London is expected to be named among global cities where cocaine can be delivered faster than pizza as smartphones revolutionise drug use, researchers say.
The Global Drug Survey is looking at the impact of encrypted messaging services and other methods that are facilitating faster drug delivery than ever before.
Professor Adam R Winstock, a consultant psychiatrist and founder of the survey, said the spread of CCTV cameras had made traditional street dealing riskier for both buyers and sellers.
"With the darknet facilitating the delivery of drugs direct to people's letter boxes and encrypted social media platforms allowing people to order in secret, it's not surprising that there'd be an impact on the speed of delivery," he added.
"Despite additional charges for swift drug delivery, the attraction of convenience and discretion means it makes sense for dealers to invest in premium delivery services.
"With all this in mind, we decided to look at efficiency and speed of drug delivery across the world. And to make a symbolic comparison, we're using pizzas as a benchmark and, cocaine as the test."
Prof Winstock said London is projected to be one of the cities where cocaine delivery is faster than the popular takeaway, alongside New York and Berlin.
That's brilliant. What I love the most about it all is that they lock up the lower class and unemployed yet the middle and upper class do waaaaay more coke and no one says anything. Celebrities walk away scot free. Love the hypocrisy.
Keep going strong London.