Much loathed? I think that's a bit of an overstatement. I always thought that Black Mage was one of the more popular jobs. I love playing BLM and I've never moaned about it. I think it's a thoroughly fun job.

Drain doesn't go for that much on my server, but I can understand why it's so expensive. Drain is a wonderful spell. Anyone who's partied with me knows how giddy I get when Drain does a a bucket load of damage. And besides, it's a very easy scroll to quest for. If you're at least rank 2 in Sandy, it should only take you a few hours to earn enough fame to do it.