To think people are naive re cocaine

[Knockonw00d]

I see threads on here all the time where women find out their husband has been doing coke etc and are absolutely floored.
But it always amazes me how oblivious people are to how common it really is. I’m childfree and in my late 20s and i go on nights out almost every week so you get to know all of the other regulars in the bars. I do not know one person that I’ve met through going out that doesn’t do cocaine.

These people have professional jobs Monday - Friday. Some of them I know are teachers, nursery staff, work in the passport office. It is so common.

I also see a lot posters describing a change in behaviour and people suggest it could be drugs. But unless you’re doing things like heroin or spice, cocaine does not make you act in the ways people suggest.

Do people really not know how common casual use of cocaine is in this country?

@Knockonw00d
I also see a lot posters describing a change in behaviour and people suggest it could be drugs. But unless you’re doing things like heroin or spice, cocaine does not make you act in the ways people suggest.

Others have said it but it's you who is naive. It absolutely can cause personality and behaviour changes.

I do not know one person that I’ve met through going out that doesn’t do cocaine.

As others have said, it's the circles you're mixing in, latest stats are showing Powder cocaine use has remained steady in the last year for people aged 16 to 59 years (2.1%) and 16 to 24 years (3.8%), compared with year end March 2023
so while it's common, it's not the case that everyone or even most people do it. Most people still don't.

@DEAROP
The point is that you aren't going to be robbing grannies and selling yourself in the streets for cocaine. You can hold down a job and still have a raging cocaine habit. You won't be still working as a banker with a crack habit.

They might not rob their grannies but there will have been plenty who had to get money from them to pay off their debts. Also some heroin users still function and have decent jobs.

@MajesticWhine
No friends of mine take cocaine. I think it’s an age thing. Most people into their late 30s or older or with families grow out of this sort of lifestyle.

They grow out of it or they're forced to because they got in so much debt or almost lost their family or had health scares or know people who did or who even died from it.

Drug takers are cunts.

they do random tests in my workplace (local government) and every workplace should do this.

Personally I don't do, or see people taking drugs (now). I've never tried drugs and am not interested in experimenting. I'm too old for all that.
But, they are around, even in my quiet village. Some of my friends have done coke in the past, some still do- I don't see them much- they are very different to how they used to be. If I wanted to get hold of some it would be easy.

But the ethics is a big thing. It troubles me how people go on about the environment, being vegan, health conscious, donate to children's charities etc when the human and environmental cost of drug production and trafficking is so high. It is just such a huge blind spot.

I remember Coke being about in my mid to late 20s nearly 30 years ago!!

Oh dear, you arent "educated about the drug" at all- it couldnt be more obvious from your posts. I get it- you love taking coke.

But your raging cognitive dissonance about it is obvious to literally everyone on this thread.

I think that user might be confused by women who get into a cycle of being used for drugs by men they're trying to date. The types that try and buy grams of coke to share with everyone to feel like they have real friends and then only really do a line or two. themselves. Of course they develop a toxic, damaging habit, but drugs aren't their primary motivation. It's about their low self esteem and loneliness.

This just about sums it up.

Agreed.

I have DC in their 20s, both in professional jobs. DS1 tells me he doesn't know anyone in his wider circle who doesn't do cocaine. He's not interested because he's very health conscious and a bit of a hypochondriac.

Ive never taken coke in my life because in my peer group, youd be labelled a crackhead for doing any drugs other than weed and that wasnt seen as a drug. It was always seen as something that the undisciplined middle classes do. People like us would just sell it to them - not take it. You ever heard the term "white girl wasted". As I said, this has changed in my kid's generation.

I'm sure everyone's kids say "my friends do it but not me" to their parents.

Like the mum from Bridesmaids?!

Having worked in many pubs (in rural areas) I think a lot of you would be amazed how much cocaine Ive cleaned off village pub toilets. It's no longer a drug used just in clubs, in cities, on big nights out.

You would see the demographic coming in and absolutely no one 'looked' like a drug user - or were perhaps the age you would expect. But the empty baggies and tops of flat surfaces spoke for themselves.

It is also true that when you (as a non drug user) hear some of your colleagues escapades and think...however did they have the energy? This is how.

For those of us who were the binge drinking teens of the 00s, and probably couldn't have afforded cocaine, a big night out was followed by a weekends hangover and a takeaway. No longer the case.

If you ever wonder how your pal at work find the inclination to go to the pub midweek, dinner with friends Friday night, gym session Saturday, big night out in the evening, and then roast dinner and walk Sunday....there's a high chance cocaine is propping her up.

Obviously there is always a price to pay and the burnout will come. Eventually you stop using drugs and slow down, or you are unable to stop and life crashes around you.

We have random drug testing at work but it’s not really random. The chosen ones have been “randomly selected “ and oh there’s a shock, tested positive and fired on the spot. They’ve obviously shown some sort of behaviour issue that others have picked up on and reported, who’s the naive one here?

Um what? Part of what problem? We don't smoke weed, we know some people who do. And they grow it themselves FYI.

I don't think I know anyone who currently uses cocaine, but if I do, I'd be disappointed in their lack of intelligence and ethics.

I think taking coke is extremely common amongst people who go to bars and clubs. Mumsnet, however, is not the natural forum for those people. It’s only a tiny number of people in the uk who post here

I’d like to add:

If you haven’t been invited to the hen do / party / birthday meal, there’s a chance it’s because some of your mates want to enjoy their weekend without judgeypants around.

Really? I thought it was dying out. I’m 40 now and when I was young I knew people who did cocaine but far from the majority. I tried it once and it made me into an aggressive overconfident dick, and I decided not to do it again.
Drugs are for mugs, and I say that as someone who has an ex addict for a brother. Do better.

This.

Im sorry to say that its the company your keep and the circles you move in. I’m mid 30s but worked in financial services from ages 21. Very corporate role, lots of money, nights out, work drinks, client meetings. I didn’t once see it. I suspect some did it because some people do, but it wasn’t part of my lifestyle, it wasn’t once offered or done in front of me.

Yes and there is always the after party for those events too.

Taxi drivers are the other common users. How do people think 50 year old men stay awake

I’ve seen a boy of about 14 selling ‘small bags’ outside a local pub. That is a life ruined right there.

YADNBU
It’s well worth looking up and listening to the very clever scientist Leon Barron on Radio 4 about what Londoner’s flush down the loo.

The day to day quantity of cocaine found when the waste water is analysed is frankly staggering.

And before I get pounced on by Londoners, I know it is everywhere unfortunately.

@Knockonw00d out of interest, what region are you from?

My DB used to take a lot of coke, back when he was a total bastard. Cause or effect I don't know. His partner put a stop to that when she met him and thankfully he hasn't looked back - knows how lucky he was to meet her and take the better path.

He was such a scummy man during that time though. Nothing fun or cool about it. Even he knew that. It was driven by misery and rage and it made him angry and violent.

Too many addicts in my family for me to think any drug is ok "at the weekend". Cocaine is not like alcohol, though it's not like alcohol is all good times either.