Many, many people took recreational drugs in the 90s. Where are they now?

[perhapsiwill]

I'm not a drug addict and none of my friends were at the time, we just took Es at the weekend, sometimes other drugs. We all went to work or college, seemed like everyone else did this too. We had a great time, weekends were for dancing and hugging, I didn't get on with drunk people and one night stands and it suited me much better.
I moved away from where I grew up, nice area to another nice area.
When I mention partying in my youth to other mums where I live now, they look at me as if I'm an addict who needs help .
Are they all pretending? There were thousands of us doing this so where are they now? And why do people who never took drugs appear to feel so morally superior? One of the women where I live openly talks about cheating the system financially yet looks at me like I'm scum because I went out and had fun 20 years ago. (And probably once a year now!) I feel that because I mentioned this one evening in a pub I have alienated myself from the local mums.

OP did ask about drug use and in my earlier comments I said that I find boasting about drug use galling as 1) it's boring and 2) the air of superiority recreational drug users have is daft as they're still funding an illegal activity 3) it can exacerbate MH problems.

If you read some of Cote's previous responses to me you might see what I mean, e.g. "Learn to write in full sentences".

I mean the come down from both causes feelings of depression

Any psychoactive substance leaving your system causes effects. Legal or otherwise.

Hangover, anyone?

Agreed and alcohol is a depressant

They're pretty much everybody that I know. And we are all professionals now!

If anything, mdma helped a great deal in helping me open up and really talk to close friends about things.

Interesting you say that. As I understand mdma is being trialled in family therapy and for people recovering from trauma.

Interesting you say that. As I understand mdma is being trialled in family therapy and for people recovering from trauma.

The therapeutic use of LSD is also an interesting at the moment, although I am not sure the recent legislation on the use of psychoactive substances is going to help much in that regard.

Depressant and depression are two totally different things.

I'm here! A great career and living life quietly in a rural idyll after spending 15 years raving it up stuffing any Class As I could get up my nose or down my throat. Although I still have my moments 😄

Ive never been drunk, or had any illegal drug. Had a lovely time dancing and never felt I needed anything to lower my inhibitions any further!

If anything, mdma helped a great deal in helping me open up and really talk to close friends about things.

And me, when it came to my relationship with DH and the sex was amazing too

Ann Shulgin (wife of respected psychopharmacologist Alexander Shulgin) used MDMA in Couple's marriage therapy in the 1960s until it was outlawed as a practice.

My friend who is a well-respected Dr has been involved in research around MDMA and hallucinogen use in treatment for PTSD and trauma. They get legally made substances from a particular manufacturer.

We did our own 'research' in the 90s!

I think Freud used to use cocaine in his therapy as well. And you could buy coke in Harrods!!

t feels like a secret society, we should have a special handshake or something so we can recognise each other without mentioning our dodgy pasts

I like this idea!

Disclaier: Aemit to only skim-reading as just don't have time to read 300+ posts ....so sorry if I'm repeating.

But we all absolutely caned it in our teens and early 20s. London, late 80s-mid 90s, middle class-ish girls at a decent school. From 15 yrs old we were on it every weekend. Ecstasy every weekend, sometimes a bit of speed or acid, LOTS of weed, occasionally coke. Very little booze, come to think of it.

Thinking about myself and my four closest friends (all professional women in our late 30s now)...

Me and two others stopped with the drugs in our early-mid twenties. Responsibility kicked in, I suppose. One of my friends had kids, another became a teacher and just couldn't be coming in to work on a come down on a Monday morning (yikes!) and I was immersed in a very full-on career I loved and that gave me more of a buzz than any drug.

The other two continued to take drugs 'recreationally' once or twice a month.

Now...its interesting to reflect on it all. 4 out of the 5 of us suffer with serious depressive episodes. I sometimes wonder if this was due to fucking with our brain chemicals from such a young age?

Of the tw who continued to take drugs...both still do. One has ongoing problems with alcohol and drug dependency (although she is the most high-flying, high functioning one of us all...city lawyer...single mum...goes on intermittent coke and booze benders and is in AA). The other is a psychologist and indulges occasionally (the only one who doesn't have ay mental health issues, weirdly). Just been to her birthday party at the weekend and she was merry on MDMA! I'd say roughly 75% of the 35-45 yr old professionals there ere on something. Most of them parents.

Its all quite interesting...especially when you start making moral judgement (which i sometimes do)...and then think about the acceptance of alcohol at most family parties etc...

I'm not on drugs, despite my typing

"Cote, I am not quite sure why you're being so aggressive ?"

I'm not sure why you thing telling you that you are wrong = being aggressive.

I treated you in a neutral manner. If you wanted flowers and smileys, maybe should have refrained from telling me to "try reading again".

Hello my people. Life would be SHIT without drugs, we'd miss out on so much good music and art and literature.

"If you read some of Cote's previous responses to me you might see what I mean, e.g. "Learn to write in full sentences"."

Memory not what it should be? And not due to drugs, I presume.

For future reference: Only put in quote stuff that is actually posted. Verbatim.

What I said was: "You are not... what? Try constructing full sentences."

And that was in reply to your: "Try reading again."

So please don't act all offended. You don't know what you are talking about. And you are rude. So do come off the high horse.

Stop it you two, you're killing my buzz.

psycho

I do miss the buzz.

Funny enough, I got the buzz about 10 mins into running many years later. The same happy tingling in the brain, without drugs. It was weird (and great).

Running to all the old house music tracks is brill.

I ran to all the old techno & trance tracks. They were indeed brill

Paul Oakenfold - Resident at Cream. Fantastic 2 CDs. I trained for hours on those CDs.

They all died.

HTH.

God I'd die if I ran to techno, bit of gabba to 'unwind' to but not for running. The good thing about buzz from running and buzz from drugs is it's not an either/or, you can do both but at separate times 👍🏻