder ´brother’. Obviously, I become an intricate part of the new lives that the rehabilitating addicts need to construct – as it is vital for any addict to leave behind his previous ‘life’ and many of his damaging, drug related relationships. To do this, all addicts need constant professional support.

For me, it is always a source of great joy when someone manages to conquer his drug addiction. However, all too often, addicts return to take drugs again when something bad occurs to destabalise them.

As a society we need to properly understand the severe damage drugs do and to change radically our mentality about what is and is not acceptable.”