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Comment on Would alcohol be as popular if it weren't a beverage?

When people say, “I don’t use drugs”, almost never do they include alcohol in that. Alcohol, which is a drug, is always referred to separately, in large part because it’s a beverage. Most people, if asked, will agree that alcohol is a drug, but it’s not really categorized as one in their mind on a day-to-day basis. No one has a glass of wine at lunch and thinks, “I’m doing drugs now.” But, if alcohol as a liquid simply didn’t exist, but exactly the same effect could be had in pill form, I don’t think people would be taking a pill with their dinner, and washing it down with water.

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radix@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
For many people, “drugs,” with no other qualifier, is just short-hand for “illegal drugs.” Plenty of people who say they don’t use drugs also take prescriptions or OTC medications.

It will be interesting in the next few years to see where marijuana ends up on that spectrum. Still largely illegal (federally), but if that changes, will people still consider it a “drug” in the same way they do now, or will it fall into a separate category like drugs that are mostly legal?

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- _g_be@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  There’s people already, which smoke recreationally and/or advocate for legalization, that already don’t see it in the same category as other ‘harder’ drugs. And, it hasn’t always been illegal federally.
  
  All this to say, it’ll probably end up near alcohol on the spectrum you describe
  
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nesc@lemmy.cafe ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
Alcohol is something that for a very long time was associated with civilisation itself, it was and is very important. It’s just embedded into most societies of course people don’t consider it drug.

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- FistingEnthusiast@lemmynsfw.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  It was the only way to make water drinkable in many places
  
  “Small beer” wasn’t made for funsies
  
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  - cattywampas@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    It’s largely a myth that ancient and medieval people brewed beer for lack of fresh drinking water, kind of like the “spices were for eating rotten meat” myth. People have always known how to find fresh water or preserve meat.
    
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    FistingEnthusiast@lemmynsfw.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    I agree for the most part,
    
    It was very dependent on where people lived
    
    My point that booze comes in many delightful varieties still stands
    
    Booze has a journey, other drugs are about the destination
    
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spankmonkey@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
Also coffee, which is a stimulant.

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- slumberlust@lemmy.world ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Caffeine (including Tea and Coffee sources) is by far the most widely abused drug.
  
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FistingEnthusiast@lemmynsfw.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
I agree, but there’s a significant difference

I love wine, beer and whisky and pretty much anything except vodka (because it’s boring)

I love it because of the flavours, the mouth-feel, the way I can pair drinks with food to enhance the enjoyment of both

I’ve never had coke, mushrooms, ketamine, weed or anything else that made me think “wow, this is yum! I reckon it’d go beautifully with a nicely aged cheddar, or oysters, or a perfectly cooked lamb shoulder”

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DarkDarkHouse@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
You’ve inspired me. Next time I decline a drink I’ll say no thanks, I don’t do drugs.

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TheLeadenSea@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
The only drug I do is either prescription drugs, or the caffeine I get from the occasional chocolate.

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