While the opioid epidemic ravages rural America, Wall Street is not immune to its scourge.
In fact, given its unique pressures, the securities industry leaves its professionals particularly vulnerable to drug problems.
Those are the warnings of an addiction specialist who has treated securities professionals with drug problems. The industry, she added, doesn’t understand that its professionals could be hurt by the opioid epidemic sweeping the country.
Dr. Nancy Irwin, a psychologist and addiction specialist with Seasons Recovery Centers in Los Angeles, said the average financial professional facing production pressures can easily get hooked.
“Opiates are a great way to numb out from the psychological pressures of the business, [and] forget if you have physical pain,” she said. Professionals, she added, may begin taking these drugs to treat a physical problem but continue using them after a wound or cut has healed because these drugs now help them get through trying times at the firm.
It can start by simply injuring your knee while skiing on holiday.
Trey Laird, a 22-year trader on Wall Street, spoke on CNBC recently about how quickly the opioid addiction overtook him.
After surgery, Laird’s primary care doctor gave him a prescription, plus a refill, for pain management. Laird related that he developed an addiction in roughly two weeks.
“It happened super quick,” he confessed. “There’s no coming back from it.”
When asked about how prevalent the addiction was on the Street, Laird said, “I’m not the only guy. Statistics would tell us in every industry there are functioning addicts.”
His addiction was such a life-altering event that Laird founded the Lighthouse, a sober living community in Connecticut, to help professional men coming out of detox begin reassembling their lives.
The opioid problem “is an epidemic across the nation,” Irwin complained — and yet no one is investigating its effect on the securities industry, she said.
“To my knowledge, there are no published studies on the Wall Street opiate epidemic,” she said.
She also contended that the securities industry is doing little to help professionals who are hooked on painkillers or illegal drugs and need help.
Spokespersons for the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority had no information on studies of drug abuse in the industry or programs to help those affected.
Why aren’t more professionals seeking help?
Irwin listed three factors: “The fear of losing their jobs, the fear of stigma and shame and the lack of information on how to handle treatment while abiding by their professional boards.”
Irwin also said the securities industry should be concerned even if there are no numbers to prove this is a widespread problem, because the average addict usually affects five people.
“Workers on a busy crowded trading floor might affect many more others having to cover for them, do damage control, correct errors, take up the slack and apologize for outbursts,” Irwin said.
Irwin said confidentially that besides treating numerous securities pros with drug problems, she has “certainly had lots of CEOs, attorneys, entrepreneurs across the board.”
Irwin accused the securities industry and other industries of “turning a blind eye to the problem because money is the bottom line.”