# Why is alcohol use so socially acceptable (required), and pot evil. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 22, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-alcohol-use-so-socially-acceptable-required-and-pot-evil/474005 "2008-11-22T17:11:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-alcohol-use-so-socially-acceptable-required-and-pot-evil/474005/41 "2008-11-23T12:51:50Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > Legality is not the real issue. To prove this, simply ask the complainer if she/he feels the drug (pot) should be legal. > Offering drink and food is proper, and hospitable. So should be gently declining, if one is neither hungry nor thirsty. > “Outside” is a metaphor for away from the crowd. There is a big difference between thinking something should be legal and being willing to break the current law. ---
**Author:** ![JollyGoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dec6dc/32.png) [@JollyGoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JollyGoon)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-alcohol-use-so-socially-acceptable-required-and-pot-evil/474005/42 "2008-11-23T13:12:36Z")
I had this cool t-shirt once, on the front it said : In god we trust. On the back it said: Man made beer, god made weed.😉 Why alcohol is legal and pot isn’t is beyond me. 😕 But still, it’s against the law. Damn. Here’s a song that reflects my thoughts exactly on this topic. [The irony of it all](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwDRBm-qbQI) - The streets. Here are the [lyrics](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/streets/the+irony+of+it+all_20132625.html). ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-alcohol-use-so-socially-acceptable-required-and-pot-evil/474005/43 "2008-11-23T13:32:58Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Another difference: getting drunk or tipsy _can be_ a side effect of drinking alcohol, rather than the main purpose, but nobody smokes pot except to get stoned or high or at least mellow out a little. Exactly right. IMO, this is one reason why the whole argument that “If alcohol is legal, then marijuana should be legal too!” is misguided. A lot of people drink and enjoy alcohol without any intention of getting drunk. In contrast, when people smoke marijuana in a non-medicinal capacity, it is with the specific purpose of getting stoned. Now, I’m not trying to argue for or against anti-marijuana laws, as that would merit a whole 'nuther discussion. Rather, I think the point is that there is a major and relevant distinction between the two, which is why they are treated differently by the law. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-alcohol-use-so-socially-acceptable-required-and-pot-evil/474005/44 "2008-11-23T13:50:42Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Alcohol is too complex for most people to make at home. Marijuana can be grown at home quite easily. One creates corporate profits, the other destroys corporate profits. Guess which one is illegal? As **Drastic\_Quench** has mentioned, alcohol is really easy to make at home, and I know more people who’d have trouble keeping a marijuana plant alive but would be a good beer/mead/wine brewer within the first couple of tries. We occasionally make mead at the house, and it’s really incredibly simple; beer is only slightly more complex because there are a couple more steps to follow. Plant cultivation, however, is slightly more complex and requires a little more know-how in order to do it properly. Historically, just about everyone was making some sort of alcoholic beverage, and throughout Europe, these beverages were for everyday thirst quenching because the water wasn’t safe to drink with the sanitation procedures used back then. Of course, most of the time, the alcoholic beverage was watered down if it were of a stronger sort, but some people in the middle ages spent more time being at least a little sloshed in order to consume enough liquids for the day, while others with a greater tolerance for alcohol or a lesser need for drinking to hydration would not feel the effects as readily. Tea and coffee in Asia were used for the same purpose (to prevent/reduce dehydration), as boiling would reduce the chance of the drinker getting a foodborne illness from their beverages. Once tea and coffee reached Europe and became more available, people began to switch over to these beverages for daytime consumption; some eschewed alcohol altogether, becoming what we now refer to as “teetotalers”. BTW, am I the only person around here who has never actually _enjoyed_ getting stoned? ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-alcohol-use-so-socially-acceptable-required-and-pot-evil/474005/45 "2008-11-23T13:56:59Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > Now that’s rude, asking me to stand there holding a functionless glass of something I don’t even want. It’s a form of social convention, and thus not inherently logical. You don’t necessarily need or want to wear clothes, but it would be foolish to think you’d be treated the same if you showed up naked. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-alcohol-use-so-socially-acceptable-required-and-pot-evil/474005/46 "2008-11-23T14:03:19Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Alcohol is too complex for most people to make at home. This seems decidedly silly. Buy some cider, let it stand and see if you can avoid making alcohol. Plenty of people choose to buy it rather than make it, but that’s simply a reflection of how convenient alcohol is in modern society. [QUOTE=The Second Stone] One creates corporate profits, the other destroys corporate profits. [/QUOTE] The corporate profits pale in comparison to the tax revenues. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-alcohol-use-so-socially-acceptable-required-and-pot-evil/474005/47 "2008-11-23T14:29:42Z")
