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> 4 in 5 tech execs are taking medications ("controlled substances"), and among that cohort 1 in 2 use them "every day or nearly every day." Is not what the su

> 4 in 5 tech execs are taking medications ("controlled substances"), and among that cohort 1 in 2 use them "every day or nearly every day." Is not what the survey said. The survey said (direct link: https://apn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/APN-Tech-Execs-Mini-Report-Outline-3.pdf https://apn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/APN-Tech-Execs-Mi... ): 80% are taking medications but doesn’t say only controlled medications. It then says 48% take controlled substances daily or every other day. It also states 31% have increased their controlled substances as a direct consequence of AI, which I find suspect.

TechBro8615 3y ago
We should also consider the baseline [0]. If this is a problem in America, it's not one that's isolated to the tech sector: > In 2019, 19.2% of U.S. adults received any mental health treatment in the past 12 months, including 15.8% who had taken prescription medication for their mental health and 9.5% who had received counseling or therapy from a mental health professional. That was for 2019. I expect those numbers increased significantly during and after the pandemic. [0] https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db380.htm https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db380.htm
ttymck 3y ago
To me, it's not clear if the survey is using "medication" interchangeably with "controlled substances". As you point out: the section heading reads "medications" but all the subpoints read "controlled substances". I'd wager it's intentionally ambiguous, for hype points.
- jstarfish 3y ago
  I had the same thought, but can't imagine what else it is. I'd like to think that if these people were on cocaine, we'd at least see some of the creative irrationality that led to the more-fun aspects of the 70s and 80s. Who's making anything awesome just for the sake of doing it? Who's commissioning assassinations of business rivals? Which startup founders are trying to save their failing business by pivoting to drug smuggling? Were it weed, they'd be more chill and empathetic. They're not. Musk constantly looks like his blood pressure is through the roof. He's probably done it once or twice for spectacle (e.g. all the 4/20 stuff and that podcast) but is doing rails of Adderall the rest of the time. It explains him sleeping under his desk like that's some kind of sign of hard work. All I see is a demented bridge troll going through an Adderall crash. Shrooms? LSD? They'd be chill, happier, and trying to pivot the core business in entirely new directions every week. At least one of them would have had an epiphany and actually tried to make the world a better place. There's also no creativity to be found. Our architecture consists of baby's first shapes. Our car colors are every shade of baby shit. America (and the internet) has never been more sterile. Reddit has always looked like a corporate portal. I'm convinced it's all Adderall for all of these people, and the ambiguity in verbiage comes from it not all being legally obtained. It's not prescribed medication at that point, it's just a controlled substance they are in unlawful possession of.
- Scoundreller 3y ago
  At the bottom of the third page, it shows which responses it pooled together, one of which is “SSRI” (not a controlled drug generally) (but then provides examples that are not SSRIs, like Wellbutrin, an NDRI), another is “other”. But it doesn’t state the question. Just bad “science”.

TechBro8615 3y ago

We should also consider the baseline [0]. If this is a problem in America, it's not one that's isolated to the tech sector: > In 2019, 19.2% of U.S. adults received any mental health treatment in the past 12 months, including 15.8% who had taken prescription medication for their mental health and 9.5% who had received counseling or therapy from a mental health professional. That was for 2019. I expect those numbers increased significantly during and after the pandemic. [0] https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db380.htm https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db380.htm

ttymck 3y ago

To me, it's not clear if the survey is using "medication" interchangeably with "controlled substances". As you point out: the section heading reads "medications" but all the subpoints read "controlled substances". I'd wager it's intentionally ambiguous, for hype points.

jstarfish 3y ago
I had the same thought, but can't imagine what else it is. I'd like to think that if these people were on cocaine, we'd at least see some of the creative irrationality that led to the more-fun aspects of the 70s and 80s. Who's making anything awesome just for the sake of doing it? Who's commissioning assassinations of business rivals? Which startup founders are trying to save their failing business by pivoting to drug smuggling? Were it weed, they'd be more chill and empathetic. They're not. Musk constantly looks like his blood pressure is through the roof. He's probably done it once or twice for spectacle (e.g. all the 4/20 stuff and that podcast) but is doing rails of Adderall the rest of the time. It explains him sleeping under his desk like that's some kind of sign of hard work. All I see is a demented bridge troll going through an Adderall crash. Shrooms? LSD? They'd be chill, happier, and trying to pivot the core business in entirely new directions every week. At least one of them would have had an epiphany and actually tried to make the world a better place. There's also no creativity to be found. Our architecture consists of baby's first shapes. Our car colors are every shade of baby shit. America (and the internet) has never been more sterile. Reddit has always looked like a corporate portal. I'm convinced it's all Adderall for all of these people, and the ambiguity in verbiage comes from it not all being legally obtained. It's not prescribed medication at that point, it's just a controlled substance they are in unlawful possession of.
Scoundreller 3y ago
At the bottom of the third page, it shows which responses it pooled together, one of which is “SSRI” (not a controlled drug generally) (but then provides examples that are not SSRIs, like Wellbutrin, an NDRI), another is “other”. But it doesn’t state the question. Just bad “science”.