Professionals facing serious cocaine addiction problems

It is a "good sign" for Caritas coordinator Mariella Dimech that about 750 syringes are collected by drug users from health centres every day, and that the figure is growing.

The bad news is: Where are the 750 used ones going?

While the distribution of syringes is a good measure, the job is half-baked as it lacks a system of needle exchange, wherein a heroin addict would have to return a used syringe in order to get a new one.

The present situation signifies that syringes are not being shared but Ms Dimech questions where they are being discarded.

As to the 750 syringes collected, "the figure tells us what we already know. Five years ago, Caritas offered a service to barely 400 clients; last year, that number increased to 650."

Ultimately, however, it is not heroin that is on an alarming rise but cocaine, the price of which has dropped and availability grown, Ms Dimech says.

It is the most concerning aspect of the local drug scene, especially because the deterioration of cocaine users is much quicker, their behaviour is much more impulsive and desperate and it involves a particular social stratum, incorporating the middle, upper and professional class, which does not tend to seek help.

Malta is facing a situation where professionals, who cannot afford to ask for help publicly, have a serious cocaine problem, Ms Dimech says.

"These are well-educated and well-off groups. But they are in denial of their addiction; they think it is socially acceptable and not a problem because they function during the day and binge in spurts. And they are totally wrong!

"They are losing lots of money, will end up in debt, become more desperate, take more cocaine and get involved in criminal activity."

Describing today's scene, Ms Dimech says: "Malta has always lagged behind Europe but now we are catching up beautifully. Drug usage has increased and the drug-using population has aged."

This ageing population of users is a result of those who have been on heroin for 10 to 15 years and are entering their 30s and 40s, and 30- to 40-year-olds whose children have grown, who have money and success - as well as stress - and are now cocaine addicts.

Some will end up with their backs against the wall, having lost their money and their status, ending up in court, unable to work and remain in their families.

Then, there is a much larger unquantifiable group which manages to remain in its social circle, keeping up a front, but bingeing on highly-dangerous drugs, Ms Dimech says.

Although the current and future scenario spells chaos, the agencies that work with drug users are much more experienced now and, if they collaborate and are supported by the authorities, the problem can be addressed, she insists.

Malta is small and many people work in the field. It is a matter of setting clear and realistic plans and policies, she maintains.

Ms Dimech plans to carry out research on the outcome of the local rehabilitation services in the belief that it is high time this is understood so that care policies on the most effective form of rehabilitation can be devised. The next step would be a clear analysis and planning of prevention.

For Ms Dimech, it is not a lost battle but a "realistic" one.

There will always be drugs and there will always be a need to escape from reality, she says. Unfortunately, in today's society, people aim for instant gratification. Coupled with a lack of values, it is a lethal concoction.

"But what Malta has in its favour, above other countries, is its solid family structure. People do not relapse because they have a supportive family to return to. Things backfire when someone leaves here (San Blas) to go to a chaotic environment. They just lose the point of being clean."