“Drugs are just a normal part of the London lifestyle”

[Pollstrox]

DD is single, in her early 30s and has been living in various professional house shares in London for the last 10 years or so. She’s got a fantastic job and social life; in fact (outside of Lockdown!) she’s barely ever at home. She’s often out for drinks after work during the week and the weekend will almost always consist of trips to bars and restaurants with friends accompanied by nights of heavy drinking. DD and I are very close and she chooses to share a lot of information with me about her life, which I love.

Lately she mentioned her drug use which I now find out has been a regular occurrence throughout her time living in London. She tells me that her and her friends will spend a weekend at least monthly, staying up all night using cocaine and occasionally they will have a night in using MDMA. Having met DD’s friends and housemates, I’m absolutely shocked. They are all lovely, have very successful careers (mostly in creative industries) and have clearly been raised well. I would never ever think they’d spend most weekends using drugs without a thought for the consequences. In fact, ironically DD and a number of her friends very health conscious and most are vegan!

DD is completely blasé about her habits and tells me it’s a completely normal part of the London lifestyle for single professional people. In fact, according to DD, she doesn’t know anyone else who DOESN'T partake! AIBU in thinking that this cant be true?!

NotAnotherUser, I don't think it's normal in London per se; just that the dd sounds like she is moving in the kind of circles where it might be normal.

I am really shocked by this thread, have lived in London for 15 years, and seen very little evidence of drug use among colleagues or other people I know, even when I went out drinking a lot in my twenties.

This thread really shows the low lifes out there. Evidently from other posters, it's not a London thing.

I'm young and went to uni/ still live in London. In my circles I wouldn't say it's necessarily rife. I know of some people that do it (not regularly though- mainly when out) but most people I know don't do it. I work in healthcare but know of people in banking etc.

when I was in my 20s and 30s in London, this was very common among my friends and colleagues and other people I came across (all of us professionals). I imagine it's still very common.

Now we're in our 40s and 50s there are still a fair few of them who take mdma, weed and cocaine fairly regularly. Not everyone - my mum friends where I live don't partake at all.

Drugs also fairly common among older school children here.

So it's not the avocado toast that's stopping everyone from saving deposits??

Good thing drugs are such an ethical consumer product...maybe the cocaine is organic FairTrade.

But seriously, I've worked in London many years and no one's offered me more than cannabis. People use harder drugs all the time but they're very aware of being discreet. Although there was one media wedding with piles of coke on the tables...

DD is completely blasé about her habits and tells me it’s a completely normal part of the London lifestyle for single professional people. In fact, according to DD, she doesn’t know anyone else who DOESN'T partake! AIBU in thinking that this cant be true?!

I'm a 20something single professional person in London with a high salary (disposable income) and don't recognise this at all - I don't know anyone who does drugs regularly. Especially not pills or powder.

I'm always amazed when these type of threads come up.
It does make me laugh a bit, that so many middle class professionals are all apparently constantly off their tits on coke.

Lots of them grow up to be the type of people who are awfully concerned about drug crime in their area.

I do feel sorry for you, OP. It cant be easy to know your DD is shoving shit up her nose.
I would point out the hypocrisy of being an ethical person and taking class A drugs.

How utterly bloody shameful then.Your DD has a conscience as far as animals but not her fellow man-it clearly doesn’t matter where it comes from or what happens in this country to keep idiots stuffing crap up their nostrils - my ex husband did exactly same thing back in the 80’s- hated him for it

@Mumoblue I always think that when these threads come up. I always wonder why somebody who shoots up is considered to be a bad person, but someone who takes cocaine recreationally is just having fun. Poor man's drug vs rich man's drug.

metro.co.uk/2019/06/26/traces-of-cocaine-found-throughout-houses-of-parliament-10075256/

I'll just leave this here.......

I've lived and worked in London for nearly 40 years and this isn't my experience either. I seem to hang out with lots of clean living people - none of us ever drank much, either.

Late 30s, just outside london, parent and it's done socially now and then between friends and common. I think it also depends if you know the signs, most people would never be able to tell but having done it you can see very minor signs.

People would never know and would be telling people they no nobody that takes cocaine and I hear them say that the office etc but they just don't realise it's going on under their nose especially at xmas parties and they know me.

And yes it's not big or clever but the OP was asking if it was common not about how it happens.

You have anyone from lower paid staff to management doing it

Gordon Ramsay was looking all astounded when traces were found in the staff loo but he looked guilty as hell.

I have lived in London almost all my life and never personally ever seen anyone take cocaine.

They won’t necessarily take it in front of you - bathroom, another room etc.

I highly doubt you’ve never hung out with someone who takes coke - you just didn’t realise.

I lived in London for many years and had a similar lifestyle but neither my close friends or I ever did drugs. It was way more prevalent than you might think from the outside though. It's worse in certain industries, as is alcohol abuse. I always, thought I punished my body enough through drinking without adding other toxins into the mix. I also detest drug dealers with a passion and think they're the scum of the earth.

Lived in London and I don't move in these circles. Never been offered it and never looked for it. It's not everywhere.

Worked in the city for years. Fucking rife! I do not miss it one single bit.

The information certainly opened my eyes. I hope that none of the professionals in my life are taking drugs while dealing with me or my financial affairs or medical conditions. If I ever found they were I would be asking for replacements and reporting them to their professional bodies.
Drugs are illegal for everyone. Just because you have a professional occupation it does not make it legal or acceptable to have or consume drugs.

Your DD sounds like a self absorbed idiot. The amount of suffering that happens to others less fortunate, so that your twatty, 'single, professional...living in London....zzzzz' daughter can have a snort is dreadful. You must be so proud

Yes @Ugzbugz I thought the same

Sounds normal in my experience

In all circles from city (lots of socialising) to medical/mh professionals

Most i know as they have got older have given it up apart from maybe the odd spliff instead many drink lots of wine

Is it rife? Yes. But is it a 'normal part of the London lifestyle'? No. My sister and many friends have lived and worked in London, in creative industries, and none of them touch drugs. However, they also have many colleagues who do use drugs.

A lot of it is down the friendship groups you move in. My sister and her friends don't use drugs, but other people and everyone in their friendship groups do, etc.

You can basically text a number and they meet you very quickly with the amount of coke u want. These poeple are usually from Albania and probably got caught up in it. It's very worrying. I also think the more people do it that you relise as in some of you might not notice others are doing it around the dinner party table

Theres a really pathetic strain of romanticising drugs among the middle classes. I was especially reminded of that reading an article about Nico's heroin addiction as if it was romantic as fuck (it was actually just tragic and shitty). They dont help creativity in the slightest and cocaine is just for arseholes by arseholes. I think a lot of them dont get this out of their system whilst younger so feel the need to do this almost safe rebellion in their late 20s and 30s.