5 ms·

Alcohol is drugs such as weed, mdma and heroine. One is more dangerous than the other, but they have one thing in common. Drugs damage the body and/or to some

Alcohol is drugs such as weed, mdma and heroine. One is more dangerous than the other, but they have one thing in common. Drugs damage the body and/or to some extent in some way, shape or form. Don't do alcohol. If you have social pressure, fake it. Like order a beer and don't actually drink it, pretend to sip. I think people need to take this more seriously and start to think for themselves. I know it's hard, we have habits, but it's damaging. The safer alternative being: don't do it. If you want drug like feelings, I'd recommend exercising, being in love or sex. I'm pretty sure one is able to get pretty far with dancing on music as well.

loganfrederick 5y ago
The parent was getting downvoted, and as someone who drinks, I don't necessarily find anything offensive about the parent comment (unless it broke a specific HN guideline). It reminded me of my go-to when I don't want to drink alcohol at an event; I'll order a sugar-free Red Bull on ice. It looks like a cocktail, has more flavor than a water, and no hangover.
- mettamage 5y ago
  It's perhaps too opinionated and not substantiated enough. I was trying to be brief. Unfortunately, I was too brief. I don't want to write out an essay and get sources where there are comparisons between alcohol and other drugs and how alcohol is basically a drug (e.g. [1, 2]). The reason I didn't is because I assume the average HN'er knows this. [1] https://www.frontiersin.org/files/Articles/592199/fpsyt-11-592199-HTML/image_m/fpsyt-11-592199-g002.jpg https://www.frontiersin.org/files/Articles/592199/fpsyt-11-5... [2] https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.592199/full https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.5921...
cheeze 5y ago
Most things damage your body in some way, shape, or form. Obviously the best solution is to not drink, but IMO it's not a great alternative. Something like what you mentioned at the end makes more sense.
- mettamage 5y ago
  Well, what I keep doing is make it more emotionally understandable to myself that alcohol fuck things up even at small levels (I've seen it, 3 glasses of wine and people are fighting :/). > IMO it's not a great alternative. Why isn't it? I'm not implying I disagree, I am simply wondering what you think.
ProAm 5y ago
Dancing is bad for the knees and music is bad for hearing loss...
- mettamage 5y ago
  You can buy earplugs specifically made for music. I recommend to actually tailor make them for your ear channel. Whenever I used them, the music volume felt like I was standing in a quiet-ish elevator. You can dance without using your knees if you have knee issues. My point with both of these is: you can patch these issues. When you smoke weed, your lungs will be hit. When you drink alcohol, your brain will be hit. I agree that with everything we do, there is some form of upkeep. The argument about drugs is that the upkeep might be too much. One could argue that 0.8% gray matter loss is fine. I'm simply not one of them.
  - thatcat 5y ago
    So then if you eat weed... what then?
    - mettamage 5y ago
      Eating weed is IMO a completely different experience than smoking it due to a different onset experience. But fair enough, it might not be as damaging. It could be though, when one eats weed it's almost never a light dose. When one smokes a joint you can do a very small puff. Since the onset with space cake is like an hour to 90 min. you can't really do light dosing. The first time I took space cake I almost got kicked out of a nightclub because I couldn't handle it (in Amsterdam). Space cake is always such a hell of an impact. Taking one puff isn't. But I guess one could research all of this and find a way to make it so that you can dose quite well and not take the lung damage. In that case, it would seem fine to me.
bspammer 5y ago
This is a hilarious mental image to me. Like people aren’t going to notice your full pint glass after 10 minutes of fake sipping. Why would you not just tell them you don’t drink? Also, alcohol is definitely really bad for you, but an occasional pub visit is hardly going to take years off your life.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- moshmosh 5y ago
  I thought soda water (or sparkling mineral water) with lemon or lime was the official no-I'm-not-drinking-but-I-am-familiar-with-bars-and-don't-bug-me-about-it drink. Fake-sipping a beer would be bizarre.
  - mettamage 5y ago
    That's news to me, IMO indeed a more fun alternative than drinking pure water. Thanks for mentioning it :)
    - moshmosh 5y ago
      In certain crowds you could also get away with still water w/o ice, since it looks like a vodka-water, especially if you're a woman (tends to be a women's drink—not pushing that norm, just observing it). In either the still-water or sparkling/soda-water case, just get it in a highball or Collins glass and you'll fit right in. The glass is what sells it. 99% chance you won't be the first one to make this request to a given bartender. Unless they're a jerk they won't charge you for soda water from the bar's tap, and a slice of lemon or lime. You could also ask for a coke without ice served in whatever they serve jack & coke in (collins glass, lowball glass, old-fashioned glass, could be any of several). Even if someone hears you order any of these, unless they're socially clueless this will signal some things to them and they'll know you are pointedly Not Drinking, for whatever reason, and they won't bug you about it or offer you anything. This is assuming you're around people who care that others aren't drinking, to begin with (I'd still use the specific-glass trick just not to look out of place, regardless, personally).
driverdan 5y ago
The dose makes the poison. Drinking too much water can kill you. Abstinence is not necessarily safer or better than moderation.
- mettamage 5y ago
  While I agree with that, I think it's better to start from a "better safe than sorry approach." It is much more likely that a study like this would have been published about alcohol than about 100% pure water. So in that sense, the comment I made is not so much about the facts, it's more about strategy for optimal health. Everyone has their own strategy of course.
numpad0 5y ago
I used to be a hardcore non-drinker and what I was rewarded with was somewhat relaxed sanity and reality perception as a substitute for regular alcohol consumption. Now I feel a similar effect limited by physical substance intakes would have been a better alternative to that. After all our societies are built with alcohol in mind, including irrecoverable brain damages from it.
thatcat 5y ago
Hmm so you're telling people what to do and telling them to think for themselves at the same time. You only listed illegal drugs, what about medications, food, etc? Humans evolved because of mutagens in our diet. The paper literally points out that even if you try to preserve your body, age is the biggest factor in degradation - in the end there is no "safe".
kstrauser 5y ago
That's not realistic. Animals love drugs, from monkeys eating overripe fruits to get drunk to goats eating coffee beans to catch a buzz (and yes, caffeine is just as much a drug as anything else). Telling adults not to use drugs -- don't come for my coffee mug without an army -- is about as reasonable and effective as telling teens not to have sex. However great you think the reasons might be not to do those things, people are going to do them. We've been doing it for millions of years and aren't likely to stop now.

