Scotland Cocaine Consumption Statistics

• Scotland currently world's #1 cocaine consumer per capita
• 1 in 42 Scots use cocaine (highest globally)
• Compared to England: 1 in 50 users
• Scotland also ranks 3rd in ecstasy use (behind Australia, New Zealand)

Scottish Response to Data

• Scottish authorities don't contest their numbers
• Claim they have "most robust data in the world"
• Accuse other countries of under-reporting
  • Specifically: US, Australia, Wales, New Zealand
• Argue their honest reporting makes numbers look worse than global reality

US Cocaine Trends

• US consumption dropped dramatically since 2006
• Cocaine harder to find in US
• Supply routes shifted to Africa en route to Europe
• Reference to previous podcast on Narco States
• Guinea-Bissau now run by Colombian drug dealers
• European consumption increased as US decreased

Bath Salts Discussion

• Question whether bath salts phenomenon was real or media misreporting
• Possibility it was actually meth or PCP misidentified
• Planned future episode to investigate

Bangkok Abandoned Mall Koi Pond

• New World Mall: 11-story building built 1982, shut down 1997
• Originally permitted as 4-story building only
• Bangkok Metropolitan Administration discovered violation 15 years later
• Required removal of 7 extra stories
• Fire burned out roof 2 years after shutdown
• Left without roof on busy Bangkok intersection

Accidental Pond Creation

• Rainwater collected in roofless building
• Created 500 square meter pond
• Became mosquito breeding ground
• Local merchants added fish to control mosquitoes
• Koi and catfish populations thrived

Tourism Impact

• Pre-Facebook: 10-20 daily visitors
• Post-Facebook: Massive increase in visitors
• Bangkok authorities erected blockades for safety
• Plans to either make safe for public or demolish
• Fish will be relocated if building demolished

Reference Materials

• Chuck created slideshow of 9 abandoned US malls on stuffyoushouldknow.com
• Article sourced from Oddity Central website