Professional people and drug use

[Beebee6]

I work in banking and moved to London a year ago for a career opportunity. I’m in my early 30s and have never thought of myself as particularly naive but I’m genuinely shocked by how many of my colleagues regularly use drugs. By drugs, I'm mostly referring to cocaine. They all talk about this very openly as if it’s a perfectly normal and acceptable thing to do at the weekend, after work or when they have spare time without the kids. On the rare occasions when I have been along to social events after work, it’s always offered around and I appear to be the only one not partaking. None of these people are particularly ‘young’ either (most 30s-40s) and are all very successful professional people, who in my (perhaps judgemental) opinion, aren’t the typical drug using types. Some are single but many have families. I mentioned this to a friend of mine who seemed to think that this is now commonplace amongst many working professionals, particularly in the city. I’m curious as to whether this sort of thing really has become more normal and accepted now?

I'm certainly not in the baking industry but banking !!! Hahahaha

Middle class drug use is more normalised than working class drug use, which is villified. Same drug, same effects on the body, but served with a dash of Victorian attitude

Quite so.

Just like an artisan burger served on a wooden chopping board with hand cut tripple fried chips, if worth and insta posts. And a McDonalds is scum.

I can well believe that, but teachers and social workers ffs! They must deal with the consequences of drug use every day (parents and pupils

Thing is, what consequences do you think there actually are for occasional, or even weekly coke use for high earning otherwise healthy professionals?

Some increased health risks. Long term and not immediately obvious. Some financial penalty, give a shit they can afford it.

The risks of illegal drug use are largely bound with their illegality and could be a lot safer if they were legalised. Would sort out all the ethical supply chain issues and bring billions of GDP into official channels in producing countries.

The vast, vast, vast majority of ‘middle class’ drug users escape their drug taking years with no serious ill effect.

Sarcelle most people take it on nights out so they’ve already been drinking, and that can make it hard to tell (people like it because it keeps them awake and able to drink more - like drinking a red bull).

It makes people boorish and talkative, but then so does drink. It’s only really obvious when people have really overdone it IME. It’s not like speed or ecstasy where you are gurning and chewing. It’s also pretty cheap - a gram costs the same as two bottles of wine in a pub, and you’d expect to get ten lines out of that.

And no I don’t take it myself, it is not a drug that goes well with my personality so never been interested, and now that I’m older I am more aware of the problems associated with the supply chain. Plus I don’t go out much post-DC. But I don’t know many people who haven’t at least tried it. It’s rife in finance, media, advertising and hospitality.

You think blueskies ?

The NHS even has a page for cocaine addiction: www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/cocaine-get-help/

I think workplaces need to do more about it.

Yes I do hopeful.

There are a fuckton of professional people doing drugs.

And a tiny proportion come to serious harm.

I’ve worked in the City for more than 15 years (law and insurance) and never come across this at all. I don’t believe it’s as prevalent as is being suggested. DH is in banking and he’s never seen it either.

Absolutely rife among surgeons as the recreational item of choice.

And a tiny proportion come to serious harm

Their children come to harm. Middle class neglect just isn’t dealt with in the same way that benefits class neglect is, because classism.

This is nothing new either, I remember cosmo doing a feature about it in the 90's.
I knew doctors that took heroin.

No serious harm isn't the same as no effect though is it ? As others have said it's not good for your heart or your brain. Increase risk of heart disease, increased risk of stroke and that quite apart from the effects on personality, cognition, parenting...

And my point is that while I know that a lot of professionals do drugs teachers and social workers are the ones picking up the pieces of all the damage it causes, including the supply chain.

I’ve been self employed for years so no idea about coke use in industry.

I do know it was very normalised at the two northern unis my eldest kids attended: both of them had several flat mates who indulged. I suppose they are all professionals now.

The vast, vast, vast majority of ‘middle class’ drug users escape their drug taking years with no serious ill effect.

But what about those who pick up the pieces? The NHS when it goes wrong? The police? The knock on effect on people like me who deal with the people on it at the time? Not to mention the supply chain and the people harmed due to that.

I have been saddened by DD's comments about drug taking in her uni flat. Amongst a few of her flat mates it is now every day. They have become nocturnal, no longer attending their courses, disrupting the lives of students committed to their courses.

Perhaps they are living in the moment but that moment is going to pass.

Utter tosh. Live Home Counties. Never been offered it. OH in banking he doesn't do it nor know anyone openly doing it.

Well my DD was madly in love with a lad who started dealing in our town. She was devastated and broke it off with him and I was so happy to pack her off to university and better influences.

First night in the flat, everyone pulled out the stash they’d brought from home to get the party started.... One of DD’s flat mates was a dealer. Five years on is making serious money from it in their uni city.

Friends of mine say, “Oh my kid hasn’t seen any drugs at uni”, when their kids are telling mine all about their partying. It is commonplace.

The truth is that normal people take drugs! And (for the most part) they don't drop dead, their lives don't spiral out of control, they have a good time, and then they go back to their responsible lives being doctors, lawyers and parents. Human beings have wanted to get high since human beings came along.

In my view it's time for governments to acknowledge this simple fact, and license somebody to produce pills for legal recreational use. Maybe pink ones for clubbing, green ones for relaxing, orange ones for middle-class dinner parties. They can be plastered with health warnings, taxed and regulated. At a stroke the problems with drug criminality will be all but eliminated. And the drugs themselves will be safer and contain less shit. If society was going to disintegrate because people get high then it would have disintegrated a very long time ago.

Doctors ? taking street drugs ? really, I find that hard to believe. Just like " noone sticks to the goverment's alcohol recommendations" . In reality this is only normal in a small section of society and it does have long term health consequences.

There are so many casualties though Fiddle. My DD came very close to messing up, only for her it was weed not coke. Her uni ex boyfriend is a hopeless case unachieving daily weed user now. Ditto one of her original flat mates. Another guy in their circle messed up his heart. Another dropped out and went home unable to string a coherent sentence together after too many pills. Such a waste.

@hopefulhalf. I know a cardiologist, midwife, geriatric nurse and pediatric nurse who all take recreational drugs on a regular basis.

Coke though? or a bit of home grown weed ? there's a huge difference

and quite frankly I can't believe a cardiologist eould have so little reguard for thier myocadium even if they don't care about thier registration.

Doctors ? taking street drugs ? really, I find that hard to believe

Oh my! Doctors!

Yes. Doctors. Doctors are human and enjoy getting high too. And they are quite able to evaluate the evidence re actual harm (to self) and have the cash to pay for drugs.

IME doctors are quite partial to parting.