loganfrederick 5y ago

The parent was getting downvoted, and as someone who drinks, I don't necessarily find anything offensive about the parent comment (unless it broke a specific HN guideline). It reminded me of my go-to when I don't want to drink alcohol at an event; I'll order a sugar-free Red Bull on ice. It looks like a cocktail, has more flavor than a water, and no hangover.

mettamage 5y ago
It's perhaps too opinionated and not substantiated enough. I was trying to be brief. Unfortunately, I was too brief. I don't want to write out an essay and get sources where there are comparisons between alcohol and other drugs and how alcohol is basically a drug (e.g. [1, 2]). The reason I didn't is because I assume the average HN'er knows this. [1] https://www.frontiersin.org/files/Articles/592199/fpsyt-11-592199-HTML/image_m/fpsyt-11-592199-g002.jpg https://www.frontiersin.org/files/Articles/592199/fpsyt-11-5... [2] https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.592199/full https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.5921...

cheeze 5y ago

Most things damage your body in some way, shape, or form. Obviously the best solution is to not drink, but IMO it's not a great alternative. Something like what you mentioned at the end makes more sense.

mettamage 5y ago
Well, what I keep doing is make it more emotionally understandable to myself that alcohol fuck things up even at small levels (I've seen it, 3 glasses of wine and people are fighting :/). > IMO it's not a great alternative. Why isn't it? I'm not implying I disagree, I am simply wondering what you think.

