Studio 54 and Cocaine

Studio 54 and Cocaine: Alcohol industry pushes cocaine.

It is the tobacco and alcohol industry that has the most to gain from cocaine addiction.

Quite sweeping, but here is the evidence.

Watching a documentary on studio 54 last night, in its heyday, the 70’s, (disco!) one comment struck me: a man said, everyone was doing it, the papers said it was not addicting, it made you feel intelligent and that you could do anything. And, you could drink all night long.

Well, not everyone was doing it, but at Studio 54 all the "beautiful" people were at Studio 54 and most were probably doing it and they all believed it was non-addicting. (By the way, anyone else remember that disco was NEVER cool?) Even if you felt hooked, which certainly many must have, everyone was having a good time. I remember parties in New York in the early 80’s where complete strangers would offer cocaine to anyone near by. It was easy to buy. The senior secretary at the law firm I worked was the buyer there. It was not a social stigma. It took a while for people to see the negative effects.

HOWEVER, and herein lies the social contradiction. In 1973 the Rockefeller Drug Laws were created making it a Class A Felony to possess 4 ounces or sell 2 ounces of cocaine with a sentence of 15 years to life MINIMUM sentence; and sale of one-half ounce or possession of two ounces was a mandatory 3 years to life.


I remember the first person who offered me cocaine in the late 70’s: P in Detroit but I said no, I had a young child. (I love my old self). He assured me it just makes you happy. He was right, I took what I believed was a harmless substance and gleefully cleaned the house (mother’s little helper.) And I didn’t crave it again. I kept a little in the cupboard along with a bottle of scotch for company. If someone came by I would offer them coffee, scotch or a line. They were out of luck though if they were looking for grass, I did not like marihuana at all. It gave me the munchies and made me feel I had no control. (Like the man said, cocaine gave you the illusion you could do anything.)

So, who benefits from telling the public cocaine is safe? There must have been studies to the contrary. Why would the public be lied to in the mainstream press?
Who profits? Who gains? Since it is an illegal narcotic, it cannot exist without some form of police/government cooperation. And the spill off is the alcohol and tobacco industry, because as any addict knows, when you do cocaine you can also drink more. Drink more and more, puffing on your ciggie butts (as we called them when we were kids) without passing out. Party on!

It’s not hindsight that makes it acceptable that someone made a mistake designating cocaine safe. It was a known addicting narcotic. It’s always been known that people, in particular workers in South America are allowed the ‘habit’ of chewing on the leaves while they work. There is plenty of data on this in Peru and Bolivia. There is evidence from the 11th century that coca leaves were sacred and used in religious ceremonies. Like tobacco was used by the native American Indian until they were introduced to alcohol and guns and then their land was stolen and they were allowed to return to it in the form of a reservation. And now they sell cartons of cigarettes at a discount.

June 4, 2007