Cocaine is a stimulant drug that makes users feel energetic and alert. Most people will experience a euphoric high from its use, making it a very desirable drug. Cocaine is not necessarily addictive for someone who has used it only once however, for those who do become regular users cocaine addiction can be one of the hardest habits to control.

Individuals that do experience cocaine addiction quickly lose control over their use of the drug. The compulsion to use cocaine is very strong and the memory associated with the euphoric high is very powerful, which makes it very dangerous. It is for this reason that many cocaine users experience relapses when they try to come off the drug.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the UK is Europe’s largest cocaine market. The quality of cocaine in the UK has declined as traffickers increase their prices but continue to dilute their products with agents such as veterinary and dental anaesthetics. These anaesthetics are known to imitate the feeling, or high, of cocaine, but at a much cheaper cost to traffickers.

The rise in cocaine use in the UK has raised alarm with government drug advisers as many users feel that cocaine is relatively safe. Professor Les Iversen of The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs states that: “there are possible implications of harm to users due to an increase in the volume of cutting agents which may be present in a sample.”