ProAm 5y ago

Dancing is bad for the knees and music is bad for hearing loss...

mettamage 5y ago
You can buy earplugs specifically made for music. I recommend to actually tailor make them for your ear channel. Whenever I used them, the music volume felt like I was standing in a quiet-ish elevator. You can dance without using your knees if you have knee issues. My point with both of these is: you can patch these issues. When you smoke weed, your lungs will be hit. When you drink alcohol, your brain will be hit. I agree that with everything we do, there is some form of upkeep. The argument about drugs is that the upkeep might be too much. One could argue that 0.8% gray matter loss is fine. I'm simply not one of them.
- thatcat 5y ago
  So then if you eat weed... what then?
  - mettamage 5y ago
    Eating weed is IMO a completely different experience than smoking it due to a different onset experience. But fair enough, it might not be as damaging. It could be though, when one eats weed it's almost never a light dose. When one smokes a joint you can do a very small puff. Since the onset with space cake is like an hour to 90 min. you can't really do light dosing. The first time I took space cake I almost got kicked out of a nightclub because I couldn't handle it (in Amsterdam). Space cake is always such a hell of an impact. Taking one puff isn't. But I guess one could research all of this and find a way to make it so that you can dose quite well and not take the lung damage. In that case, it would seem fine to me.

bspammer 5y ago

This is a hilarious mental image to me. Like people aren’t going to notice your full pint glass after 10 minutes of fake sipping. Why would you not just tell them you don’t drink? Also, alcohol is definitely really bad for you, but an occasional pub visit is hardly going to take years off your life.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
moshmosh 5y ago
I thought soda water (or sparkling mineral water) with lemon or lime was the official no-I'm-not-drinking-but-I-am-familiar-with-bars-and-don't-bug-me-about-it drink. Fake-sipping a beer would be bizarre.
- mettamage 5y ago
  That's news to me, IMO indeed a more fun alternative than drinking pure water. Thanks for mentioning it :)
  - moshmosh 5y ago
    In certain crowds you could also get away with still water w/o ice, since it looks like a vodka-water, especially if you're a woman (tends to be a women's drink—not pushing that norm, just observing it). In either the still-water or sparkling/soda-water case, just get it in a highball or Collins glass and you'll fit right in. The glass is what sells it. 99% chance you won't be the first one to make this request to a given bartender. Unless they're a jerk they won't charge you for soda water from the bar's tap, and a slice of lemon or lime. You could also ask for a coke without ice served in whatever they serve jack & coke in (collins glass, lowball glass, old-fashioned glass, could be any of several). Even if someone hears you order any of these, unless they're socially clueless this will signal some things to them and they'll know you are pointedly Not Drinking, for whatever reason, and they won't bug you about it or offer you anything. This is assuming you're around people who care that others aren't drinking, to begin with (I'd still use the specific-glass trick just not to look out of place, regardless, personally).

driverdan 5y ago

The dose makes the poison. Drinking too much water can kill you. Abstinence is not necessarily safer or better than moderation.

mettamage 5y ago
While I agree with that, I think it's better to start from a "better safe than sorry approach." It is much more likely that a study like this would have been published about alcohol than about 100% pure water. So in that sense, the comment I made is not so much about the facts, it's more about strategy for optimal health. Everyone has their own strategy of course.

numpad0 5y ago

I used to be a hardcore non-drinker and what I was rewarded with was somewhat relaxed sanity and reality perception as a substitute for regular alcohol consumption. Now I feel a similar effect limited by physical substance intakes would have been a better alternative to that. After all our societies are built with alcohol in mind, including irrecoverable brain damages from it.

thatcat 5y ago

Hmm so you're telling people what to do and telling them to think for themselves at the same time. You only listed illegal drugs, what about medications, food, etc? Humans evolved because of mutagens in our diet. The paper literally points out that even if you try to preserve your body, age is the biggest factor in degradation - in the end there is no "safe".

kstrauser 5y ago

That's not realistic. Animals love drugs, from monkeys eating overripe fruits to get drunk to goats eating coffee beans to catch a buzz (and yes, caffeine is just as much a drug as anything else). Telling adults not to use drugs -- don't come for my coffee mug without an army -- is about as reasonable and effective as telling teens not to have sex. However great you think the reasons might be not to do those things, people are going to do them. We've been doing it for millions of years and aren't likely to stop now.