By Markus Leiter Nov 16, 2006, 3:53 GMT
Buenos Aires - If cocaine is considered the drug of the rich and the powerful, paco is its counterpart on the other side of the social spectrum in Buenos Aires.
In the city's slums, known as villas miserias, this residue of cocaine production has found an increased clientele since Argentina's economic crisis in 2001.
A smokable dose of paco only costs between one and two pesos (30- 60 cents.) The kick is short, but the addiction to to the drug lasts much longer.
Gonzalo, 17, a former paco addict from a villa miseria in the outskirts of Buenos Aires, has been in a programme at a drug rehab centre for six months. A previous attempt to quit this very dangerous drug was unsuccessful.
Gonzalo described the search for paco as 'a sort of round-the- clock job.'
'The whole day is only about smoking paco, you can no longer think about anything else because after the 5 or 6 minutes of euphoria comes the depression, and you immediately need another dose.'
Diego Alvarez, programme coordinator of the public anti-drug organization Sedronar, described the dependence on cocaine sulphate as an 'unforgiving vicious cycle,' adding that '50, 60, or even 70 doses of paco per day are not rare.'
In light of the constant need to escape withdrawal symptoms, the idea that this is a cheap drug becomes more of a myth.
A paco consumer will sometimes spend more money supporting the habit than a cocaine addict in more affluent circles. Crimes like theft and breaking and entering are often the consequence of the fatal mix of addiction and poverty. Young addicts frequently turn to dealing drugs or even stealing from their own families.
The health costs of paco are even greater, with many addicts losing up to 30 kilogrammes of body weight - because of the drug itself, as well as lack of food.
'The young people involved are often so absorbed by the permanent fight against the withdrawal symptoms that they hardly ever eat or even sleep,' Alvarez said.
Damage to the brain and other vital organs, as well as social isolation, quickly turn the addict into a physical and mental wreck.
The paco business, which in comparison to cocaine is a small earner, helps among other things to feed the larger business surrounding the luxury drug cocaine, according to experts.
'Where there is paco there is also cocaine, given the logic of production,' Alvarez explained.
Drug gangs in the slums produce the pure cocaine powder out of unprocessed cocaine. Paco addicts often work for dealers as informers and, given their habit, stand by the drug gangs even in dangerous situations.
Paco use tripled between 2001 and 2005, according to one study. About half of men aged 14-30 said they take the drug on a regular basis, according to a recent opinion poll carried out in slums on the outskirts of Buenos Aires.
The drug is also the most used among the general population, according to the poll. Of those who admitted they were drug users, 47 per cent took paco, with marijuana, cocaine and substances such as glue lagging far behind.
Paco addicts also make up the majority of those in rehab centres.
Social worker Guillermo Tonini - from the private institution Revivir, which offers outpatient programmes for acute cases and longer-term therapies in Avellaneda, near Buenos Aires - said that 90 per cent of the consultations are related to paco.
The province's government recently declared war on the drug.
'We will defeat paco,' Health Secretary Claudio Mate said.
Alvarez said that the fight can only be successful if there is also an an improvement in the social situation.
'If these young people return to the same extreme poverty after therapy, the probability that they relapse is very great,' he said.
There are currently no comments for this article. Be the first to comment! (no registration required)
There are currently no comments for this article. Be the first to comment! (no registration required)