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During lunch time in the office kitchen, some colleagues often share how was their weekend by saying they had drinks/pints/alcohol, got drunk and had fun.

e.g. "We went to bar X and had drinks, we drank a bit too much but had an awesome night"

Our social events team often organizes night outs with the office where we all go to a bar and drink alcohol, dance and have fun. We sometimes also drink a bit of whiskey in the office as a celebration of some new product's release.

The above indicates it is OK to talk about alcohol (legal drug) in the workplace.

Is it OK to talk about illegal ones though?

For instance, would it be inappropriate -and why- for me to share my weekend's time during lunch, as my colleagues do, but including illegal drugs instead of legal ones?

e.g. "Weekend was really nice, went with my friends to a techno party and had some ecstasy" or "we chilled at my friend's house and smoked weed"

My goal is not to show off that I am using illegal drugs or doing illegal actions. I just want the freedom to talk honestly about my weekend when I am asked, just like the others do (i.e. consuming legal drugs). I am not gonna step into the kitchen and say "Hey I did MDMA", just honestly answering/discussing when I am asked, like everybody else. It's not my goal to focus on drugs either, just to mention them as part of a normal conversation. Lots of stuff are being talked during lunch, from sports to politics even philosophy. Couldn't I express my political view on drugs for example? It's a social issue and an interesting one, can't I talk about it?

Office is small with a friendly atmosphere. Everybody knows more or less the name of each other. Many people are also friends outside of work. That's why it's common to hear "We went to that bar, had drinks, got drunk etc."

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closed as unclear what you're asking by gnat, Masked Man, scaaahu, Cronax, AffableAmbler Apr 4 '18 at 15:08

Please clarify your specific problem or add additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it’s hard to tell exactly what you're asking. See the How to Ask page for help clarifying this question. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.

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    Really wouldn't recommend talking about illegal activities in a place of work. It's genuinely not worth the risk to your career. – Digitalsa1nt Apr 3 '18 at 13:17
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    Would you go into the office and say, "had a great time this weekend. Sped up and down the highway at 120 mph!" It may not be illegal to say that, but glamorizing illegal activity is likely going to cause people to assume you don't take legal matters seriously and/or have poor judgement. Regardless of the legality of making the statement versus doing the activity, it can absolutely hurt your career and reputation with your employer, as @digitalsa1nt implied. – dwizum Apr 3 '18 at 13:29
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    The illegality is a red herring. If you said, for example, "I had lots to drink over the weekend and got totally wasted." this may well be inappropriate too, although getting wasted (e.g. not in public) is not illegal and is not likely to infract on any work policies (you did it during the weekend, not interfering with your work). – Brandin Apr 3 '18 at 13:48
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    What do you hope to gain? – Lumberjack Apr 3 '18 at 15:43
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    @helloworld - I did not downvote but I can easily see how this could be considered off topic due to the opinion-based nature of your question. – dwizum Apr 3 '18 at 15:44
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This answer addresses discussing personal drug use in the office. Appropriateness of debating philosophical/political issues related to drug use is a separate matter entirely.

This is sort of dependent on the culture in your workplace, but, since you feel the need to ask this question, chances are the answer is "no." Many companies require a urine test to prove you have not been using illegal substances prior to beginning employment. I'm assuming your company doesn't have this policy, but drug use is still something upper management is better off not knowing about. You potentially have a lot to lose and not much to gain by bringing it up.

It may seem hypocritical, but the fact of the matter is, some activities are socially acceptable and others are not. As a rule of thumb, if something is illegal in your country/region, you're probably better off not mentioning it in the workplace.

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    Depends on the work place I worked at a place (UK / Manchester) that reminded me of factory records (24 hour party people) – Neuromancer Apr 3 '18 at 23:06
  • @Neuromancer totally agree. Take Apple for example—Steve Jobs often talked about his LSD use being the key to his creative genius. He would even ask candidates whether or not they used it in interviews. In OP’s case though, it seems that there’s no apparent “drug culture” since he needs to ask here whether or not it’s okay. – AffableAmbler Apr 4 '18 at 4:14
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I would say: don't do this. I don't see why you would do this. In general talking about illegal / socially not accepted topics will only risk getting you in undesirable situations.

At work, keep it somewhat professional.

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