Every month the Bucks Free Press features stories on cocaine dealers and users who have been put behind bars for their crimes – there is no doubting its prominence in our town.
The dangers of the drug are numerous for both for users and for the direct and indirect victims of cocaine dealers,
Even though it’s common to hear about drug offenders and their crimes, the presence of cocaine in High Wycombe can still seem remote to the average citizen.
So, with this in mind, I wanted to see how close to cocaine we really are in every walk of our daily lives.
The plan was to visit pubs, communal areas and eateries to test for cocaine.
To do this, I bought a pack of four cocaine detection wipes online from cocainedetectionwipes.com.
The wipes are a white/pink colour but upon wiping down a surface they will turn blue if there is a presumptive presence of cocaine.
Here’s how I got on.
The Falcon
The High Wycombe Wetherspoons was awarded “loo of the year” in 2018 and 2019 for its clean and well-decorated WCs – so naturally we wondered whether these “platinum” toilets were squeaky clean when it came to drug use.
READ MORE: Town centre pub wins award for its 'exceptional' toilets AGAIN
Stopping off in one of the cubicles in the gents, we used the wipe to swipe all the flat surfaces on show – including the toilet roll dispenser, flush and toilet seat.
The wipe came back fairly clean – a few small blue patches on the wipe indicated a small presumptive presence of cocaine, but there was a low overall presence.
We reached out to Wetherspoons for comment.
Eddie Gershon, spokesman for JD Wetherspoon, said:“Wetherspoon has a zero-tolerance approach to illegal drug use in its pubs and any customer found in possession of drugs will be asked immediately to leave the premises and the police will be informed. In addition, staff conduct hourly toilet checks in all pubs.”
Yates
The second pub on the route, another popular drinking establishment in the town.
Dropping in on Sunday lunchtime, the pub was fairly quiet but with a pleasant atmosphere.
Upstairs in the gents, we swiped around in one of the stalls, covering the toilet roll dispenser, lid and flush.
Like in Wetherspoons, the wipe showed a very small splash of blue, indicating a low presumptive presence of cocaine.
Yates has been approached for comment.
McDonald’s
Walking out of Yates, I ended up in the McDonald’s in Dovecote Road. While this establishment is popular for its Drive-Thru, it still sees plenty of footfall from Sunday lunch eaters.
Walking upstairs to the loos, I did another wipe in the two gents stalls, covering all the flat surfaces.
At first glance, the wipe did not appear to have detected anything, but a small speck of blue suggested a small presumptive presence of cocaine.
McDonald’s has been approached for comment.
The Rye
The final destination of the trip – having spent enough time in toilet stalls, I took a walk to one of High Wycombe’s nicer outdoor areas.
While parks and playgrounds are amazing for children, they can also be a hotbed for anti-social behaviour in darkness hours, so we wondered if any potential remnants could be found near the adventure playground.
Sitting on a bench nearby, we swiped up and down the surface. While the wipe picked up plenty of mud and dirt, there was no suggestion of a presence of cocaine – very good news for parents worried about what might go on near where their children play.
Final thoughts:
In all honesty, we were expecting that the day after a Saturday night out, there might have been some stronger readings – so it is encouraging to see that none of the wipes came back with a strong presumption of cocaine.
Three of the four wipes did suggest some traces of the drug, but it is encouraging that use and abuse does not appear to be rife in popular eating and drinking places in the town.
Thames Valley Police declined to comment.
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