Ilja Suvanto

UNODC:n nokkamies Antonio Maria Costa lähetti kirvelevät terveiset kokaiinin käyttäjille.

Mr. Costa attributed high levels of cocaine use in Europe to the drug’s image. Compared to heroin, “cocaine is white not dark; sniffed not injected; consumed in trendy discos not in cities’ gutters; it is the mental fuel of society’s winners, not the dope of losers”.
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Above all, cocaine threatens security in West Africa which is “under attack” by criminals who are using the region as a hub for trafficking drugs from South America to Europe. In countries like Guinea Bissau, the drugs trade may now be as high as the country’s national income. The danger that this poses has been recognized by the Security Council. “A sniff here and a sniff there in Europe are causing another disaster in Africa, to add to its poverty, unemployment and pandemics. The problem will persist until Europeans curb their appetite for cocaine”, warned Mr. Costa.

He said that he was “perplexed and frustrated” by the public’s careless attitude to the damaging effects of cocaine. “Europeans now understand that they should not buy blood diamonds, or clothes made by slaves working in sweatshops. Yet models and socialites who wouldn’t be caught dead wearing a fur coat flaunt their cocaine use in public”. He observed that “one song, one picture, one quote that makes cocaine look cool can undo millions of dollars worth of anti-drug education and prevention”.

Lainaus on tästä uutisesta. Costa piti varsinaisen puheensa – ja erittäin hyvän sellaisen – Conference on Cocaine tilaisuudessa Madridissa 15.12.2007. Puheessaan Costa arvosteli ankarasti myös mediaa ja huumejulkkiksia, kuten Kate Moss ja Britney Spears. Costalla on terävä kieli, joten itse puhe on hyvinkin lukemisen arvoinen.

Europe’s Cocaine Problem is a Curse… and not only for Europe - UNODC

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