"Shall we get a bag?"

When I used to go out it was all about ecstasy. It was never my scene, but my mates would all get them from an acquaintance, who would sell them £10 a pop. We would go to his house on Chester Road every Friday night, before unleashing ourselves on Sunderland's various venues.

Wearside was rife with cowies ~ a local name for pills ~ when I was in my late teens, but it was very discreet - drugs were very much a taboo subject.

Today, it's a much different state of affairs.

Cocaine - Coke, Beak, Charlie, Bash, Sniff.

Whether it be a Saturday night in the city, or in someone's kitchen at 6am, cocaine is everywhere you turn...and it's all very blasé.

Ecstasy has become less preferential as it's harder to source, whereas cocaine is available openly.

"I could list off countless cocaine dealers, but I don't know anyone who sells cowies these days," said Chris, an ex MDMA user.

"There's definitely less of a stigma towards people who take drugs now, you see them in the media a lot more than you used to."

"It's much more normalised."

According to the Home Office, 1 in 11 adults (aged 16-59) had admitted to taking a drug in the last year. This equates to 9.4 percent or 3.2 million people in the United Kingdom.

Read more here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/832533/drug-misuse-2019-hosb2119.pdf

26-year-old Josh, who works in a factory just outside of Peterlee also uses cocaine.

"At work people get on it every Friday," he said, adding: "It gets them through the shift."

Josh is also an ex-ecstasy taker, but now he uses cocaine. His reason - it's safer than MDMA.

"In recent years I've seen numerous deaths from dodgy cowies where they've been mixed with toxic chemicals. Cocaine has become the go to drug for partying and can still provide you with the buzz you're looking for on a night out."

"Coke in my eyes is a safer bet than taking cowies."

But is it really that simple to find?

To put it briefly, I managed to get in contact with a dealer very easily.

Callum is an ex-user turned dealer, who depends on cocaine for income.

"Payday weekend tends to be busy," explained Callum.

"I sell it to regular lads who work production jobs, nurses, firemen, a primary school teacher and a university lecturer...I wouldn't say it's a specific crowd, one or two from every group who go out in Sunderland dabble."

A survey of 40 local people revealed that 20 per cent of participants used cocaine this year, double that of ecstasy. Drugs are also more prevalent in society today than they were 10 years ago, according to 76% per cent of participants in the same survey.

Are times changing? It appears so. A decade ago, drugs were associated with delinquents. Today, respectable members of society are weekly consumers – even those who should know better.

There will never be a solitary answer for why people turn to class A’s, as everyone has their own reasons. We do know however, that drug use is on the rise – and by the sounds of it, the Coronavirus pandemic will be long gone before Sunderland’s drug epidemic loses momentum.