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.
this post was submitted on 07 Jun 2025
129 points (93.3% liked)
Showerthoughts
35230 readers
637 users here now
A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.
Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:
- Both “200” and “160” are 2 minutes in microwave math
- When you’re a kid, you don’t realize you’re also watching your mom and dad grow up.
- More dreams have been destroyed by alarm clocks than anything else
Rules
- All posts must be showerthoughts
- The entire showerthought must be in the title
- No politics
- If your topic is in a grey area, please phrase it to emphasize the fascinating aspects, not the dramatic aspects. You can do this by avoiding overly politicized terms such as "capitalism" and "communism". If you must make comparisons, you can say something is different without saying something is better/worse.
- A good place for politics is c/politicaldiscussion
- Posts must be original/unique
- Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct and the TOS
If you made it this far, showerthoughts is accepting new mods. This community is generally tame so its not a lot of work, but having a few more mods would help reports get addressed a little sooner.
Whats it like to be a mod? Reports just show up as messages in your Lemmy inbox, and if a different mod has already addressed the report, the message goes away and you never worry about it.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
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?
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
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.
It was the only way to make water drinkable in many places
"Small beer" wasn't made for funsies
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.
The main reason people have always brewed beer and wine is because they're good. Small beer was in fact made for funsies.
And, interestingly, in certain places and times there was also a cultural reason as drinking those was higher status than water which was "for commoners."
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
Also coffee, which is a stimulant.
Caffeine (including Tea and Coffee sources) is by far the most widely abused drug.
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"
Weed goes nicely with a big ole bag of Chex mix
You've inspired me. Next time I decline a drink I'll say no thanks, I don't do drugs.
load more comments
(1 replies)
I think you're probably right, especially now that snorting snuff and smoking are significantly less common. Although if you put it in vape form...
Although if you put it in vape form…
Vaportini was a short-lived trend that did not end up taking off.
Well duh, how's that supposed to fit in my pocket
load more comments
(2 replies)
You can drink alcohol? I thought you had to boof it.
Shouldn't you be slowly eroding the government instead of browsing Lemmy, Brett?
boofing it is peak commitment to running shit on the bare metal
Snorting tea, coffee and broccoli would be less popular too.
I believe it’s mostly cultural. Alcoholic beverages are as old as civilization itself. We drink alcohol because that has been the social norm for thousands of years.
But there’s probably something about it being a beverage as well. It goes along well with food because of this, which makes it a tasteful alternative to water.
Alcoholic beverages are as old as civilization itself.
Some people theorize that alcohol was the cause of civilization; that we settled down and developed agriculture to have a reliable source of grain to make archaic "beer".
load more comments
(1 replies)
Alcohol: now in XXL suppository
Quick, where can I get one of these? And does it vibrate??
load more comments
(5 replies)
I think of it was a pill it would be waaaayy more popular. A lot of people avoid alcohol because it’s disgusting, including me, but if I could skip having to drink disgusting liquid to get drunk I’d consume a lot more of it. Snorting probably would be more popular too as long as it didn’t smell bad or burn to do. I like alcohol and hate drinking so I don’t drink but if drinking is taken out of the picture…. I’d be down
It's the opposite for me. I don't want the effect of alcohol, I just want a nice drink to complement my meal and is hard to find something that in neither sugary or alcoholic.
Have you tried boofing?
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 more wary 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 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.
Imagine if instead of going to the bar for a beer you went to the restaurant to eat some THC infused food
Brother I've been imagining this since legalization here. More than a few restaurateurs were as well, only to be disappointed by the current legislation.
My kingdom for a legal, indoor cannabis consumption space that doesn't have to get around things by being a funded experiment or 'grey area, members only "private club"' (translation: open as long as cops can't be arsed to bother raiding, and you do a little kabuki theatre the first time you visit). And tinctures, infused drinks and edibles are the clear best choices of RoA in those spaces given anti-smoking laws.
load more comments
(1 replies)
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…
load more comments
(2 replies)
To flip your question, I’m a massive fan of craft beer/real ales/etc …if it wasn’t for the alcohol ingredient, would I walk in to ten different pubs and try all the IPAs/stouts/pilsners I do cause “I haven’t had this one before”? Probably not…
Considering how many drugs are taken in those other ways and how popular they are, I don't think the method of delivery is the issue.
Cigarettes, pipes, hookah and lots of other forms of smoking were and are popular as a social lubricant, if that’s what you’re getting at
Snorting and chewing too
Before water could be reliably sterilised beer was the only thing people could drink safely. So it would have been the only thing a lot of people drank for their whole lives after they stopped breastfeeding which I think will have contributed quite strongly to it's popularity.
How would the average German man socialize if alcohol did not exist? I'm not even kidding, I've never seen it be absent at any Western table. We should be able to slowly but surely become capable of being normal human beings without needing to be at least tipsy, but at this point in Western civilization it's a "necessary" crutch so I assume it would be used regardless of the method.
Obligatory parks and recreation
Skip a minute into it though for some reason the clip starts way sooner than it needs to.
Like I bet if alcohol was something you had to snort...
This reminded me of this ancient internet video where a few guys (allegedly) "inhale" alcohol by adding dry ice and breathing in the vapors. Doesn't look to be very effective, but if it was, I'd at least try it.
load more comments
(2 replies)
That's what I've theorized for a long time. One of the reasons alcohol is more popular than other drugs is how easy it is to take, that and the fact that it is legal.
view more: next ›