Ask HN: What’s the unspoken situation with substance abuse by tech workers?

> So therefore we should put substance usage into two categories: "abusive" and "safe".

The common public-health-messaging terminology here is "use" vs "abuse."

I had a colleague who regularly took modafinil and was pretty open about it. He'd work for well over 24 hours straight. I don't think it improved his performance at all.

The only other software engineer I know to do this was into pretty much every chemical but there are people like that in every industry.

Coffee is a very mild stimulant in comparison to amphetamines and similar.

Depending on your current health, other medications, and if you drink alcohol, stimulants can be relatively harmless to deadly. Mixing an upper and downer has a history of stopping hearts without warning.

They’re restricted for good reason. It sucks that some of us just need them to function normally (adhd,etc), but if you don’t need them be aware of the risks.

There was a movement in Silicon Valley a few years ago micro dosing psychedelics. There was a tech CEO who messed up his dose and went to an investor meeting visibly high. They canned him. I’ve talked to a handful of people who have tried micro dosing and it seems super low key like a mild antidepressant. I imagine micro dosing wont be a problem unless someone screws up a dose. At which point they should be called on it and go home to sleep it off.

To be perfectly honest, while concerning from a corruption perspective, these substances might not be doing what you think.

Are you worried about any and all on the job use? You might be okay with an occasional drink/smoke/addy. I’ve met some people that work very well under these substances, even on a daily basis. I’m not saying this is ever a good cultural decision. Perhaps your a purist.

The stims actually have some stuff under the surface many people aren’t aware of. For instance, many people with cognitive problems do well with even hard stimulates, coke, meth, etc; they do well in the short term, but it doesn’t last. Modern ADHD meds are supposed to alleviate this.

Here’s the kicker. Millions (100,000s?) are being told that their lives are too good for ADHD, then things go to shit. Either that or they tell you you’re too much of a degenerate; just give up your career living independently, and move in with your parents at 30+. They have lots of patients who are wards of the state, that can’t live independently.

Discrimination towards people with ADHD actually seems to be accelerating due to these policies. The world isn’t black and white.

Maybe you were talking about conscious and problematic use? Are you worried about off the job use?