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?

It’s time for a proper evidence based look at the drug laws instead or having laws based on public panic.

Yes but I always thought how does a mind altering drug get legalised?

No, not in my circles but then we’re middle aged and rural.
Not in my children’s circles either. It would result in career loss.
They are disdainful of idiots who take drugs to boost sad social lives.

Funday - alcohol is legal and mind-altering.

FundayFriday
Use David Nutt’s studies on the relative harm of drugs and manufacturer and license accordingly.
People are going to take drugs, take them away from the criminals and properly license and manufacture them.
Street drugs contain all sorts of crap at the moment it’s a lottery everytime you buy. At least licensed manufacturing takes those risks away.

I know someone who works in drug policy at a senior level. Guess what, drug use is rife.

Moral panic my arse. Anyone who says that has no experience of how drugs can rip families apart. You need hard hitting education about it. Some gruelling posters in A&E would be a start.

Nutt's study was the one I linked to. Hoping pavolova the lifestyle you describe sound very "old school" to me, how old are these people ? I'm guessing not young guys in their 30's with young families. There is more to being good at your job than weilding a scalpel ffs, what about teMam work, managment skills, teaching not to mention bedside manner. It's those soft skills which I would think would be affected by regular drug use, not the ability to cut in a straight line.

teamwork obvs

It would be simple to reduce this in banking by random drug testing insisted upon by the government via the FCA. However, given the number of Tory MPs or other politicians who have taken drugs or have other skeletons in their cupboards, unlikely to happen.

I worked in a drugs service in tower hamlets 13 years ago. We often thought of doing an outreach clinic on canary wharf and thereabouts but reckoned not much would happen and those guys were certainly not going to step inside our place full of heroin and crack users with lives like Dickensian characters
Instead, they enjoyed their heart attacks and panic attacks up o the 14th floor. Help was there but it simply didn't appeal to tjem

I think that yes, it is normal and accepted now. Doesn't make it a good thing though.

Hoping pavolova the lifestyle you describe sound very "old school" to me, how old are these people ? I'm guessing not young guys in their 30's with young families. There is more to being good at your job than weilding a scalpel ffs, what about teMam work, managment skills, teaching not to mention bedside manner. It's those soft skills which I would think would be affected by regular drug use, not the ability to cut in a straight line.

It’s a pavlova that moves, not one that has aspirations by the way.

My peers would be in their 50’s. My current experience ranges from my peers through to current specialists in training though. Lots of guys in mid 30’s with young families are into it. Very different to 20 years ago when it was only the established set with more $$ than sense into it.

All the rest you have mentioned. Yeah, nah. When I choose someone to operate on myself or a member of my family the ONLY thing I take into account is the knife wielding skills. I don’t give a fuck about their soft skills. I don’t give a fuck if they are deaf and dumb. I want shit hot technical skills. I want someone poking about in a body to be able to do a better technical job than anyone else. I don’t care if they play around in their wife. I don’t care if they do blow on their time off. If it does not affect their technical ability (or even if it does yet they are still the best in their field) then that’s my pick.

Oh, and can we drop this stupid phrase "experimenting with drugs"? Do drug users set up hypotheses? Test the outcome? Compare different situations, drugs, doses? No? Then they're not experimenting, they're just using.

Sorry about that yeah like i said old skool

Cocaine is not addictive in the sense that it produces physical withdrawal symptoms, only in the psychological sense.

I believe only opiates and alcohol are addictive in the true sense?

People can become impulsive about anything if they're that way inclined I guess though (shopping, gaming etc).

But it's not 'addictive' as such.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/08/06/cocaine-deaths-reach-all-time-high-england-wales/amp/

"Cocaine prices are currently believed to be at their lowest level for 25 years, meanwhile the purity of cocaine sold on the street has risen for the fifth year running, increasing the risk for the end user."

"Since 1993, when drug death statistics began being collected, the increase in cocaine deaths by cocaine is almost 4000 per cent.

The North East of England had the highest rate of drug misuse deaths last year, with 83.2 per one million people, while London had the lowest.

The rate in the capital dropped from 32.3 deaths per one million people in 2016 to 24.6 in 2017."

“I'm surprised so many on mn don't know anyone who takes or has taken drugs. Ecstasy and cocaine were huge in the uk and Ireland in the 90's”

I’m surprised you’re surprised. I think it depends entirely on your social/work circles. I don’t work in the city and none of my friends and family have or would take cocaine. I know people who have and still indulge in weed. I have even tried it myself, but cocaine – no.

“I think this thread is interesting in that it has attractedd those who do use from the title.

Also those who do use have normalised it as its normal in their circle,and probably have no idea how shocking that is to the half of mumsnet who dont use.”

Well said KneelJustKnee. I totally agree.

“I am pretty shocked. Particularly as im quite aware of county lines, the lives it devistates and the whole gang/crazy dealing set up. Kids. So many kids”

Living near the Greater Manchester border we have a massive problem with county lines in our local market town. The main problem seems to be weed and other drugs rather than cocaine.

“People that like coke socialise mainly with other people that do.”

This ^^
I think we all live in our own bubbles. Some of us live in a bubble where cocaine is commonplace, and some of us live in a bubble where it isn’t. I live in the second bubble.

“I think that yes, it is normal and accepted now.”

No it isn’t. It really isn’t. See my point about bubbles above.

"Well sniffing / runny nose can often be a dead giveaway. Although as I write this I'm aware that I've been sniffing constantly lately (sinusitis) and I'm hoping people don't think I'm on coke!"

Yes, I had a boss (NOT a highly paid professional) who believed when she said she had hay fever, until I realised how rife coke was where I was working and figured out what it really was.

In my experience its actually your innocent nice weed thats driving the stabbinngs. Crack dealers lay low, powder cocaine dealers are poncey arseholes who see themselves as above all that

I know loads of social workers, prison officers, uni lecturers, stay at home mums ect who can't even begin a night out without 'pre-drugs' when having a sesh and also using throughout the day. Last couple of years everyone round here have been getting into the 'gym life', most of them and their PTs are on it.

You can tell because their jaw is swinging off its hinges usually!! Plus the inane chatter, sniffing, sweating, breathing fast and heart racing like the clappers.

I do not use and never have. The most I have ever touched is some weed.

My dh however was able to get ketamine to take outside of school at the age of 11/12. He used anything and everything (including once accidentally smoking crack) until age 24. He would not touch anything now - he had one awful night and never again. He also stopped smoking soon after.

"They have become nocturnal, no longer attending their courses"

I was like that in my first year. I didn't do any drugs though, just didn't bother getting up in the day. It was just a student phase for me.
In all my time at university, I only remember one person asking where he could get coke from and we thought he meant coco cola. It was obviously around, but not a part of any of my friends' lives. This was late 90s.

The thought it makes me shit myself. The fast heart rate, sweating, feeling like you're dying with the strong chance of actually dropping dead really doesn't appeal to me.

Cocaine creates a buzz, rush that is addictive. It is usually combined with something else. Alcohol and coke create a lovely haze.
I think it's called cocethalyne which is a whole other deal.
The middle class coke users blissfully unaware of the criminal networks and misery they are finding fuck me off.
I saw the rotted nasal passages.

Heart attacks and psych damage. Never mind the families.
Be an occasional user but you are part of something even if you think you are just having a little toot. You are complicit.

My experience is similar to that of edwinbear's. I've worked in the City for about 20 years. I saw a fair bit of evidence of cocaine use before the financial crash. Along with long liquid lunches I thought it had gone out of fashion since the financial crash.