Alcohol Why is Alcohol more popular as a drug as opposed to benzos like Xanax?

[drfeelgood1]

A lot of people in the world have an addiction to alcohol but why is alcohol so much popular than benzos? Aren't they pretty much have the same effect on the body?

Or is alcohol more considered euphoric, or a party drug as opposed the benzos like Xanax?

 

[Shinji Ikari]

Accessibility and social acceptability primarily I think. You can walk in to any bar or store and buy alcohol virtually anywhere in the world and chances are most of your friends imbibe so it's social too.

Xanax you need a prescription and black market benzos are an increasingly sketchy proposition.

And it's more addictive etc.

 

[Quasimoto]

Because it's legal, socially acceptable, and has been part of human history for thousands of years.

And yeah, alcohol is the more euphoric drug (although that is a subjective topic for sure). Alcohol hits 6 of the 7 major neurotransmitters, whereas xanax only hits 1. Alcohol releases more dopamine than xanax, and also hits opioid receptors to kill pain.

Aren't they pretty much have the same effect on the body?

No. They share a similar effect, but alcohol does many more things that benzos do not.

To they layman a person's behavior on each drug may seem similar, but it's rather easy to spot the difference between someone who is drunk and someone who is on xanax once you know what to look for.

 

[recycled]

Availability. Its also insanely easy to make with household materials if the only goal is to get drunk and not necessarily have it taste good. As someone else mentioned, alcohol is also less straight forward than benzos and has a variety of different effects going on. I believe the shorter duration probably also has something to do with the popularity. Makes it easier to fit into all sorts of schedules for people who worry about that.

 

[Fire&Water]

 

[paranoid android]

Because alcohol is legal. Personally id rather benzos or z drugs over alcohol

 

[Asparagus_Prince]

why is alcohol so much popular than benzos?

There are many reasons. Others have already provided good answers that I agree with.

But I'll add this: With alcohol there is a certain action going on. Like that satisfying feeling of a plunged needle. Or deeply inhaling a cigarette. With alcohol I think about movie characters that are playing some frazzled or disturbed character, and with a trembling hand they slam a big double or triple shot of some spirit. It's not like we're immediately drunk when we do that. But there is an immediate feeling... the burn of the alcohol, whatever.

Swallowing a pill and waiting for it to kick in is a little vapid, ritualistically I suppose. To me anyway. I had a pill-snorting problem that I thankfully stopped a couple years ago. But I remember the snorting sensation becoming almost a stronger addiction than the drug itself. There was an initial "aaah I did it" sort of feeling and I was also reassured that bonus good feelings were just seconds/minutes away.

 

[drfeelgood1]

Personally, I think benzos are not party drugs at all. I regard it as a medicine to mellow you out from a panic attack. But other than that, it's not euphoric.

 

[Keif' Richards]

Alcohol has always been "the drug", the most ubiquitous and global of substances for, what I feel are obvious reasons when you dig a little bit.

Alcohol is likely the easiest psychoactive substance to create/obtain. It is believed that Alcohol was first discovered and consumed by accident if that helps you understand. A person literally just left their food in the right place, for the right amount of time and they got Alcohol from it.

Being incarcerated entails having everything taken from you. You're made into a nothing person without an identity. No clothes of your own, food of your own, no music, no fun etc. Even with this condition of deprivation, a person can pretty easily create Alcohol. It happens all the time. There is no fool proof way of stopping the practice, as it so incredibly simple. Bread, fruit, sugar, water, vessel.

Prohibition entailed all drugs and Alcohol being illegal in the United States and in many other countries at that time. Eventually, Alcohol was relegalized while drugs were kept illegal. I feel this is because Alcohol is impossible to stop, like, it's literally impossible to stop as to do so would mean stopping food, sugar, water and containers.

Hell, I opened up a juice box once when I was a kid to find it had fermented into wine somehow. It's really that simple.

Other drugs are pretty much impossible to erase as well. Functionally, it's different as Cannabis doesn't grow everywhere, nor do Poppies while Coca is grown in pretty much one geographical area. This enables the state to have more control over these drugs, but even still, they cannot ever eliminate them.

