What is likely to happen with child contact where there is concealed cocaine use?

[ThisQuickOliveCat]

I’ve recently separated from my child’s father and have discovered messages which appear to show repeated cocaine use/planning over roughly the last three years, including while I was pregnant and continuing up until last month.
I don’t have evidence that he was using cocaine while actually caring for our child, but some of the messages suggest he was deliberately arranging to use it when me and our child were away. There are also messages about using it in our family home, including references to preparing it on a plate and putting the plate in the microwave.
There are also separate recent messages showing an intention to smoke cannabis.
I have now raised a safeguarding concern with nursery. They have had to inform social services. Nursery have explained that because he still has parental responsibility they cannot simply stop him collecting our child, although they can contact me if he attempts to do so.
Because of this, I currently don’t feel able to send my child into nursery while I’m trying to get urgent legal advice, as I’m worried he could collect him.
I have spoken to a solicitor / am seeking urgent legal advice about what I should do next.
I’m not looking to stop my child having a relationship with his father unnecessarily, but I am extremely concerned about the concealed drug use and the fact it appears to have gone on for such a long period without my knowledge.
For anyone who has experience of family court or similar circumstances, what is realistically likely to happen with contact?
Would a court be likely to order things such as drug testing, supervised contact or daytime-only contact initially, or is it more likely that normal unsupervised/overnight contact would continue unless there is evidence he used while actually looking after the child?
I’m especially interested in hearing from anyone who has been through something similar.

The only worry you might have is that he is at the addict level when he can’t go a day without it and this would make him unsafe. In that case they could do hair testing (very expensive) to see the levels of use. But you lived with the guy you’d know if he was in an unfit state trying to care for him regularly.

I think you feel hurt about being lied to by him and feel like an idiot as he was making it clear to pals he was lying to you and having fun time without you, while you were pregnant that’s very painful. But if doesn’t sound to me that it’s better for your child to never have a bedtime and weekend with dad again, any restrictions on contact need to be proportionate.

also what are your worries about picking him up
from nursery? That he will keep your child from you (like you’re doing to him?) what harm could come to your Child if dad picks him up, takes him to the park, then drops him home to you?

I really think to counter the allegations I outlined above you need to be offering some safe contact either supervised or community eg soft play or park after nursery then home to you, then mediation to make a safe plan for increasing on this, stay away from family court

That is not what OP said he is doing though.

There's needs to be repeated evidence they are under the influence of it while doing solo childcare. Not just 'intention to use it when mother and child were away'. If someone does something when they don't have the child it wouldn't be taken as a massive risk.

There isnt a safeguarding risk here unless he is partying with his dealers when he has care of the child

There are countless mums and dads up and down the country using illegal drugs and will be this weekend who have the care of their children. Unless the children's needs are being neglected or there is evidence of the child being exposed to gang/turf wars or parent being completely out of and therefore not in control while having care of the child, there is no issue. Just like alcohol

Do you drink OP? Do you wash the glasses out after?

My ex husband threatened to kill our child and was given unsupervised access. According to the judge it was clearly an empty threat because he hasn't killed him.... Because I did what he wanted to stop him.

No one even blinked when I told them he ran a cannabis farm.

Men who have been convicted of violet crimes and child abuse, including child sex crimes have been given unsupervised access to their children.

The bar is so low for men and so high for mothers. Chances are, your child will be given to him and you will have to spend years and years trying to fix the damage he is doing to them.

But, it is still better than staying with him and making that their whole life.

I think you might find preventing an agreed 50/50 contact arrangement is regarded more seriously than recreational drug use by SS. Unless you have real evidence of harm to your child, your actions could be viewed as alienation. Mothers have lost contact with their children over that. You’ve involved SS now, tread carefully. Your post would not be viewed in the way you might hope by them.

Social services aren't going to get involved with this. They don't pick up every case that goes to family court and nothing OP said suggests their thresholds would be met for intervention.

Social Services do not get involved in contact arrangements, they're not there to solve disagreements between warring parents. Thats what solicitors and the courts are for.