It's a fine white powder sold in bricks and vials. For good customers, they'll throw in a mirror and a fake credit card. Two hits will set you back $10. A full brick of 12 runs closer to $40.
This summer, Blow is set to take over the streets and late-night clubs of Canada.
"It's like a training kit for future drug addicts," says Ron Fitzpatrick, executive director of Turnings, a convict support group in St. John's.
Blow is a powder, but not the kind you snort. Think Kool-Aid crystals, but with the caffeine content of a six-pack of cola. The company calls the drink "pure uncut energy," and it sells Blow in "Stash Box" and "Fiender's Hook-Up" packages.
"We're after the ultra-hip party crowd," says Logan Gola, founder of iloveblow.com, which markets the product. "They get that it's tongue-in-cheek. We are children of the '80s who watched Miami Vice and Scarface."
Those who study substance abuse are not so sure.
"It's not a theoretical danger; it's a real danger," says Marcia Beck, a social worker in the Substance Abuse Outpatient Program at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children."For most kids, they know it's a gimmick, but there is a subset who will use this as validation for treating themselves badly."
Mr. Gola says these critics are "all just people who've had problems with substance abuse themselves," who are covering for their own personal demons.
Um, even social workers?
"Okay, let's say 95 per cent of them are former drug abusers."
Right.
But addictions come in all forms, says Mr. Fitzpatrick, who has already complained to Health Canada about Blow. "Sounds to me like this guy is addicted to money. Maybe he should seek some help."