I could be in Japan, Germany, Samoa, Finland, Egypt wherever and know that if I walk a few blocks, I'll be able to get a drink. "Getting a drink" is possible literally everywhere, even if it's illegal.

I feel drugs coming from different places enables us to activate our human quality of hating what is different from ourselves. Throughout history, the substances used by different cultures have been highlighted to show that culture's debauchery. For instance, the Chinese in American and their Opium. They would talk about how totally depraved Opium makes a person, whereas I would argue that Alcohol is inherently more dangerous, socially, physically and mentally.

That's why I feel Alcohol has never been controlled and never will be.

 

[emkee_reinvented]

Its more Euphoric, like GHB or ...
When in WD from Alcohol Benzo s dont actually work as cover.
They prevent seizures and take away one symptom GABA-a rebound.
Other seizure control, they don t do anything but make you sleep through it.
Ime. Greta for THC cessation Diazepam though.

One thing scientific i can add.
They discovered true evolution, gene selection.
Most but not all humans have a genetic mutation that made it able,
to eat more fermenting fruit. We share this with some other species.
Fruitflies, several primates oa Bonobo s.

Theory behind it the advantage of eating large amount of fermenting fruit.
A advantage for evolution then. And the culprit for addiction now.

In Asia there are many lacking this mutation,
and they get quickly drunk and sick after.
Btw so do many animals.
To them Alcohol is actually poisonous in large amounts.

Mechanism of action in humans, fruitflies ? Bonobos/ Chimps/ Orang Oetangs:

Steps​

Binding of the coenzyme NAD+

1. Binding of the alcohol substrate by coordination to zinc(II) ion
2. Deprotonation of His-51
3. Deprotonation of nicotinamide ribose
4. Deprotonation of Thr-48
5. Deprotonation of the alcohol
6. Hydride transfer from the alkoxide ion to NAD+, leading to NADH and a zinc-bound aldehyde or ketone
7. Release of aldehyde.

See no evidence about other species dying after consuming a fermented Apple.
But assume they could consume less, as the miss the mutation.

 

[brokedownpalace10]

Animals get drunk.

 

[marcoman]

I guess in some ways I'm lucky. I have First Nation ("Native Indian") blood in me and lack the enzyme/s that breaks down booze. I get deathly sick if I have more than 2 beers...or 2 shots. In saying that I can enjoy a few oxys, a few k-pins (when I had my script) with 2 beers and it's the perfect buzz for me. I'm allergic to MJ as well. So as I said, my body seems to self regulate me - and keeps my ass out of trouble. And btw, I get totally rocked on 2 beers or 2 shots of cognac, lol. As someone mentioned I think Asians also lack the enzymes to break down booze as well.

I've seen booze ruin so many peoples lives it's insane. Plus I lost my brother as a drunk driver killed him while he was riding his bicycle. So I have little tolerance or sympathy for drunks. They call it "Spirits" for a reason. Booze stir up bad demons when abused. I've seen people go straight-up evil on booze, downright scary - especially their eyes. Mix that stuff with heavy-duty drugs and it's a recipe for disaster.

Why is booze so popular? Ease of access. And follow the money trail. Look what happened in prohibition? The Gov/feds had to take it over...for the $$$ benefits. As the little guys were making good money as a great side hustle. And for the record, look up the Kennedy family and how they had their nose in deep - creating a booze monopoly.

Like anything, moderation is key. Why some people can't stop I don't know - or if it's truly genetic or not. But I do know, no matter what, if you want to stop, you'll stop. I smoked 2 packs of cigs a day and quit cold turkey. It took me about 7-8 times but I finally quit that nasty habit.

And I'm currently going through life without benzos as my doc stopped scripting it in July. I was on it for years. It's no fun, but I'm surviving. I'm hoping to find another doc to get some but until then I'm dealing without it the best I can.

 

[ageingpartyfiend]

I feel drugs coming from different places enables us to activate our human quality of hating what is different from ourselves. Throughout history, the substances used by different cultures have been highlighted to show that culture's debauchery. For instance, the Chinese in American and their Opium. They would talk about how totally depraved Opium makes a person, whereas I would argue that Alcohol is inherently more dangerous, socially, physically and mentally.

That's why I feel Alcohol has never been controlled and never will be.

