Lindsay, Paris, Britney, Nicole, Kate… they have all done it! So have these five so-called “hot” celebrities made cocaine cool in our contemporary society? Is it possible that “nose candy” has become the new socially acceptable drug of our time?

Let’s first look at a few basic facts about this drug. Cocaine is a white powder that comes from the coca plant. It increases the level of dopamine in the body, which augments one’s pleasure level and decreases their appetite. With these kinds of effects, who wouldn’t want to do a line?
But why then did so many people in the past want to keep their use of this drug a secret? In the ’70s and early ’80s, people transported cocaine from Colombia into the United States. The drug was huge among the upper class, as a few drug dealers monopolized the industry. However, during this time, use of cocaine was not highly publicized like it is today.

It wasn’t until the late ’80s, when American dealers began to sell the drug, that the prices lowered and it became a drug for the masses. But even at that time, it was still not glamorized in various fashion and gossip magazines.

However, a few months ago, Jane magazine featured an article called “I’m sick of all my friends snorting their dinners.” The writer commented that she was upset that she had lost all of her friends because she refused to engage in their drug use. I was rather surprised to see this article in a popular magazine, as I thought any mentioning of cocaine was taboo.

However, with the presence of cocaine in various artifacts of recent popular culture, it is clear that it has become a more mainstream drug.
But has it become the marijuana of the new age? Or is cocaine still a social pariah?

As I explained earlier, the much-publicized use of this drug by well-known female celebrities, especially Kate Moss, has made cocaine cool recently. If Kate Moss, arguably one of the most attractive women in the world, does it, then what girl wouldn’t want to?

But it is not just image-crazed girls doing it either. In well-populated cities like New York, London and Los Angeles, use of this drug is rampant.
And no one seems to mind, either. Like marijuana, it has become a more socially acceptable drug, constantly a discussion topic in the media.

Cocaine’s ascent in today’s social and cultural scene might make this drug acceptable on Whitman someday in the near future. Who knows? In a few years, Whitties might be reaching for a line instead of a keg cup.