If cocaine were a perfume, it would be Chanel No.5: a timeless classic impervious to the flux of fashion and taste. It straddles all socio-economic divides, provided you can afford it. When I lived in Spain, cocaine was the recreational drug of choice because it was more widely available than other narcotics, and its grade was relatively pure. Cocaine is shipped from South America or Mexico directly to Iberia rather than transiting other points, where it is blended en route to its destination. Consequently, the reveller in Madrid vacuums up less talcum powder and household cleaning product than does his counterpart in London.
Here in the Home Counties, there is unquestionably cocaine use – notably among Baby Boomers who can point to St. Paul de Vence on a map
I have never witnessed, in anyone, the effect of cocaine producing greater charm, but that is not really the point. In fact, when mixed with alcohol, cocaine launches you into the rarified sphere of undiluted narcissism.
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