Dancers & Drugs, Why?

I agree it could be an escape. But I've often wondered if the strange hours have something to do with. Work til 2 or in some cases 4 am then up early to care of the kids. So they are in need of a pick up.

Also, I think it's shear boredom. Being a stripper isn't the glamorous life many think it us.

I agree with your thinking. But then there are some people that think going to strip clubs is "Just plain stupid".

Probably stupid and and crappy family support more than anything. The smart ones are happy with money, bud and drinking like any normal young girl. Remember the 80's? Almost every stripper was a coke whore, thats how you picked them up. In fact thats how guys picked up hot girls anywhere. Rich, poor, happy or not everyone was doing coke.

For some of them, it's the way they deal with doing what "they have to do" to make extra money. They don't seem to make the connection that without the drugs, they wouldn't *need* the extra money.

Some seem to use drugs or drink heavy to deal with the shame or degradation the job entails.

The strippers I've gotten to know are all heavy drinkers. They like the fact that I buy them drinks, and they can drink me under the table. All of them told me when I first got to know them that they never used drugs. But as I got to know them better they told me they currently use or used to use pot, coke, and prescription pills like vicodin and oxycontin. None of them say they use heroin but they all know dancers who do.

Why do they use drugs and alcohol? They often have family members who are users, and drugs and alcohol are prevalent among their friends and associates at the club. They have easy access to drugs because many people around them sell drugs. They like the high, they like the escape, and they don't worry about the long term consequences of their actions.

"pot, coke, and prescription pills like vicodin and oxycontin."

Adderall seems popular too

motor,

I can't bye the strange hours bit. Granted, it may be a cause or part of it in some cases. I am up till 2-4 AM most every day and up by 7-8 AM at the latest. Some of us just don't sleep that much.

Getting High on Drugs & getting Intoxicated is an ESCAPE from REALITY!!!

Why did the chicken cross the road , same answer

"Why did the chicken cross the road"

To keep from being SOUP! LOL

I agree with DaddysGirl

I'm thinking it's like why do people smoke? They aren't inhibited enough from experimenting. Then they do it some more, then they can't stop even though they may realize it's not good for them.

Can we talk about another dancer addiction?

This one is legal -- Red Bull. Never had the stuff but it would probably kill me. A couple of cans of Mountain Dew is enough to send my heart racing.

I can't believe the amount some girls consume.

motor,

Agreed. Even in a regular bar, I see people get it all the time, usually with vodka. I tried some once, and didn't even care for the taste of it.

@clubber,

Where is the famous avatar? It was always appreciated by this politically incorrect Canadian.

Nasty stuff, that Red Bull. I tried it once during the Red Bull air races here in Detroit. I'm glad they sponsor many events, but I won't drink it again.

I personally think for most of them, it's an escape from the reality of their job. Plus it's one of the few jobs available where they don't care if you end up getting drunk on the job.

As for the Red Bull thing, I don't know how they handle that much of it. One Mountain Dew gets me sick and keeps me up far later than usual. Of course, I heard a story from one dancer about another dancer who used to drink Red Bull throughout her pregnancy and ended up losing the baby. I don't know if that's as stupid as it can get, but it seems down there.

art,

One of the losses with the refurbished TUSCL, No animation! Yes, I dislike THAT part of the new TUSCL!

I think the very act of stripping is an escape from reality. The drugs just augment that whole warped reality thing. The "I don't have to deal with reality" approach to life is why they can only maintain a relationship with like-minded loser boyfriends, and why professional dudes don't date strippers for very long.

So far we have addressed; low self esteem, alienation, habituation and depression as reasons dancers get high/drunk.(often using different words) I agree that all are valid. Please allow me to add one more, a reason that may also explain why big money public figures do the same thing.

Perhaps many of these women create for themselves a different "personality" to be the stripper, just as actors create a different personae to play a certain role. Whether the stripper/public figure is aware of their different personality, or not, the stress of living as two different people could explain the need to self-medicate.

I am guessing this "stripper" personae is not that different from the "public" front most of us use when we are unsure of our environment (for ex. a friend says, "I would like you to meet . . ." and you turn around to see two mature priests, collar and all - whether you like it or not, you will stand straighter and perhaps try to avoid saying sh-t, d-mn, f-ck.) In the case of strippers/actors/public figures it is probably very stressful to be that different person for hours on end. Getting high/drunk is a likely "aid" for many people under such stress.

dallas702-
That's probably also true for the big name rock stars, because they can't actually be themselves when they are performing. It's probably too difficult for the typical stripper to be themselves if they have to dance naked for strangers every night, so they take to drugs or alcohol. Hell, my first ATF used to smoke bud on the job. (This was at a club where the owner eventually got busted for being a drug dealer, thus this club is closed.)

@DandyDan: Only toking? There's one local club where, allegedly, if you need a coke fix, there's a layer of it on the ladies room floor. :)

gmd-
I'm sure they had other drugs there, because it seemed like every dancer there was stoned on something, or drunk. But that ATF had a fondness for mary jane that exceeded normal rational limits. Then again, I think I have a unique ability to find the potheads in the strippers, as I believe that was ATF #2 and #3's drug of choice as well. I'll even go to a relatively unfamiliar club and meet dancers and the ones I like seem to be the potheads in the bunch.

"a fondness for mary jane that exceeded normal rational limits".

LOL. One of my current favorites is a real stoner too. She drinks a little, but claims she doesn't do much else other than smoke. She doesn't even smoke cigarettes which seems to be a rarity among dancers. But she smokes weed before work, during work, after work. Lol

@DD: I know what you mean. The ones who limit themselves to MJ seem to be the most laid back and chilled ones. Almost tempts me to try it, except I've never smoked *anything*, so I'm sure I'd choke to death. :)

One girl I saw a few times last year had little envelopes for her monthly expenses, i.e. rent, electric, groceries, etc. When those were full, the extra was for clothes and weed. Not necessarily in that order. :)