Current Events > If you could make recreational drugs and alcohol disappear, would you?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Say some powerful entity-aliens visiting earth, a supernatural being, whatever-gave you the option of making all alcohol and recreational drugs disappear. In this scenario, drugs for medicinal purposes and their effects still exist: it's just that the high or trip you would normally experience no longer happen, if not are not pleasurable. If offered this option, would you accept it?

Honestly, I think alcohol alone has done more than anything to help keep people content with their mediocre-to-crappy lives and the deteriorating condition of the world and society around them. As long as they have their fix, they'll allow themselves to be walked over. Without these distractions, I think we'd see a lot more societal change for the better across the world. After that, I think we'd see a lot more innovation, focus on self-improvement, and productive activities from people.

What about you? Do you think it would be worth the sacrifice? What decision would you make?

i do that all the time anyway.

I would, it would make everything better in the long run.

tho wait, the alcohol industry is pretty huge and that's a lot of jobs...

Guide posted...

tho wait, the alcohol industry is pretty huge and that's a lot of jobs...

You could say the same thing about any horrible industry. I'm sure government programs to prohibit smoking lost people jobs. It was still necessary.

no

I imagine the aliens could make the withdrawals not happen, and also get rid of the need for pharmaceuticals too

Lion_of_Gemini posted...

You could say the same thing about any horrible industry. I'm sure government programs to prohibit smoking lost people jobs. It was still necessary.

No, yeah, but alcohol is the biggest by a vast margin. Some ~$500,000,000,000 worldwide per year.

Nah, I'm not a colossal prudish asshole.

Sure. I wanna see what that looks like

Heartomaton posted...

Nah, I'm not a colossal prudish asshole.

This isn't about being prudish. It's not banning things for religious or moral reasons. It's about pushing society forward being dealing with some of the struggles that would ensure initially.

Why are we singling out drugs and alcohol and not any other activity people have fun doing

Lion_of_Gemini posted...

This isn't about being prudish. It's not banning things for religious or moral reasons. It's about pushing society forward being dealing with some of the struggles that would ensure initially.

Society isn't being held back in the slightest by drugs and alcohol, and if it is, they're faaaaar from the worst or only things doing it.

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Lol.

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Meth is also a prescription drug btw

I remember being 8 years old and thinking that drugs and alcohol were bad

Sounds like a potentially good idea, honestly. Recreational drug use is too much of a coping mechanism for some people, that causes them to take refuge in a temporary state, that leads to them eventually coming back to an unpleasant reality, that compels them to take more drugs to go back to their happy place. If they were gone, people would have to actually make efforts to make their reality something more bearable.

Heartomaton posted...

Society isn't being held back in the slightest by drugs and alcohol, and if it is, they're faaaaar from the worst or only things doing it.

Eh, you're defending cheap thrills over addictions and drug-influenced crimes and accidents.

I've dedicated a good deal of my life to making drugs and alcohol disappear.

It's a fight I'm willing to take on until it kills me.

I can't think of a "dry country" that currently exists as something any rational person would aspire to emulate.

Nah.

I can choose what goes into my body. As long as people arent jeopardising my health and safety or that of my family with what they put into theirs, it aint my business.

Guide posted...

Eh, you're defending cheap thrills over addictions and drug-influenced crimes and accidents.

And?

Deleting drugs and alcohol would just shift people to other vices. People with poor self control and no scruples about harming others aren't going to suddenly find those things if you take away their fixes in any other situation than idealistic fantasy.

darkbuster posted...

Sounds like a potentially good idea, honestly. Recreational drug use is too much of a coping mechanism for some people, that causes them to take refuge in a temporary state, that leads to them eventually coming back to an unpleasant reality, that compels them to take more drugs to go back to their happy place. If they were gone, people would have to actually make efforts to make their reality something more bearable.

Thats what Im saying. Theyre essentially distracting people from dealing with their problems, personal AND societal.

Guide posted...

Eh, you're defending cheap thrills over addictions and drug-influenced crimes and accidents.

Thats what Im saying. Once the high wears off, youre back to your crappy life. Its an unhealthy coping mechanism.

Ban it all, make humans suffer!

That sounds fine with me. Wonder what all the alchies would do now that they can't get drunk?

Heartomaton posted...

pogo_rabid posted...

I can't think of a "dry country" that currently exists as something any rational person would aspire to emulate.

Theres a difference between banning it on religious grounds and this, tbh

fuck no

nah i like drinking everyday it makes me happy and helps me focus