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Created: Thursday, 15 March 2012 11:27

Published: Thursday, 15 March 2012 11:27

Written by The Guardian

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Guardian/Mixmag drug survey reveals a generation happy to chance it

Data shows predominantly white, educated and relatively healthy users willing to take significant risks with their health

"My daily life is sensible, regimented and very stressful, so at the weekend I want the complete opposite," explained James, a financial broker. "When I go out, the last thing I want is to think about work and responsibilities. I just want to lose myself for a few hours."

The 25-year-old, who is at his desk in the City by 6.30am every day, takes a mix of MDMA, cocaine and the anaesthetic ketamine almost every weekend. He insists it does not affect his work and says the fallout from a weekend drug bender is little worse than a bad hangover."I just personally enjoy it," he said. "It's not sitting alone in a room shooting up heroin, it's a social and enjoyable experience that I can balance with my working life."

Respondents to the Guardian/Mixmag drug survey – for which 15,500 regular users such as James revealed everything from their drug of choice to the amount they pay for a gram of cocaine – do not easily conform to drug user stereotypes. Predominantly white, educated, relatively healthy people with an average age of 28, they are neither in rehab nor prison and rarely touch heroin or crack.