Isn't that strange that a highly restricted and coveted drug is relatively physically benign as long as you use caution--but one is almost as damaging as chronic meth use if not more in some cases? You can even buy it at some convenince stores. Wish I could buy delauded or methadone at my local riteaid without a script but don't we all
The American government makes no sense sometimes. The war on weed has really always bothered me and to this day my state is so anti-pot while it's one of the higher opiate epidemic regions. They even were in motion to legalize and regulate marijuana but there was so much push-back from prominent towns and citizens that it backfired completely. (New Jersey by the way)
I know some alcoholics quit drinking because of liver issues and such but then flock to benzos because the feeling is quite similar and produces the same anxiety-killing effects. However, a lot of alcoholics stick to their poison their entire life and never touch other substances. Some even frown upon drug addicts while denying their problems with alcoholism. I think that alcohol is such a prevalent problem just because it's what's easily avilable and it's one of the stronger substances on the planet. Some people need to occasionally get f'd up on substances to carry on about their lives and alcohol is always there for them without legal repercussions in general. It really does ease up social situations and counteract anxiety and sometimes depression, so in a way alcoholism does benefit a few people. By that point, withdrawal can be an issue in which we know is deadly to go through cold turkey and even deadly to withdraw from with professional medical aid. I've seen alcohol tear apart more lives and cause issues for people more than I've witnessed with any other substance. There's also a hereditary factor to the addiction. My family has a history of alcoholism while my mother despises it and at one point was a hardcore heroin addict. I defnitely inherited her addiction for opiates/opioids and while that's horrible I'd rather be in my shoes than have to be a functional alcoholic. I used to drink socially, but after discovering the wonderful/destructive world of opiates I stopped drinking entirely. I can't even remember the last time I've had a drink. No interest. I've seen this mentioned by a couple of painkiller patients... something about opiates makes the booze permanently lose its buzz even if you quit your opiate usage.
The promotion of beautiful women being associated with alcohol definitely does not help America's alcoholism issues, and the fact that it's so socially accepted as the fun thing to do at parties over marijuana/coke/etc. only makes it an easier addiction to rationalize. I can't imagine what it's like to be a recovering alcoholic and constantly see commercials about your demon. It would be like me in opiate withdrawal watching oxy commercials 24/7. It's cruel to do to people. During my undergraduate, booze was glorified at parties more than any other college I've witnessed. People got black out sloppy drunk on the regular. I know that's common at colleges but they took it to the next level, and a enough people geniunely died from alcohol poisoning to make me realize that this drug is absolutely no joke. I find it's effects make you more dysfunctional than any other substance although I am kind of a lightweight. I've never found it addictive but I might have if alcohol was the only substance I ever knew.
Agreed with everything you have said.
It is mad to me that you can buy booze at any supermarket or newsagent in the UK 24 hours a day 7 days a week but if you want a simple bottle of codeine cough syrup, the weakest opiate around, well it is OTC here, but most pharmacies now refuse to sell it because, due to a restriction by the regulator, wholesalers have been forced to ban pharmacies from ordering any if they buy it "too frequently". And yet I can pop into the Tesco next door and buy as many bottles of vodka as I want and no one will stop me.
I used to work in retail and I would see the same people come in to buy big bottles of vodka, whisky, brandy, rum, etc every single day. They were quite obviously alcoholics and they ranged from working class to middle class, people from all walks of life hitting the bottle. The most dangerous legal high of all.
A blanket ban on all legal highs that aren’t from industries with close ties to the Government has come into force in the UK.
newsthump.com
And the hypocrisy from some of them is hilarious. One of them who bought vodka and cigarettes on every visit said don't use codeine it's bad for you... I'm like okay, do you want your vodka and cigs then?
I had people calling me a druggie at uni for using benzos, and those same people would then spend every night drinking so much they passed out and threw up everywhere.
It's fucking insane. If alcohol was invented today it would be made an illegal drug. The only reason it is legal is cultural history. Not science or logic or reason.
And for that matter the only reason opium is illegal is because it is linked to Asian cultures not Western cultures. Alcohol has long been "the European poison" but opium has similarly long been associated with Asians. The first laws banning opium in the US and Europe still allowed it to be used by Chinese and Indian immigrants, but banned use by white people because they considered it a foreign evil they didn't want to spread. Eventually they made opium illegal altogether.
But now the state lies about this. We conveniently ignore this historical fact and if you ask why opiates are so highly controlled while alcohol isn't you'll be told it's because opiates are more dangerous and addictive than alcohol. Personally I think it's the other way around and science backs that up. As you said yourself, when used in correct doses, pharma grade opiates cause little to no physical damage to the body. The dangers associated with them are mostly a direct result of the black market.
Same deal with cannabis. That's recent enough history that anyone can watch Reefer Madness and see the true motivation behind making it illegal was based on absurd lies and blatant racism. But the state will continue to tell you cannabis is illegal because it is dangerous and alcohol is legal because it is safe. It makes no logical sense, but since when was the state logical and truthful?
Alcohol is more harmful than heroin or crack based on the overall dangers to the individual and society as a whole, according to a report co-authored by the UK's former chief drugs adviser Professor David Nutt.
www.bbc.co.uk
“One lied, mendaciously inventing reasons for these laws, simply to avoid admitting that one had become used to these laws and no longer wanted things to be different.”
