Cocaine and the privileged class: a review of historical and contemporary images.
The belief that cocaine is a drug associated with privilege and the privileged class is frequently cited as a motivating factor for nonmedical use. This association, part myth and part reality, has influenced the perception of cocaine as a glamorous and exotic drug, a drug immune to serious problems, a drug for the successful and wealthy, hence a privileged drug. The origins and development of this myth are examined in terms of both historical and contemporary images. Alternative competing images of cocaine as a drug associated with severe dependency and toxicity are discussed in terms of their past and future trends.
D003042:Cocaine / Q000266:history*; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D012923:Social Class; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000266:history*; D014481:United States
D003042:Cocaine