Naples and Cocaine, a City Under the “Snow”

When Italians think of Naples, mostly they still picture what the city used to be famous for: sunshine, beautiful sea, old popular songs, picturesque images of the city streets, with laundry hanging in the sun outside the windows, pizza and mischievous “scugnizzi” - old time street urchins - and all the colorful characters of the Neapolitan comedy, up until now so often celebrated by the Italian television. And then there is a different Naples, told by the newspapers, which is plagued by mafia, Camorra, trash and misery but, above all, by drugs.

In Naples and surroundings they call cocaine “pippotto” and it is very popular among young people, who often use it as their first drug experience. It is not a local new slang for a marijuana joint, but rather for a shot of cocaine, and originates from the nickname of a notorious teenager, who in the 1990’s could execute dozens of robberies in an hour, thanks to the effects of the cocaine he snorted. He was 14 and made news, like his peers today, who can buy a dose of cocaine for just 10 Euros, and soon appear in court for stealing, assaulting and even killing, in order to get or sell one dose of drug.

Naples is under “snow”, but not the kind on the top of Mount Vesuvius during winter which gives a smile to children and adults. This kind of “snow” rips the smile from one’s face and soul, and creates a synthetic reality, made of fear, pain, delirium and misery, the same that often we read about in the news of Naples. Most affected by this real cocaine epidemic are, once again, the lower levels of the population and young people, the same who traditionally suffer most the deep-rooted social distress of the city, and who more easily end up in the net of drug dealers. These, in turn, are not always typical “official” members of the criminal underworld. In Naples, cocaine, cocaine paste and crack are accessible for people of any age and group, and sometimes a dose can be obtained from a friend or even the neighbor next door.

Narconon Program: a Hope for Naples

Narconon and the Narconon drug rehab program bring hope to Naples and the rest of the Campania Region. The many Narconon drug rehabilitation centers in Italy are specialized in recovering people from any type of drug, prescription drug or alcohol addiction, including cocaine addiction. The Narconon program is “drug-free”; meaning it does not use other drugs for overcoming addiction. Narconon’s trained drug rehab consultants are always ready to offer support and assistance to the families of drug addicts as well as to anyone facing a drug problem, particularly for cocaine.

For more information about Narconon drug rehab centers, and Narconon cocaine rehab centers, please write to [email protected], or find the nearest Narconon center.