Well over half of respondents – some 53 per cent – to B&T’s recent industry drug survey agreed that there was a recreational drug issue – problem, you may say – among media and marketing agencies.
Over a third – 35 per cent of respondents – agreed with the statement that drug use in Adland was worse than in other industries
Last Friday, we released the first of the survey’s findings that found cocaine was the most used drug in the industry. The full results are to be released in a feature in the latest edition of B&T due on desks any day now.
More interestingly, 60 per cent of the survey’s 500-plus respondents agreed that drugs could aid the creative process. Although, contrary to that, actual drug use in the office was very low at only five per cent.
Three-quarters of respondents said they typically used drugs after work or on weekends while the exact same amount agreed they used drugs for “fun and socialising with friends” and not to enhance their work capabilities
Commenting on the survey’s results, drug and alcohol specialist Dr Matthew Frei agreed that most recreational drugs – cocaine, ecstasy or marijuana – would, in his opinion, be impediments to the creative process.
“I guess it’s how you define creative?” Dr Frei posed. “Cocaine’s a stimulant drug, it’s not a consciousness expanding drug that makes you have profound visions or deep philosophical experiences like some hallucinogens that people can use in a spiritual way.
“So, no, I wouldn’t say cocaine per se would be a drug that would assist in the creative process; it’s more a drug that can assist you functionally in certain settings and that’s where you need to be alert and confident and energetic.”
Dr Frei added that he’s never encountered a heavy drug user that could function properly in a hectic work environment. “It possibly could happen; you see high-functioning alcoholics all the time in lots of industries. But for most people heavy drug use would impair their ability to do a job. In fact, most heavy drug users become quite ill and can’t work at all.”
The October/November issue of B&T is out next week.
