To think that class A drug use/alcohol use is considered a white thing?

[feryon98]

I'm a biracial woman who has experimented with various drugs in the past (mdma, cocaine, ketamine). I've always had a diverse group of friends (black, white, asian).

I never really noticed that my other non-white friend did drugs/drank less until a close friend pointed out that her parents thought I was a bit wild for drinking a lot during a gathering at my parents house. It made me realize that I was definitely an outlier when it came to consuming substances.

None of my friends are religious or had particularly strict parents as they did drink/go out to clubs, but their drinking habits seemed to be very different to other Irish and English friends that would usually offer me something to drink when I hang out at their place. It also was totally normal for the teens/young adults to drink which seemed to be frowned upon when I hang out with my extended African family or the families of my other friend. I also know far fewer of them who have tried drugs harder than weed

I thought it was silly until my friend showed me a VICE article written about it:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/black-british-party-drug-use-tv/

From what I see all around me, I'd say it may be a fair comment for party drugs, but that's not what people take here. They take crack, smack, spice and weed and these seem pretty equal opportunities in my local area. The only significant minority in the area who you don't see shitfaced are the south Asian community.

Interesting. I have always seen drug use as culturally determined rather than racially determined; i.e. what happens in your social circle, which probably includes people of different races.

I'm white and my 'youth' era when people of my age were taking drugs socially was in the 1990s but I was never offered anything other than cannabis. I knew people who took speed and ecstasy but not anyone who admitted to coke. One of my black friends was very into LSD and mushrooms but I wouldn't touch that stuff with a barge pole!

Drinking at home was OK with parents if it was a party and you arranged your own booze, but you wouldn't go to someone's house and start drinking the contents of the wine rack on a normal day (in my circles).

Of course that was 30+ years ago and the scene is likely very different now. I don't have more than a couple of pints of Guinness nowadays on the rare occasions I go out in the evening 😃

I also think it's a very very complex thing having lived and worked in South London for many decades. The privileged, largely white drug exposure and use, is very different to the drug exposure for deprived communities which are more diverse.

For the privileged, it's an idiot thing. For the deprived it's more about manipulation and coercion when reachable, legal aspiration is hard to obtain.

Without doubt the dealers are controlled by bigger dealers but at the top of the chain are sophisticated units of serious organised crime. They are not run by people of colour.