editorial comment Impossible!!!!! They are all improductive addicts one line away from oblivion. Ask Bush!

Cocaine may be the preferred drug of lawyers, bankers and IT professionals, but it seems many of these high-flyers have very low levels of drug use, researchers have found.

The high-income earners, mostly male and at least 10 years older than the typical 20-something user of party drugs such as ecstasy, limit their cocaine use to special events such as birthdays, New Year's Eve and other celebrations, experts say.

In the study, conducted by the National Drug & Alcohol Research Centre in Sydney and the Turning Point Centre in Melbourne, just under 50 cocaine users had been extensively interviewed so far, said the senior research officer, James Shearer.

The cocaine users, drawn from known drug contacts, advertising in newspapers and professional publications, and through an internet recruitment drive, report taking the drug just three to four times over six months.

"Their use is very controlled ... and they report few health problems because their use is so rare," Mr Shearer said. "Where they use cocaine is also quite different - they are using at home, private parties, on private boats, at private events - it is a very private experience for them; they are not out there going to dance parties."

Another trait setting them apart from other drug takers is their demand for high-quality cocaine and their ability to pay for it.

Dealers involved in the study report high-flyers are prepared to pay $400 a gram for good cocaine. That compares to the lower end of the market, where users pay $200 for a gram of poorer quality drug, or $50 a cap ready for injection.

Study participants are required to provide a full history of their drug use. Researchers have found that while participants may have used party drugs such as ecstasy when they were younger, they now only use cocaine.

"It means they can go to an event and go to work the next day, because the weekend is not totally lost, whereas ecstasy and [amphetamines] are very long lasting - and that is important because they have very busy lives."

The study, expected to be completed in the coming months, is one of the first to look at all aspects of the cocaine market - from street-level users who inject cocaine several times a day, to those who use the drug with other party drugs, to those who use cocaine only for special occasions.

An earlier study of cocaine by the centre found the drug had caused nearly 150 deaths and countless overdoses in NSW over the past decade.

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