Cocaine is an important source of income for the criminal gangs and there are many indications that more and more people are buying the drug in Sweden. Seizures by the police and customs have increased, as has the proportion testing positive for cocaine in workplaces.
– The demand for cocaine has increased. It has become more accessible and the stigma has decreased, says Stewe Alm, strategic analyst at the police’s National Operations Department.
More than three times as many patients
Figures from healthcare also indicate that more and more people are taking cocaine in Sweden.
SVT has had the National Board of Health and Welfare produce statistics on the number of patients with the diagnosis code F14, which includes several conditions caused by cocaine in particular. For example, acute poisoning, addiction and psychosis.
The increase is strong. Last year, 1,314 patients were registered with that code. Ten years earlier, in 2013, there were 435 patients.
The number of calls to the Poison Information Center relating to cocaine has also increased. From 66 calls in 2013, to 438 last year.
– This indicates that this is a growing problem that we need to keep an eye on, says Joar Guterstam, addiction doctor and researcher at Karolinska Institutet.
Young people in the cardiac intensive care unit
He also believes that the number of darkness is large. Among other things, because not everyone seeks care and not all patients are tested or tell that they have taken drugs.
Healthcare staff can also fill in other diagnosis codes than just F14.
– There may be a much bigger problem hiding here, says Joar Guterstam.
At Södersjukhuset in Stockholm, they have experience with patients with problems caused by cocaine. Among other things, several young people, under the age of 40, have ended up in the cardiac intensive care unit.
– On the whole, relatively few patients are involved, but cocaine is a dangerous drug. If you were aware of the risks you are exposing yourself to, I think more people would avoid them, says Anders Hedman, cardiologist at Södersjukhuset.