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>Th reason Alcohol is consumed by a significant portion of the population is because its a drug that society doesn't perceive as a drug. Thats a rather modern

>Th reason Alcohol is consumed by a significant portion of the population is because its a drug that society doesn't perceive as a drug. Thats a rather modern view for a practice that may be as old as humanity itself. Your comment doesn't explain why Alcohol was popular when cocaine and other opiates didn't carry negative associations.

chrischen 12y ago
The other drugs are addictive.
- bignaj 12y ago
  Not sure if you are being serious but... ever seen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholism ?
- rosser 12y ago
  It turns out, alcohol is actually more addictive than nearly all of the "other drugs", and it's one of the only drugs for which the withdrawal symptoms can be fatal.
  - chrischen 12y ago
    I'd love to read the research on this.
cup 12y ago
Cocaine and other opiates have been popular, only recently have they been sidelined.
- downer73 12y ago
  Yeah, gee, I wonder why? Maybe it's because one has a tendency to induce heart attacks, and the other group is treacherously addictive. But, consider that cocaine is a "new world" drug, specific to the South American continent, as an indigenous herbal extract, mostly until the 19th century, when highly purified extacts became a popular part of western society. Meanwhile use of opiates dates back to ancient times, given that Opium is dead simple to produce. But again, it was really in the 19th century when good equipment, and precise measuing tools permitted chemists and drugists to purify highly addictive perparations of the wider variety of drugs. Prior to that, the poppy's medicinal qualities were known and used, but expertise and well-crafted instruments which could readily facilitate powerful extracts weren't as widespread. Otherwise, people were limited to whatever was grown locally, and would be required to cultivate and harvest their own supply, instead of relying on trade.
- derleth 12y ago
  > Cocaine and other opiates Cocaine is not an opiate.
adrianN 12y ago
Alcohol is super simple to obtain. You just need some carbohydrate and time.
chimeracoder 12y ago
> why Alcohol was popular when cocaine and other opiates didn't carry negative associations We've rewritten history to help ignore this, but they were quite popular. Laudanum used to be heavily used in the US, and even Sherlock Holmes was written to be a regular, casual user of cocaine (Dr. Watson viewed it as "his only vice", such as a smoker of tobacco pipes, but had no medical objection to it).
- pdonis 12y ago
  > had no medical objection to it Actually, he did. Watson tells Holmes early on (in The Sign of the Four, I think) that using cocaine might damage his powers of observation and deduction; and in the stories after Holmes' return, Watson mentions several times that he felt obliged as a medical man to wean Holmes from the drug, and that he gets worried when there is a long period without Holmes having a case because Holmes might be tempted to start using the drug again.
nl 12y ago
Alcohol (in the form of beer) was - for some periods in history - more safe than drinking water. The beer making process (boiling water as well as the alcohol in it) was good at killing bacteria[1]. Bacteria in water was a pretty significant problem for towns without a proper sewage system. (Note that you'll find some internet sites claiming this is a myth. I don't find their arguments compelling at all: most seem to argue that water was drunk as well - which is no doubt true.) [1] http://www.westsussextoday.co.uk/news/county-news/latest-news/when-beer-was-safer-than-water-1-838583 http://www.westsussextoday.co.uk/news/county-news/latest-new...
- nikatwork 12y ago
  AskHistorians does not agree with you. I find their sources quite credible. http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1w3e4v/how_drunk_were_people_of_medieval_europe/ http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1w3e4v/how_dr... http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/health#wiki_drinking_water http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/health#wiki_drink...
  - nl 12y ago
    Boiling water before drinking it does have a positive effect on safety. That's beyond dispute. I'm not one of those who claim beer was drunk instead of water - I'm just pointing out that the more positive association of alcohol compare to other drugs does have some kind of possible historic and scientific basis.
collyw 12y ago
Was alcohol cheaper / easier to produce?

chrischen 12y ago

The other drugs are addictive.

bignaj 12y ago
Not sure if you are being serious but... ever seen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholism ?
rosser 12y ago
It turns out, alcohol is actually more addictive than nearly all of the "other drugs", and it's one of the only drugs for which the withdrawal symptoms can be fatal.
- chrischen 12y ago
  I'd love to read the research on this.

cup 12y ago

Cocaine and other opiates have been popular, only recently have they been sidelined.

downer73 12y ago
Yeah, gee, I wonder why? Maybe it's because one has a tendency to induce heart attacks, and the other group is treacherously addictive. But, consider that cocaine is a "new world" drug, specific to the South American continent, as an indigenous herbal extract, mostly until the 19th century, when highly purified extacts became a popular part of western society. Meanwhile use of opiates dates back to ancient times, given that Opium is dead simple to produce. But again, it was really in the 19th century when good equipment, and precise measuing tools permitted chemists and drugists to purify highly addictive perparations of the wider variety of drugs. Prior to that, the poppy's medicinal qualities were known and used, but expertise and well-crafted instruments which could readily facilitate powerful extracts weren't as widespread. Otherwise, people were limited to whatever was grown locally, and would be required to cultivate and harvest their own supply, instead of relying on trade.
derleth 12y ago
> Cocaine and other opiates Cocaine is not an opiate.

adrianN 12y ago

Alcohol is super simple to obtain. You just need some carbohydrate and time.

chimeracoder 12y ago

> why Alcohol was popular when cocaine and other opiates didn't carry negative associations We've rewritten history to help ignore this, but they were quite popular. Laudanum used to be heavily used in the US, and even Sherlock Holmes was written to be a regular, casual user of cocaine (Dr. Watson viewed it as "his only vice", such as a smoker of tobacco pipes, but had no medical objection to it).

pdonis 12y ago
> had no medical objection to it Actually, he did. Watson tells Holmes early on (in The Sign of the Four, I think) that using cocaine might damage his powers of observation and deduction; and in the stories after Holmes' return, Watson mentions several times that he felt obliged as a medical man to wean Holmes from the drug, and that he gets worried when there is a long period without Holmes having a case because Holmes might be tempted to start using the drug again.

nl 12y ago

Alcohol (in the form of beer) was - for some periods in history - more safe than drinking water. The beer making process (boiling water as well as the alcohol in it) was good at killing bacteria[1]. Bacteria in water was a pretty significant problem for towns without a proper sewage system. (Note that you'll find some internet sites claiming this is a myth. I don't find their arguments compelling at all: most seem to argue that water was drunk as well - which is no doubt true.) [1] http://www.westsussextoday.co.uk/news/county-news/latest-news/when-beer-was-safer-than-water-1-838583 http://www.westsussextoday.co.uk/news/county-news/latest-new...

nikatwork 12y ago
AskHistorians does not agree with you. I find their sources quite credible. http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1w3e4v/how_drunk_were_people_of_medieval_europe/ http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1w3e4v/how_dr... http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/health#wiki_drinking_water http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/health#wiki_drink...
- nl 12y ago
  Boiling water before drinking it does have a positive effect on safety. That's beyond dispute. I'm not one of those who claim beer was drunk instead of water - I'm just pointing out that the more positive association of alcohol compare to other drugs does have some kind of possible historic and scientific basis.

collyw 12y ago

Was alcohol cheaper / easier to produce?