Cocaine ‘delivered faster than pizza’ in the UK

UK drug users can access cocaine in less time than it takes to have a pizza delivered, according to a new survey of global drug habits.

“Of 1,000 cocaine users in England, and more than 500 in Scotland, more than a third said they could get the drug delivered within half an hour,” Sky News reports, while only 12.2% and 19.8% respectively could say the same about pizza.

The latest Global Drug Survey report says the rise of ‘delivered to your door’ drug drop-offs reflects the increasing surveillance of public places.

“With many cities covered with CCTV cameras, traditional street dealing is becoming less attractive to many suppliers and consumers,” the report says.

The researchers behind the annual survey examined 130,000 responses from people in 44 countries, including around 5,000 from the UK, to compile their latest report.

Other findings in the report include Scotland topping the ranking for cocaine binges, with “the amount of the drug consumed per session... more than double the global average”, the BBC reports.

However, Katy MacLeod of the Scottish Drugs Forum, told the BBC that comparatively low purity could account for the higher volume.

“The low purity of cocaine supplied in Scotland suggests that bulking agents have been used to dilute the drug and so the same weight in Scotland will have less cocaine than in other countries,” she said.

Users in England paid an average of £72 for one gram of cocaine, compared to around £4.70 per gram in cocaine heartland Colombia.

New Zealand and Australia have the most expensive cocaine in the world, due to the logistical difficulties presented by their relatively low population, remote location and absence of land borders.

“Dealing networks will find it hard to justify the set-up costs to support effective scale importation,” Professor Adam Winstock, the founder of the survey, told the Sydney Morning Herald.