Great point man, can't believe I have never entertained that notion before as it's super-obvious really.

Having said that, I struggle hugely with 'the obvious', so there's that.

 

[Jnowhere]

That episode maybe the best one ever.
The ones with Timmy, Jimmy and Nathan are definitely among the best.

 

[bigjackaal96]

A lot of people in the world have an addiction to alcohol but why is alcohol so much popular than benzos? Aren't they pretty much have the same effect on the body?

Or is alcohol more considered euphoric, or a party drug as opposed the benzos like Xanax?

Because It acts like Z-drugs/Muscimol but Is processed by the liver into much worse by products. It why binge drinking ironiclly easier since the liver gives up on processing the Alcohol.

 

[GulpingBatteryLiquid]

Even disregarding the legal issues and ease of access, I feel that alcohol is the best "all rounder", if drugs were RPG characters, some other drugs would have individual stats higher than alcohols, but alcohol would have the highest combined stats

 

[Pickledlemons]

Accessibility and social acceptability primarily I think. You can walk in to any bar or store and buy alcohol virtually anywhere in the world and chances are most of your friends imbibe so it's social too.

Xanax you need a prescription and black market benzos are an increasingly sketchy proposition.

And it's more addictive etc.

Yup.

Alcohol totally lost its appeal once I was hooked on benzos. Which by the way took a very long time. I took xanax, only when I was having a panic attack for years before experiencing a... traumatic event. And that was when I also picked up vaping. After being off cigarettes and all nicotine products for 10 years. At 30 god damn years old. And yet they both happened so naturally and casually.

Anyway, to the point of the the thread, I often ask myself the same question. I just like the feeling of benzos more. Though I have to admit, when it becomes habitual, it loses the social aspect, at least for me, and I prefer to stay home and play video games or get into some anime or something.

As for drinking, did it for years, but it was never an addiction. I guess you could say binge drinker.. but thats not quite right either. More like the purpose of drinking was a social ritual that eased the way into other drugs like stimulants and opioids....

 

[marcoman]

I vote for the legalization of benzos!

 

[Quasimoto]

Even disregarding the legal issues and ease of access, I feel that alcohol is the best "all rounder", if drugs were RPG characters, some other drugs would have individual stats higher than alcohols, but alcohol would have the highest combined stats

Unlike other drugs, it effects almost every single neurotransmitter in the brain, moreso than other drugs which usually mainly effect one or two or maybe three. It basically does everything. It is a potent analgesic, raises serotonin, hits you with dopamine, anxiolytic/sedative/hypnotic/muscle relaxer, increases positive emotions while also numbing emotional pain, releases oxytocin, lowers inhibition, very fast acting, potentiates other drugs, etc, etc, etc...

Including those who are genetically predisposed to alcoholism such as myself, it even acts as a psychomotor stimulant in some people. I have stayed up 36+ hours with no sleep during benders on nothing but alcohol. I have no desire to sleep if I keep drinking (but if I lay down, I will pass out).

If you took away it's toxic effects and propensity for hangovers, it would be an elite tier drug, maybe the king of them all, if you ignore the fact that doing everything isn't necessarily a good thing. People usually just want one or two effects from a drug, not all of them at the same time like some insane polydrug speedball.

This is by no means an ode to alcohol or glorifying it. It ruined my life and I hate the shit. If you took away it's toxic effects/hangovers, and it remained legal, the whole fucking world would crash and burn. Everyone would be a raging alcoholic.

"The dark wizard did many great things-- terrible, yes... but great."

​

 

[Pickledlemons]

Unlike other drugs, it effects almost every single neurotransmitter in the brain, moreso than other drugs which usually mainly effect one or two or maybe three. It basically does everything. It is a potent analgesic, raises serotonin, hits you with dopamine, anxiolytic/sedative/hypnotic/muscle relaxer, increases positive emotions while also numbing emotional pain, releases oxytocin, lowers inhibition, very fast acting, potentiates other drugs, etc, etc, etc...

I guess thats why when the question is "is it safe to mix x with alcohol" the answer is almost always no. Its that drug that just doesn't mix well with anything, at least not from a bodily health perspective. On the otherhand, it does mix really well with cocaine if viewing from the perspective of "it makes me feel really good"