Cocaine has become the drug of choice for the professional classes under 40 in London, with usage so casual it is passed around like after-dinner mints, according to a Guardian report. The drug is consumed at fashionable gatherings, smart restaurants, funerals, and holiday parties without interruption to conversation.
The report details sightings of cocaine use by a Conservative politician, lobbyists, a Guards officer, two QCs, a solicitor, a senior stockbroker, a merchant banker, and numerous media figures. Despite the widespread use, none of these professionals would agree to be interviewed, citing fears for their careers or reputations.
One senior executive at The Times said his promotion chances would be dashed if his drug use were known. A young lobbyist claimed that taking the drug would finish a political career, and a well-known restaurateur refused to speak, citing guilt by association. The author notes having taken cocaine with an editor of a broadsheet newspaper and the head of a City bank, treated as a casual gesture of friendship.
The effects of a line last about 20 minutes, lifting spirits and making users more focused and talkative, but leaving them wanting another line after half an hour. The report traces the author's own history with cocaine from the early 1970s in Bradford-on-Avon to New York in the mid-1970s, where it was ubiquitous in singles bars and among journalists.
In New York, the drug was often bought and sold in car parks and administered by bar staff to sober up drunk patrons. By the late 1970s, many British expats, including aristocrats and bankers, were regular users. The drug was then seen as an exotic substance for the elite, snorted through $100 bills or from silver spoons.
