A few of you will remember (long, long ago) when I challenged the youtuber known as ModVegan on her excuses for the decriminalization of drugs: she believed (e.g.) that everyone should be allowed to use cocaine without fear of legal repercussions, but she then seemed to be unable to deal with the implications when asked how this would apply to police officers, medical doctors —anyone with any real responsibility. This is made more obvious when we are talking about positions of authority that involve life-or-death decisions (like police officers and medical doctors) but the point is the same for even the most modest of minimum wage jobs: neither a construction worker nor a babysitter can be trusted if they're using cocaine —and, on the contrary, both examples may endanger the lives of others.
This is a short news item but some of the details are telling: one police officer asks another if he looks okay —while high on cocaine— as he is about "to go to daycare", presumably to pick up (or drop off) his own child. The other police officer tells him, in reply, to keep his sunglasses on, to conceal his "cocaine eyes".
The problem is more profound than anyone wants to admit to themselves: people leading meaningless lives will risk them for practically nothing at all —for the mere semblance of purpose and meaning brought about by the pursuit of a chemically-induced high.
This is short term gratification that comes at the cost of a real commitment: anyone playing with cocaine (let alone meth, fentanyl, etc.) is aware that they will not grow old. One way or another, they will not experience old age before death.
What happens when workplace cocaine use isn't just a problem in the construction industry, but in the law enforcement industry… quite possibly in each and every industry? Everyone already knows, unless we choose not to know.
