Ask HN: I'm writing a book about white-collar drug use, including tech sector
Temporary account for obvious reasons, feel free to direct message me, if you&#x27;d like to discuss in further detail. I apologize for the length of the post in advance :)<p>Most of my experiences are filtered through the lens of working at companies in the SF Bay Area, with &quot;a good work-life balance&quot;. This is effectively code for &quot;we recognize that the work week is approximately 9-5 or 10-6, Monday-Friday&quot;. California has had legalized medical Marijuana for a few years, and recently legalized commercial sale of recreational Marijuana. In this comment, I&#x27;ll try to offer a survey of what I&#x27;ve seen other people in tech doing, as well as what I myself have been doing.<p>By far, the most prolific and most visible mood-affecting substances are Alcohol and Caffeine. In every company where I&#x27;ve worked, these were freely available to employees, and consumed socially.<p>Caffeine feels like a major component of programmer culture. There&#x27;s a plethora of boutique coffee shops peppering San Francisco, and having a discriminating coffee taste seems to be a mark of refinement. It&#x27;s worth noting the popular software engineering book, Code Complete - the cover most prominently features a keyboard, and a cup of coffee - suggesting these are the essential tools of programming.<p>Personally, I consume coffee once or twice a day, and make a bit of conscious effort to limit my dependence, and not become too tolerant. I have a bit of difficulty keeping a regular sleep schedule and getting enough sleep, and caffeine helps counteract that.<p>At multiple companies I&#x27;ve worked at, beer was freely available, on-tap from a keg. However, it generally was not consumed during work hours, but after-hours, socially. Companies also tend to host happy hours on certain Fridays, with a variety of mixed drinks available and a party theme. Tech-related meetups are typically sponsored and hosted at a company office, and free beer is provided. Broad use of public transit, or Uber, likely resolve potential problems with drunk driving, I&#x27;m unsure on that point. I&#x27;ve not typically seen people drink to excess at work functions, but it&#x27;s not unheard of for someone to get themselves fired at a holiday party. A taste for unique beers seems to also be a social mark of refinement.<p>Personally, I don&#x27;t consume alcohol. This is a bit unusual, and usually raises some questions from coworkers, but the choice is generally respected and I don&#x27;t experience any pressure to drink. That said, it still feels a bit alienating to have an unusual stance on drinking, and a bit alienating when there&#x27;s a variety of unique mixed drinks or small-brew beers available, and only water&#x2F;coke for non-alcoholic options. Non-drinkers are respected, but not considered.<p>I know a few people who smoke Tobacco, but it seems to be very rare. It&#x27;s looked down on a bit, and there&#x27;s several health laws restricting where it&#x27;s permitted. Vaporizers have made it marginally more accepted. I personally don&#x27;t smoke.<p>My impression is that many coworkers enjoy Marijuana at least occasionally, but this is far less visible. I&#x27;ve never noticed someone at work smelling skunky, and it seems like a substance that would completely prevent any kind of productivity at work.<p>I recently had my first marijuana experience, via edibles, and quite enjoyed it. It&#x27;s not something I am going to make a regular habit of, but it was fairly inexpensive, and I had basically no negative effects the next day at work (except for some worse-than-usual sleep).<p>Purchasing marijuana was one of the most privilege-demonstrating experiences I&#x27;ve had. Being aware of decades of racial discrimination, of dime bags being exchanged surreptitiously, etc. With all that, I was able to walk into a well-lit store, peruse products, stand in line with several respectable-looking folks wearing tech company hoodies, present an ID, and walk out the door. That feels a little mind-boggling to me.<p>At a previous company, I&#x27;ve heard at least one employee openly talk about having tried mushrooms in the past, and recommending other people try it at least once.<p>Other than that, I&#x27;m generally unaware of _any_ use of any other mood-altering substances.<p>In terms of productivity, it seems much more typical for people to be very concerned with diet or fitness. There&#x27;s quite a few vegans, vegetarians, gluten-free, etc., and many people are involved with a gym, or some outdoor activity.<p>My personal philosophy is that good development is a marathon, not a sprint, and properly maintaining physical and mental health is a key component of being happy and productive.<p>Outside of physical substances, video games are also quite popular as a recreational activity, and my use of them has, at times, bordered on addictive and life-interfering.