Stacey Jordan still wonders whether she could have done more to save her sister, Lucy White, who died at 24 after a line of cocaine triggered a heart attack and coma in summer 2018. Lucy, a student from Bristol, had been introduced to the drug by her mother, a long-term user. Stacey had helped Lucy get clean, but she relapsed months before her death.
Figures from NHS Digital show a 76% increase in hospital admissions caused by cocaine since 2014-15, with a 70% rise in mental disorders linked to use. Those aged 30-39 have seen the largest increase. Cocaine-related deaths have tripled in Scotland and doubled in England and Wales since 2015.
Lewis, a 25-year-old from the Midlands, suffered a heart attack after a line of cocaine. He recovered but his habit, once costing £200-300 a week, has dramatically reduced. 'It wasn't making me happy at all,' he said. 'It's the worst paranoia I've had in my life.'
Eddie Buggy, a drugs worker with Addaction in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, said cocaine is now easier to buy than alcohol, with dealers using platforms like Snapchat and WhatsApp. Purity levels vary, with prices from £30 to £100 a gram.
Hamilton Academical Football Club has taken a leading role in warning teenagers of the dangers, with chief executive Colin McGowan, a former addict, setting up an anti-addiction charity. Former footballer Colin McNair, whose life spiralled after cocaine use, said: 'When you are caught up in addiction, your choices are taken from you.'
