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.

I was a plotter in the 90's.

Did anyone else call themselves plotters or was that a regional thing?

I went on a date at the weekend with another ex plotter and we were talking about how much fun it would be to get fucked up again.

When I mention partying in my youth to other mums where I live now...

People enjoy different things. Was never my bag (would rather go to bed early with a book) but the peeps who partied and did drugs acted like they were sooooo coooool and naughty and coooool.

Tales of their exploits completely bemused us - seemed as if they were trying to impress / shock us.

Could be that. It's not moral superiority - it's boredom.

A friend of mine is quite open about the drugs she took during her clubbing days. I didn't know her then but I do fear they have had more of an impact on her than she realises. I do judge slightly I have to admit but I have always been very anti-drugs.

This^ maybe we have a friend in common

How would you feel if your children did it when they've older?

Terrified. Equally terrified when they go out drinking, driving a car or said they wanted to join the army.
All we can do is educate them on the risks and hope they take it on board.

I've often thought about that Stumbly. I suppose it would depend on whether or not it was having an impact on other aspects of their life. I'd probably use my experience to talk about the good and the bad and help them to be as safe and responsible as possible while doing it - pretty much the same as I'd approach alcohol tbh. I have a theory, which could of course be wildly inaccurate, that teenagers are more receptive to advice if the person giving it is speaking with the benefit of experience.

I think some circles just never got in to it and it seems alien to them. I had friends from home who had never even seen a joint before and then my uni friend who were a bit more hard core Both sets hated each other and still do.

I went to a couple of raves but wasn't really into that scene...late 80s I was a bit of a disco dolly then by the 90s into Brit pop.

I dabbled but didn't take it up. One of my nights on acid was one of my all time best nights out ever, I laughed for about 14 hours straight and then had to go to work.

I had a bit of a weed habit going on due to freebies from a work colleague but gave it up when I realised how boring hash heads were.

I went to a party at Xmastime and everyone, who would have been ravers way back when, all my age, professional, kids, mortgages etc were on whizz (except me ) ... we were all drinking and afterwards it took most folk about 3 days to recover. I had a half day hangover, so was glad I just said no

I've just had a major flashback of the Warehouse Project, absolutely off my tits, it being that hot and sweaty in there there was condensation dripping from the ceiling. When a fellow raver offered you some water it was absolute heaven. Finish the rave at 6am, try and work out where I was staying (i'm not from Manchester) get a few hours kip and travel back.

Two went to HMYOI for low-level dealing, but now have so-so jobs and families. One died of an overdose in her 20s, and another went on to become addicted to heroin and forced into prostitution but recovered very well luckily. That handful is a very large proportion of the people I knew who were involved with drugs beyond a quick puff on a joint at a party . Sure the rest are now fully functioning adults with good jobs and families, but the odds weren't great for my peers.

Oh I'd never discuss it with the pearl clutchers mums at my kids' naice school. Even though I could put money on some of them having pasts that would make your hair stand on end.

Off topic but I have a group of old work pals, ladies I go out with for lunch followed by a cocktail bar or two every couple of months. For some reason I always bump into different old boyfriends on these days out. I'm sure my friends think my past is a lot more colourful than it is.

Ha ha I think a large number of those that dabbled now have teenage DC - so have rewritten history and would never admit it.... I imagine...

So what do the "young people" do now? There doesn't seem to be a club scene like there was. Are they all just working too hard? No money to party?

ohh, criminal justice bill demos. kill the bill!

anyone remembering to keep it fluffy?

According to the governments own figure 1/3 of the population have used illegal drugs and 1/5 are currently using them regularly - at least once a month.

Of this 1/5 group only 5% go onto to have any long term affects on their health, relationships etc etc. Less than 4% of drug users have ever committed a crime to fund their habit. Less than 3% of convicted drug dealers also have convictions for firearms, violence, prostitution etc etc. This means 95% of the entire drugs trade is unproblematic causing no problems to the individual, families, communities or societies. This 5% figure is similar to the number of people who develop long term problems with alcohol, debt, eating, and just about everything else.

Illegal drugs have been demonised by the government and media and colossal amounts of tax payers money is used in criminalising the entire 100% of the trade.

The people on here are the 95% typical drug users

No one is saying taking illegal drugs is good for you - just that they really are not that bad and certainly no worse than most legal activities.

I dabbled a bit in the early 00s. I had some great times (also some awful come downs).

I do sometimes miss those days. On rare nights out with my friends from back then we get the urge to take something but never gone through with it.

I wouldn't say I've come out if it unscathed, sometimes suffer from mild depression/anxiety. Saying that I have a friend with similar issues & she's never taken drugs so it could be completely unconnected.

I do wonder how I'll approach the subject with my kids, don't want to be a hypocrite. Cause yeah I took drugs but I had a feckin good time.

Hellooooo. Happy memories of this scene late 80s/early 90s and then again late 90s/early 2000s. Basically before and after being in the forces .

Loved my clubbing days, but well past them now. I still like to listen to my old-skool mixes and I dip in and out every so often to Annie Mac and Pete Tong on a Friday night to keep my hand in and see what the kids are listening to

I remember being a regular at a great gay club in the 90s with a good mate from Uni - she'd be off on the pull and I'd be on a podium or table, dancing in a wonderbra and hotpants (I was skinny back then). Good times.

I was a teenager in Manchester in the 90s and there were drugs everywhere. It was normal and we openly smoked weed in clubs, no one said anything. I hardly drank at all.
I hung around at rockworld, the ritz, 5th ave and dubiously Piccadilly 21s (a total shit hole!)

We're everywhere!

I don't discuss/share such memories with other mummy friends unless I know they're on the same page.

Waves! Crusty Raver here! I had a great time. But......
I know some people who died of overdoses
I know some people who suffered long.. term depression from fucking about with their seratonin levels over years and years..
I know some people who gave themselves permanent stomach problems when Ketamin took over from MDMA

I also know some people who went all earth mother when they had kids! Yes, yes to former drug monkeys who won't take a bit of morphine in labour or feed their kids a wotsit! What the fuck is all that about?

The best give away line from an old raver mummy I ever heard:

On turning up at a kids party: "I don't normally like little Justin to have sugar but I gave him a packet of smarties on the way here so he can get on the same level as the other kids"

most people I know used to experiment and party including myself!! I always saw it as a right of passage growing up

Avoid judgemental people like the plague. They tend to be both bitchy and dull.

Was the irony intended there?

I suspect the main reason you don't 'see' people who took recreational drugs in their youth is that beyond the dancefloor, drug taking doesn't make you any more exciting than anyone else. Ergo, they just blend in.

I had a really fucking good night's sleep on Night Nurse the other month. You wouldn't know it from looking at me though.

What did they all do at University if they didn't take drugs? My BF at the time was a mathematician and his best mate was a Dr. OMG medics were the worst for drugs. Their parties were AMAZING.
Our friend is an oncologist now!!
I am SAHM was marketing manager and my husband works in an upper managerial job!

Hello