Facebook executives turned a blind eye to substance abuse if they felt it boosted productivity, an insider claims, as Bob Lee’s murder sheds light on Silicon Valley’s hardcore drug culture.
Dave Marlon, who founded one of the largest addiction treatment centers in the US and has worked with several Facebook employees, claims that executives at the tech giant were aware of employees using drugs in the office but accepted it as part of the culture.
He told DailyMail.com that what he would describe as “serious substance abuse” was referred to in the industry as the “quirks of being a tech worker.”
The harsh reality of Silicon Valley’s drug problem was tragically exposed by the brutal murder of Lee, the founder of Cash App, on April 4 in San Francisco.
The millionaire, 43, was reportedly stabbed to death by his alleged lover’s brother after a confrontation over Lee’s reported drug use.
The brutal murder of Cash App founder Bob Lee has shed new light on Silicon Valley drug abuse
It is alleged that Nima Momeni stabbed Lee to death after confronting him about getting his sister, Khazar Momeni, on drugs or “something inappropriate.”
Facebook executives turned a blind eye to substance abuse if they thought it boosted productivity, an insider claims
A coroner’s report found that Lee had ketamine, cocaine, and alcohol in his system.
It has raised new questions about the technology sector’s cavalier approach to drugs and its fatal consequences.
While Lee’s drug use didn’t directly cause his death, several other high-flying tech executives have come loose before due to their unrelenting substance abuse.
Tony Hsieh, the former CEO of Zappos, became addicted to ketamine and laughing gas that left him so delusional that he barricaded himself in a shed and set a fire that killed him in November 2020.
And Forrest Tim Hayes, a top Google executive, died after being injected with heroin by a prostitute on his boat in 2013.
Marlon, who has treated hundreds of tech workers, claims that — in his experience — Silicon Valley giants were willing to turn a blind eye to drug use if they thought it boosted productivity.
He claimed some were reluctant to get help for employees struggling with addiction for fear of causing a public relations disaster if it were leaked to the public.
Marlon highlighted the uproar Google experienced in the wake of Hayes’ death.
He added, “I’ve dealt with several Facebook employees. They talk about some of the same things, what I’d call symptoms of a major addiction disorder, they might mention tech worker quirks.
“It was acceptable that a large group of employees used amphetamines, benzos and alcohol abuse and it was part of the culture. It is more open than in a traditional company.
‘I’d say yes, [the hierarchy were aware]. But this is how it is worded: ‘I am a prolific software developer and I have a prescription for Adderall. I work better when I use it, and three of my colleagues use it too, and we share it when they pass the bathroom.”
“Managers know about this abuse and it has been normalized. I think acceptable levels of behavior are different in that industry, which hinders interventionists like me who want to help people who don’t party anymore.”
Tony Hsieh, the former CEO of Zappos, became addicted to ketamine and laughing gas that left him so delusional that he locked himself in a shed and started a fire that killed him in 2020.
Hsieh, who had amassed massive wealth by selling Zappos shoe company to Amazon in a $1.2 billion deal, died in a poolside shed in New London, Connecticut (right)
A report from the fire chief found that at the time of the fire, Hsieh was carrying candles, a propane stove, whippet nitrous oxide chargers, a whipped cream dispenser, a marijuana pipe, and bottles of alcohol.
Google CEO Forrest Tim Hayes died after being injected with heroin by a prostitute on his boat in 2013
Microdosing — taking a small amount of a drug for purported mental health benefits — is rampant in Silicon Valley.
Tech executives compare it to Bradley Cooper in the movie “Limitless,” where he plays a man who uses a mysterious drug to become smarter than anyone else.
But some have taken it beyond their limits – with fatal consequences.
Holly McNamara, who worked as an assistant and public relations assistant for Hsieh, told DailyMail.com that her former boss started microdosing as “a science experiment,” before it got out of hand.
Lee’s voracious drug use was first reported about two weeks after his murder.
The San Francisco standard quoted a friend, Taraneh Ipakchi, as saying he liked to “do a lot of drugs.”
The father of two is said to have met Momeni’s sister, Khazar Momeni, around 2020.
Ms Momeni’s girlfriend, Samira Kuduzovic, said she may also be taking drugs regularly, the paper reported.
Prosecutors say Lee visited a San Francisco apartment with Ms. Momeni just hours before his violent death.
The apartment belonged to a suspected drug dealer, court records show.
Lee and Khazar Momeni (above), the wife of a respected plastic surgeon, are said to have been part of an underground scene of drugs and casual sex
Images show the timeline of events leading up to the alleged murder of Cash App founder Bob Lee
Friends of Lee told The Wall Street Journal that he and Mrs. Momeni, the glamorous wife of a respected plastic surgeon, were part of what’s known in certain wealthy tech circles as “The Lifestyle”—a code for couples seeking free sex.
Police say they have surveillance footage that allegedly shows Momeni luring Lee into his car and then down a dark side street in San Francisco before stabbing him to death.
Momeni has pleaded not guilty to the murder and is due to appear in court on June 13.
Meta, Facebook’s parent company, did not respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.