Paco Is Still Terrorizing Argentina

Over a year ago, in February of 2008, the New York Times featured an article on “paco” - a smokable, cheap, low-quality and highly addictive form of cocaine that had been sprouting up in poorer Argentine communities. As part of their story, they interviewed Bilma Acuña, a mother in her 40s whose son’s debilitating addiction to paco inspired her to create “Mothers Against Paco” in an effort to help others who have fallen victim to the drug. 

Today, Mrs. Acuña is still trying to reach out to victims and their families, even though her own son, Pablo Eche, has not been able to kick his addiction. Part of the reason for this seems to be that he has been unable to find a means of otherwise keeping busy or employed. As his mother explains:

He has a lot of hate. Every time he comes out of treatment it is worse because he has nothing, no work. There is nothing for him to do.

Pablo’s situation is not uncommon, as many of those who have the foresight to seek treatment return to the same poverty and desperate circumstances that played a role in their developing an addiction in the first place.

One of Argentina’s hardest-hit communities in Oculta, a shantytown built at a time when a shaky economy saw many rural Argentines moving closer to urban areas in search of jobs. Mrs. Acuña and the Mothers Against Paco have had to circumvent local police in an attempt to clean up Oculta, given that many locals do not trust authorities and believe they may have ties to dealers in the area. Mrs. Acuña was eventually able to contact Judge Sergio G. Torres, who sent federal police into the town to root out dealers. But the problem continues. 

Some believe the devastation paco has left in its wake is an argument for legalizing the production of cocaine - the argument being that, if cocaine were produced legally, no one would smoke the residue leftover from production, which is cut with anything and everything, including rat poison. This, of course, fails to recognize that 1) cocaine will kill you and 2) poverty and desperation will still exist whether or not cocaine is legalized.

Others have noted that paco’s influence extends beyond impoverished Argentine shantytowns with a small but growing number of middle-class Argentines also smoking the low-quality cocaine paste. 

Says socio-therapist Carlos Souza, who specializes in drug prevention:

Pasta base shows up in adolescents from poor neighbourhoods but also in youngsters from dysfunctional middle-class families, who don’t follow normal limits and who adopt ‘slum culture.’ It’s not only street kids who use pasta base.

The question, then, is not only how to take paco off the streets (although middle-class users can also order it via telephone), but how to address the problems in place that have lead to its popularity. 

Lost in an Abyss of Drugs, and Entangled by Poverty [NY Times]