A group of friends just finished their dinner on Saturday night behind the front door of a charming townhouse in an elegant London area postcode.
All chicken products are organic. The wine is sulphite free and all bottles of wine are plastic-free. God forbid! After all, these people — achingly liberal and environmentally conscious — pride themselves on doing the right thing.
That is, until after pudding, when another feast is served — this one a veritable smorgasbord of cocaine, marijuana and the hallucinogen MDMA.
This scene is replicated all over the country, in Cotswolds countryside piles and modern apartments in inner cities.
While it’s illegal, the law-abiding citizen can be safe in their comfortable middle-class bubble.
Until now. For yesterday, the Government announced tougher sanctions on recreational drug users, a demographic which fuels much of the £9.4 billion illegal drug industry in the UK yet all too often sees little or no connection between this ‘leisure activity’ and the criminality which underpins it.
For yesterday, the Government announced tougher sanctions on recreational drug users, a demographic which fuels much of the £9.4 billion illegal drug industry in the UK yet all too often sees little or no connection between this ‘leisure activity’ and the criminality which underpins it (stock image)
Nowhere is that truer than in the middle classes — almost puritanically moral in so many respects, but happy to turn a blind eye to their place in a criminal chain which ends in dehumanising exploitation, be it the misery and violence of South America’s drugs cartels, the squalor of addiction, or the ruined lives of vulnerable youngsters caught up in county lines drugs networks.
As the Government has finally recognised, these recreational users are a key part of a £19 billion problem — that’s the estimated total cost of drugs to society from addiction and crime. After all, there would be no supply without demand — and a huge amount of that demand now derives from the middle classes who have money to spend.
Do not take my word for this. A book I wrote about criminal gangs has been published. As a former employee of county lines, my experience at the coalface of the supply chains can be a testimony to dealers’ love for middle-class customers.
“Coz then, I’m eating cake!” as one young gang member put it. In other words, it’s a meal ticket for life — as long as the life of a county lines dealer lasts, that is.
It was only a matter of months in the case of my dealer. A rival gang member stabbed him to death shortly after our conversation. It was over a failed drug deal.
It is a chilling illustration of the fact that young, would-be dealers literally kill to get ‘the lines’ — the all-important contact list — on another dealer’s phone (stock image)
It is a chilling illustration of the fact that young, would-be dealers literally kill to get ‘the lines’ — the all-important contact list — on another dealer’s phone.
This isn’t an isolated incident. The story continues across the country, along with the networks of county lines, as middle-class users demand more.
As young as seven-years old, children are recruited as foot soldiers to distribute drugs. This barbaric chain lures them from straight and narrow, promising cash but often ending in violence or death.
He laughed when I attempted to convince a teenager dealer to go back to school, or to start a job, or to train. Then he flipped his jeans back open, and he swore. It contained cash.
Many 14-year-olds can earn as much as £50,000 a year — more than their parents, their teachers, or even the policeman who comes to arrest them.
However, they must pay the ultimate price for their violence. London has seen the most teenage murders since a decade. Many of them are connected to drug trade.
Last month, a 16-year-old became the 28th young person to be murdered in the capital this year — nearing the 2008 toll of 29.
Last month, a 16-year-old became the 28th young person to be murdered in the capital this year — nearing the 2008 toll of 29 (stock image)
A boy aged 14 was brutally stabbed to death in Manchester, in front his classmates and teachers. The scene saw a 13-year old boy being arrested. Hinter each horrible death are grieving parents and many other dads, afraid that their children will be the same.
A mother in Norwich who is a victim of drug culture expressed concern that her son, her teenager, might get involved. His school diploma was not up-to-date, so he may be vulnerable to the fast cash and connections offered by county lines recruiters.
She said that he was angry, frustrated and doesn’t see a future for himself. He’s looking down at a gun with no future. He is vulnerable to being recruited.
Tell that to the middle-class user — safely ensconced behind the Farrow & Ball-painted walls of their bespoke kitchen/diners — and they would no doubt express their horror and sympathy, all the while failing to see their crucial part in this trade in human misery. Many celebrities also believe cocaine is harmless fun.
Take Helen Mirren, Lady of the Lake.
Helen Mirren was a famous example.
Modern advances make it possible for customers to maintain a safe distance from cargo. In the old days a drug dealer would meet his customer on a street corner — both at equal risk, both glancing around.
You can now order drugs online, just as you would a weekly subscription to Amazon. And your drug dealer will deliver your medication in the same way that your delivery person delivers your pizza.
The rapid, discreet, and plentiful supply of this coke helps to mask the harsh reality. This allows everyone, from the progressive Millennials to liberal Generation X, to voice their disapproval about the environment, racism, and gender pronouns, while also allowing them to be vocal in protesting the environmental issues.
Their extraordinary double standards are perfectly captured in one poll. The poll found that those who took drugs within the last 12 months were more likely to report having stopped purchasing from businesses they don’t believe are ethical.
Are they able to believe that drug-gangs supply drugs ethically? They are fueling modern slavery and are therefore middle class drug-dabblers.
The majority of middle-class drug-dabblers, while appalled at modern slavery, fail to see that they are the ones fueling it.
These people are passionate supporters of minorities rights. These people overlook only 14-year-old drug dealer from the working class.
The ex-Hollyoaks actress Davinia Swift, revealed further that her West London middle-class neighbours believed their coke supply was ethically sourced and environmentally friendly, claiming it was produced by well-paid farmers. They were like “Hi, Darling,” she said. It’s all PC, £200 a gram.’ You can get your vegan food, organic wine, woke coke, and a spliff.
Is there a better way to expose the gap between the middle class user’s insatiable sense of self-righteousness as well as the truth of the human misery trade that is behind it than this?
That’s why I highly applaud Government’s effort to crack down on suppliers as well as users. They have been using mobile phones SIM cards from dealers to warn customers and send them text messages warnings. Repeat offenders can face severe sanctions that range from stiff fines and curfews, to the confiscation of passports.
I would go further, and publish the names of those caught, be it a nice middle-class housewife or an MP — the latter entirely possible, given that traces of cocaine have been found in the toilets of the House of Commons. It would be a great way to show the Government that they are serious about stopping middle-class casual users.
Although it may seem harsh, when you see the lives of those parents who have lost everything and are in despair, you might think that they should be treated equally.