Who consumes all this cocaine?

r/

So I read about how in just the port of Antwerp alone, over 120 tons of cocaine were seized in 2023. That’s just what was seized in one year, at one (admittedly the most popular) port. That’s the weight of the average adult blue whale, the largest animal to have ever existed

120 tons is 120,000 kilos or 120,000,000 grams. A gram of coke is ~12 lines, so just the seized coke from a single port would provide enough cocaine for every single European resident including babies and grandmas with 2 sniffs of nose candy. It’s estimated that around 3.5 million Europeans “have consumed cocaine in the past year”. I’m also included in that because I did a small line from a friend like 9 months ago. But these 120 tons for 3.5 million users averages out to 400 lines per person.

I have no idea how much actually gets through (I’m guessing more than what gets seized), and how much larger that number ends up being after they cut it with baking soda or whatever, but it seems like there’s an absurd amount of cocaine going around.

I’m aware that some northern countries have big cocaine usage problems and apparently in Britain nowadays having a bump is almost as prevalent as having a pint (exaggeration obviously), but I can’t wrap my head around it.

For weed, 500 tons a year would make much more sense because there’s more stoners than cokeheads, because weed is 10 times cheaper, because weed is more socially acceptable and because weed is consumed in larger doses (~0.3g per spliff instead of ~0.07g per line)

I know we’re talking about an entire continent, but hundreds of tons of cocaine is an unfathomable number. So where the hell does all this coke go?

Comments

  1. DearAirMedia Avatar

    Start at the White House and work your way outwards.

    /S

  2. TheseJizzStains Avatar

    It’s everywhere in Europe. Way more than I’ve experienced in the US.

    When I worked in the UK I was often offered some at after work parties, bars, etc. In Belgium it’s big with the EU bureaucrats in Brussels.

  3. bewareofshearers Avatar

    I guess it probably doesn’t stay in europe. And maybe the cocaine industry deliberately produces and transports more than can be sold because they know how much of it will be seized

  4. Bulky-Cauliflower921 Avatar

    apparently suburban people, college kids 

    in california , 3 college kids – 2 white dudes and an asian woman died in tesla cybertruck fire recently, they all had cocaine and alcohol in their system 

  5. rsvihla Avatar

    Whatever happened to “Don’t Do Drugs!!!”?

  6. N121-2 Avatar

    If your customer wants 1kg of coke, but customs seizes 49 out of 50 packages of cocaine.
    You just send 50 packages so that at least 1 will get through.

  7. CursedPrinceV Avatar

    It’s because a gram of coke is only 4 lines. Duh

  8. hegex Avatar

    120 tons of “coke” where seized but you don know the purity of it, 1kg of random white powder that has 15% cocaine is considered a 1kg of cocaine

  9. madDamon_ Avatar

    Well obviously i know him, it’s me

  10. Fringe-Farmer Avatar

    Most restaurants, factories, construction yards etc I have worked on have all just been riddled with coke and opiates. It’s consumed by far more ‘professionals’ than realized.

  11. Budget_Newspaper_514 Avatar

    The middle class teachers,lawyers etc

  12. simcity4000 Avatar

    Police routinely lie about the size of drug busts btw.

  13. RunningPirate Avatar

    Todd. That’s who. And he’s a legend.

  14. salt-water-soul Avatar

    12 per gram??? Who the hell is getting 12, 6 seems more logical and if that 12 is an average calculation then all the numbers above 12 are so much worse lol

  15. loopgaroooo Avatar

    Everyone does. Well, not everyone, but people from literally all walks of life. Cocaine is so ubiquitous, it’s all over the place.

  16. Accurate-Teaching858 Avatar

    Almost everyone I know 🙄

  17. Sponsored-Poster Avatar

    a lot more people you see every day do coke sometimes. most of the service industry for sure.

  18. Zloiche1 Avatar

    When I did coke I went through 5 or 6 grams a day 7 days a week, plus some rock along side that. And I was just one broke dude scamming. 

  19. bungholio99 Avatar

    Great Britain doesn’t even have a high per capita consumption, it’s everywhere and it’s way more people than weed

  20. britishbeef1892 Avatar

    We absolutely love cocaine in Britain, everyone and their granny is doing it (I’ve actually done coke with peoples grans)

  21. Sowf_Paw Avatar

    IIRC they can confiscate like 90% or more of the drugs a group is smuggling and they still make a profit on what gets through.

  22. unusual_replies Avatar

    It must smell good!

  23. Zeke_riverwolf Avatar

    Yeah, I’d bet at least half of all restaurant staff do a line or 2. Had one coworker was pretty open about it “husband’s job pays the bills. This job buys our nose candy. ” I didn’t start doing it until I worked in health care. I’ve been clean now for almost 2 years now btw

  24. Pitiful-Leading6609 Avatar

    Any builder you see is 50/50 on coke at least. I live in a small village and it’s disgusting how many young people do it. Gamunteed the group of lads you see in the uk has brought a lot of cocaine with them. Once you notice who the sellers are you’ll see just how friendly they are with almost everyone and chances are they’ve bought it recently

  25. Aggressive-Bite8262 Avatar

    I used to try and make a dint in it. 😂

  26. 1AverageStudent Avatar

    More people consume cocaine than you realize.

    Source: worked in a lot of restaurants. Executives/officials and your friends participate more often than people think.

  27. 454ever Avatar

    Damn I was finally caught

  28. CRO553R Avatar

    Wall Street

  29. happy_chickens Avatar

    As I became an adult and entered the professional world, I was incredibly surprised at how prevalent recreational cocaine is amongst professionals.

  30. gucknbuck Avatar

    120 tons isn’t 120k kgs. 120 METRIC tons is 120k kgs.