Would alcohol be as popular if it weren't a beverage?
Would alcohol be as popular if it weren't a beverage?
Like I bet if alcohol was something you had to snort, or just like a pill you take, I think a lot of people might not dig it as much.
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I have a friend who was addicted to both cocaine and alcohol. While he, of course, is convinced that cocaine is one of the worst substances to have ever existed, he is even wearier of alcohol because of: (I'm obviously both paraphrasing AND excluding most countries with a Muslim majority here)
a) Social acceptance. No one is ever going to judge you for quietly sitting in the corner of a bar drinking your beer. Try snorting a line on the same setting and see what happens.
b) Availability. Even in sparsely populated areas, you are never too far away (say, a 10 minute walk) from a bottle of wine/spirit/beer.
c) Practicality (which is what answers your question). You don't need a syringe, spoon, knife, bill, bong or lighter, not even another recipient, to start binging on booze. Once you buy/steal the stuff, you're all set - and drinking something definitely IS more 'natural' (as in, it's a reflex) than injecting or smoking something.
I love a beer, but I definitely think if alcohol were invented today, it would never be legal. Same with gambling. Why are some addictions legal and socially accepted, but some aren’t? Really don’t get it…
I wonder why eating drugs never became as popular as drinking alcohol. Obviously you can put THC in food but imagine if instead of going to the bar for a beer you went to the restaurant to eat some THC infused food or food infused with some other drug that can be taken orally. Eating food has the same level of social acceptability as drinking a liquid and is similarly as natural evolutionarily but it isn't a thing people really do.
Maybe it's because the effects of alcohol have a quick onset which edible THC lacks? What about infusing food with some other oral drug with a quicker onset? I can't come up with any off the top of my head though.
I remember seeing an old Vice story about making dehydrated vodka and putting it on food.
Most substances that have any kind of enjoyable aspect tend to be very bitter and have an alkaline taste. Think of like coffee, we cut it with stuff or sweeten it with sugar. Pure alcohol would taste terrible, thats why we have beer, wine, and spirits. Its all alcohol but nowhere near entirely alcohol.
Also, not all substances are able to be used by your body in same way or with nearly the same level of efficacy. Some things have high bioavailability when snorted, like cocaine, but many things have no bioavailability when snorted (even if they do when consumed orally). Likewise you cant smoke just anything, as not everything can be absorbed through your lungs
That said, sugar and salt are probably the most commonly eaten substances that also jack up our dopamine levels. We just dont think of that as drug use. Spicy food can also be just as addictive, as eating really spicy food releases a lot of endorphins and makes some people feel great. Is that substance use? I think most people would say no, because were also doing it for the flavor. But my nervous system would say yes