People who are subject to random drug testing at their jobs are likely to be particularly peeved to find people smoking marijuana around them. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-alcohol-use-so-socially-acceptable-required-and-pot-evil/474005/48 "2008-11-23T14:40:04Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > In real life, getting drunk is the whole point of drinking alcohol. Witness the lack of enthusiasm for alcohol-free “booze”. Wine drinkers like to deny this, but they’re full of it. :dubious: Strongly disagree here. I’ve never had an alcohol-free booze that was worth a second sip. A glass of wine with a meal is a totally different matter. A glass of single malt is entirely about the taste - if I were drinking just to get drunk, I could drink something way less expensive. Does anybody smoke dope for the flavour? Seriously. When it becomes legal, it’s one of the interesting questions - will an industry spring up, like with pipe tobacco or cigars, where one can get wine dipped, brooked, flavoured, blends, fine cut, shag, etc., etc.? Dude, you’re just in the wrong country - come up to Canada where it’s still illegal, but hardly any one cares if you spark a fatty. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-alcohol-use-so-socially-acceptable-required-and-pot-evil/474005/49 "2008-11-23T15:09:27Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > …I’ve asked alcoholics about the legality issue, and that isn’t it. It makes them uncomfortable that you aren’t drinking too. I’ve seen the same thing. A friend insisted on buying me a ginger ale, so it would look like I had some kind of mixed drink. He actually said it was kind of embarrassing that I wasn’t drinking anything. I was stunned into silence so I didn’t follow up on how he could have such a crazy reaction. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-alcohol-use-so-socially-acceptable-required-and-pot-evil/474005/50 "2008-11-23T15:56:47Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The primary reason why alcohol use is so common is because alcohol is and always has been universally available. Ever been to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait etc? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-alcohol-use-so-socially-acceptable-required-and-pot-evil/474005/51 "2008-11-23T15:58:46Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Sort of related to this, but why do some people feel uncomfortable if they’re ordering a drink but you’re not? I was having dinner with a friend a few years ago and I was initially going to order a drink but didn’t feel like it, and then she was a bit annoyed because she wanted one. I told her to go ahead, but she said she didn’t feel right, and I just didn’t get it because I didn’t drink that much. But I’ve been in situations where others aren’t drinking, and I am and I don’t feel weird about it. What gives? I don’t drink myself so I don’t know what drinkers are thinking (or what thinkers are drinking!), but I imagine it might be kind of like ordering dessert. If I’m having dinner with a friend and she doesn’t want dessert, I’d feel a bit awkward eating my cheesecake while she just sat there. Only a BIT awkward, not enough to stop me if I was really in the mood for cheesecake, but some people dwell on these things more than others: “Am I a pig for wanting dessert? I did want to lose some weight, maybe I should have passed. Is she on a diet? Am I a jerk for eating dessert in front of her while she’s on a diet? Is she getting bored watching me eat? Maybe I should eat faster, but I don’t want to look like a pig…” The only people I’ve known who seemed REALLY bothered by my not drinking were people with drinking problems themselves, but I can see how an ordinary moderate drinker might feel a little uncomfortable just because they were having something you weren’t having. But that’s the sort of thing people should keep to themselves. Your friends should have ordered the drink if that’s what she wanted or not ordered it if she just couldn’t stand to, but either way she shouldn’t have expressed any annoyance to you. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-alcohol-use-so-socially-acceptable-required-and-pot-evil/474005/52 "2008-11-23T16:02:42Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > The corporate profits pale in comparison to the tax revenues. As tax revenues are a percentage of corporate profits, I don’t see how your statement is mathmatically possible. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-alcohol-use-so-socially-acceptable-required-and-pot-evil/474005/53 "2008-11-23T16:49:42Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > As tax revenues are a percentage of corporate profits, I don’t see how your statement is mathmatically possible. I think what **Xema** meant was not the taxation of corporate profits, but the taxation on the product itself. That occurs before (or, perhaps more accurately, independently of) corporate profits. