Drugs prevail among restaurant workers

In restaurants there's a prevailing sub culture that many don't realize comes along with their fish and chips and crème brulee. Movies like "Waiting" touch on it, but none truly depict what so many in the restaurant industry can tell you. "Servers party, we work long nights and after all that stress the last thing I won't to do is go home." Said Jimmy, a 23 year-old restaurant employee. It's true that restaurant work is a physically strenuous occupation. Many servers put in thirty to forty hour workweeks, primarily on their feet. But the after hours business keeps them just as occupied. There's a simple symbol that depicts an epidemic among restaurant employees; it's a thin white line. Neptune's Palace, a staple of the tourist hot spot Pier 39, is a perfect dichotomy of the prevalence of cocaine use among restaurant employees. Of the 30 front of the house (servers, bartenders, and hosts) and back of the house employees (dishwashers, cooks, bus boys) surveyed, 25 stated that they had used cocaine in the last 30 days. This cocaine use is just part of what's called the "party lifestyle." With their long days come long nights, and several employees said that cocaine serves as a useful way to stay up "and I love the way it feels" said Warren, a 21 year-old food runner who is studying to become a chef. "I go to school at seven a.m. in the morning, then work 'til ten. Once I'm done with that I have to study, I get fucking tired." Warren's story is a familiar one, Matt a 24 year-old server and recent college graduate, admitted to using cocaine to stay up in an effort to complete homework. From front to back, black to white, Cocaine use seems to run rampant amongst restaurant employees. The only segregating factor seems to be age. All but three of the 25 who have recently used cocaine, were below the age of thirty. Whether a matter of naiveté or the greater propensity to go out amongst younger employees, the youthful restaurant staff seems to be the ones using the "blow." An older server named Paul, a 41 year-old writer, spoke about his own cocaine use, "I moved from Los Angeles to get away from that stuff, it almost ruined my life." Yet Paul still goes out just as frequently as his younger cohorts and admits to being a huge advocate of marijuana use. Marguerite, a 41 year-old bartender at Neptune's admits to using cocaine, but only rarely. "That stuff makes me crazy, I'd rather just stick to pot." So the drug use itself seems to be a common bond, but the issue is the drug of choice. Younger servers, often college students, seem to be in search of an edge. A recent study by the White House Office of National Drug Control showed that 2.2% of eighth graders had used cocaine in the last year. By college the figure jumped to 6.6%. Obviously some of this can be attributed to the increased exposure to narcotics that is inherent with attending college and going out into the workplace. Yet when asking the five employees of Neptune's who are currently in school why they use cocaine, all five stressed the need to stay awake and referenced the constant state of fatigue that they're in. More alarming is the fact that all those surveyed at Neptune's who attended college had used cocaine. So the question is what came first, the fatigue or the job? Almost all employees said that their first encounter with cocaine came prior to their employment in restaurants. This shows that the exposure to the drug isn't necessarily related to the occupation. Conversely most employees admit that their use increased once they began working in the food industry. "Hell you go in the bathroom right now and you'll see [cocaine] residue on the back of the toilet or on the toilet paper holder. Welcome to restaurants, we were doing the same shit in France. Everyone does this shit. Show me someone who hasn't done it, and they're either lying or haven't done it yet." Chuckled Charles, a 36 year-old self-proclaimed lifer. A term used to describe someone who has chosen the restaurant industry as their career. When talking about cocaine use amongst what's simply deemed as "the industry" there's a lemming like approach to the work and non-work lifestyle. There's a sense of "hey everybody's doing it." Employees emulate those that are best at their jobs and the same seems to apply to the after hours occupation. Those who don't "party" are ribbed and taunted for "being a bitch" as Warren likes to state it. "It's not really a matter of who does and doesn't do it. It's just that I've partied with so many of these people that I know when they're lying, when they say they don't want a line. Half of them are just waiting for someone to mention it. I used to be one of the worst…" continues Warren "I'm a bookworm during the week now, but the weekends are still fair game." Cocaine is the most potent stimulant of natural origin. Cocaine is a strong central nervous system stimulant and can cause constriction of the blood vessels and increased temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. When mixed with alcohol (It should be noted that all 25 servers that admitted to recent use said that they most frequently used cocaine when imbibing alcohol to "level themselves out") cocaine becomes cocaethylene, which increases the risk of sudden death. When asked why he'd put himself under this type of risk, Mark, a 30 year-old server says, "I wish I didn't. It's just something that I do now. Were all gonna die, might as well enjoy the time we got." Jimmy, when asked as to why he'd submit his body to this kind of risk, gives an idea of how he began and at the same time what makes those older individuals stop. "We're young, we convince ourselves that we're invincible, but I know better. I know what I'm doing to my body. I reconcile my [drug] use with the idea that I won't do this forever. I say that I'm enjoying my youth, but in the recesses of my mind part of me is scared of the ramifications of what I'm doing." Jimmy's face tells the whole story. His eyes well and he looks off, then, just as quickly he wipes the facial slate clean and grins, "Fuck it, if we're gonna die, we're gonna die." Jimmy's sorrow, then seemingly reckless enjoyment surmises the attitudes of most of the Neptune's employees using cocaine. At night they're wild and elated, in the morning they're fatigued and remorseful. This is the "party lifestyle." With every apex comes a great valley. Never truly even keel, the restaurant employee is rather manic in mood and physical appearance. Stephanie Bollwinkel, a long-time restaurant employee, sheds further light on the lifestyle and prevalenct drug use. "Everywhere I've worked most of the employees are doing it. That's a lie, here (One Market Restaurant,) about half of the people her used to do it. Most of the people here are through that phase now." Bollwinkel works at a restaurant primarily staffed with employees that are over the age of thirty. It seems that the restaurant doesn't matter nearly as much as the age. As Charles stated everyone is doing it or has done it. The use seems to be linked to the occupation, but the occupation is conducive to the lifestyle. Do restaurant employees get in "the industry" so they have an occupation that caters to their lifestyle, or do they get in the lifestyle because of the occupation? "I fell into the lifestyle after three years of working in restaurants. I think most people end up partying because that's part of the territory. I've seen saints become sinners in a matter of months. Attractive young people influence others. Hell, alcohol, clubs, drug use, and sex are all the end result." Stated a thoughtful Jimmy as he sipped his vodka and diet coke after finishing a long day's work. So no matter whom you ask, cocaine is part of the culture. If you work in a restaurant, either you do it, you've done it, or you will do it. For most it's just a passing trend, something akin to "experimenting in college." All who admit to doing it are adamant about their intention to quit someday. The intention to quit is there, but with all the inherent dangers with cocaine use the hope has to be that these individuals will be able to cross back over that thin white line before it's too late. Jimmy looks into his drink and finishes by saying, "I do this, but it doesn't define me. I just hope it doesn't finish me before I finish with it."