It was 2am when the phone rang and Fiona saw her 18-year-old daughter Zoe’s name flash up on her phone screen.
asserted
name → ring → screen
Any trace of sleepiness instantly leaving her, she picked up the call to see Zoe and her new boyfriend Leo Facetiming her from a club.
asserted
Zoe → leave → club
A few short months ago Fiona had been like every other mum sending her child off to university for the first time – fretting about whether she’d find friends, eat properly and cope with the coursework.
asserted
she → send → coursework
But when she saw Zoe’s face, she realised she’d been worrying about the wrong thing.
asserted
she → see → thing
‘I couldn’t really hear what she was saying, but she sounded almost manic.
asserted
she → hear → what
I’m not sure even now why they were calling – just to say hello, I think.
asserted
I → ’m → hello
‘At first, I thought she was just drunk, but I’d worked in the City in the 1980s and I knew all the signs.
asserted
I → think → signs
Her pupils were huge and black, her jaw was moving strangely and she was tripping over her words.
asserted
she → move → words
Over the next week, around a quarter of a million parents will help excited children shop for Ikea kitchenware and pack up clothes for their first term at university.
asserted
children → help → university
They may well know about the easy availability of drugs like cannabis and have heard of ketamine, the party drug sometimes known as Special K.
uncertain
They → know → K.
But what they probably don’t know is how prevalent cocaine has become on Britain’s university campuses, and how easily accessible it is to students barely out of school.
asserted
it → know → school
A recent study carried out by Loughborough University covering students at 54 different institutions found that almost one in four (24 per cent) had used cocaine.
asserted
four → carry → cocaine
The drug that used to be associated with ‘loadsamoney’ City financiers, 1990s supermodels and middle-aged dinner parties has so infiltrated modern student life, its presence is almost a given on a freshers’ night out.
asserted
presence → use → night
'Her pupils were huge and black, her jaw was moving strangely and she was tripping over her words.
asserted
she → move → words
After just a few seconds, it was clear to me she was high on cocaine,’ recounts Fiona
asserted
Fiona → recount → cocaine
It’s never been purer and it’s never been more affordable relative to everything else we purchase,’ explains Harry Sumnall, professor in substance use in the School of Psychology at Liverpool John Moores University.
asserted
Sumnall → purchase → University
Even though it’s a Class A drug that carries a prison sentence of up to seven years for possession, Sumnall says that many students no longer see cocaine as a dangerous substance.
asserted
students → ’ → substance
‘For many young adults, it’s still seen as less of a drug.
asserted
it → see → drug
It affects brain and behaviour, of course, but compared to other products, ones more well known for dependence and addiction, there’s a distance from the stereotypes and stigma around drug taking,’ he explains.
asserted
he → affect → taking
It’s a perception backed by the attitude of Archie, a 20-year-old from London who’s about to start his final year at one of the country’s leading northern universities.
asserted
who → ’ → universities
‘Cocaine is everywhere,’ he says.
asserted
he → say → ?
‘We all take it when we’re out drinking.
asserted
we → take → it
Alcohol makes you sleepy but coke wakes you up,’ says Archie.
asserted
Archie → make → you
‘It means we can stay out for longer.
asserted
we → mean → ?
‘For a lot of people in my generation who were locked away as teenagers because of Covid, meeting new people is really stressful.
asserted
meeting → lock → people
But cocaine makes you feel great.
asserted
you → make → ?
It gives you the confidence to chat to anyone and that helps you deal with your social anxiety.
asserted
you → give → anxiety
‘It’s not that expensive really either, especially when you compare it to alcohol.
asserted
you → ’ → alcohol
A pint costs about £6 now and a cocktail can be more than £10.
asserted
cocktail → cost → 6
But for half a gram of coke you pay around £40 and that will give you around six lines – enough for a big night out between two or three friends,’ he continues.
asserted
he → pay → friends
While mum Fiona says her daughter had never been into drugs before university, Archie admits to trying cannabis and ketamine in his sixth form at school.
asserted
Archie → say → school
Until he went to university, however, he barely ever saw cocaine.
asserted
he → go → cocaine
Now he takes it most weekends along with his college friends, and doesn’t view his level of use as a problem.
asserted
he → take → problem
‘If I am planning a night out, I will usually try to buy some.
asserted
I → plan → some
At the time I love the way it makes me feel, although I will admit the come down is awful.
asserted
come → love → way
I feel anxious and out of it for most of the next day, but it’s not that much worse than a hangover,’ he says.
asserted
he → feel → hangover
According to private addiction and rehab specialists the Priory Group, mixing cocaine with alcohol is extremely risky.
uncertain
mixing → accord → alcohol
It can cause blackouts, impaired vision, vomiting and alcohol poisoning as well as feelings of aggression, anxiety and paranoia.
asserted
It → cause → aggression
‘I’d noticed that Zoe seemed quite anxious.
asserted
Zoe → notice → ?
She was moodier and tired, but I’d put it down to a new environment and all the pressures of leaving home,’ explains Fiona.
asserted
Fiona → put → home
…and 52 more, not listed.
The Aporia