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-alcohol-use-so-socially-acceptable-required-and-pot-evil/474005/54 "2008-11-23T16:59:38Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > This seems decidedly silly. Buy some cider, let it stand and see if you can avoid making alcohol. Plenty of people choose to buy it rather than make it, but that’s simply a reflection of how convenient alcohol is in modern society. Making “good” alcoholic beverages can be a pain. It can also be an enjoyable hobby. I don’t think that many boozers want to drink rotten cider. To make palatable hard cider you have to do more than let it sit. Same goes for pot. You can just toss some seeds on the ground, wait a couple months, then harvest some barely smokable weed, but for the “good” stuff you need to care for the plants. But then you have a product that is way superior to even the most desirable alcohol product. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-alcohol-use-so-socially-acceptable-required-and-pot-evil/474005/55 "2008-11-23T17:44:13Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > Making “good” alcoholic beverages can be a pain. It can also be an enjoyable hobby. I don’t think that many boozers want to drink rotten cider. To make palatable hard cider you have to do more than let it sit. > Same goes for pot. You can just toss some seeds on the ground, wait a couple months, then harvest some barely smokable weed, but for the “good” stuff you need to care for the plants. But then you have a product that is way superior to even the most desirable alcohol product. 🆒 Mmm, little red hairs, white little crystals flaking off, somewhat sticky, a slight tinge of honey smell. Mmmmmmmmm _licks lips_ ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-alcohol-use-so-socially-acceptable-required-and-pot-evil/474005/56 "2008-11-23T17:48:57Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > Making “good” alcoholic beverages can be a pain. It can also be an enjoyable hobby. Right. As **nashiitashii** has noted above, this used to be exceedingly common. Now not so much due to many convenient ways to buy the stuff. > [@](#): > > … for the “good” stuff you need to care for the plants. But then you have a product that is way superior to even the most desirable alcohol product. Man, you are drinking the wrong booze! ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-alcohol-use-so-socially-acceptable-required-and-pot-evil/474005/57 "2008-11-23T17:55:35Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > Ever been to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait etc? I’ve been to Saudi Arabia, where booze is like pot in the US - illegal and readily available. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-alcohol-use-so-socially-acceptable-required-and-pot-evil/474005/58 "2008-11-23T17:56:42Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I think what **Xema** meant was not the taxation of corporate profits, but the taxation on the product itself. You are right. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-alcohol-use-so-socially-acceptable-required-and-pot-evil/474005/59 "2008-11-23T17:56:59Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > Man, you are drinking the wrong booze! No, I’ve done the whole booze routine, from beers and ales through top notch scotch (heh, I made a rhyme). You’re smoking the wrong dope. See **mswas’** post, above. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-alcohol-use-so-socially-acceptable-required-and-pot-evil/474005/60 "2008-11-23T18:41:33Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > You go to a party and don’t drink any alcohol. Why does practically everyone try so hard to get you to have something, _anything_, in a glass. Same for the designated driver at a bar. I’m perfectly comfortable with both hands empty, but that’s somehow regarded as kinda rude. > But if I step outside and fire up a joint, a much more benign drug than alcohol, I can become a pariah. > I know heavy drinkers (alcoholics) who are really down on pot smoking. > Buncha hypocrites! > Peace, > mangeorge Here’s the deal. Unless you are the designator driver (which sucks), it’s a little weird to have someone who doesn’t drink at a party where everyone is drinking. It would be the same if you and some friends are doing bong hits or lines of coke and you have the one guy who doesn’t participate. It creeps people out. These substances are mood and behavioral altering and the non-drinker/stoner/cokehead is on a noticably different wavelength than everyone else. People wonder why this person would show up to a party with alchohol and drugs but not use them. How people react to these different drugs is totally dependent on the people themselves. Pot and coke, however, are illegal. It is inconsiderate and rude to bring them to a party where the host does not want them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-alcohol-use-so-socially-acceptable-required-and-pot-evil/474005.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-alcohol-use-so-socially-acceptable-required-and-pot-evil/474005.md?page=4)