PeterHolzwarth 2 days ago

Most of what you mention isn't actually normal for most people. But it is possible to tailor your info feed to make it seem like it's normal.

  • aqme28 2 days ago

    2/3 of Americans drink coffee. I’ll grant you the rest of the list though.

    • shoobiedoo 2 days ago

      I was on oxycodone for about 6 weeks for a growth inside my knee. After it was removed, I had to wean off the drugs. Wasn't too bad, took less than a week.

      Soon after I thought I'd try to kick the caffeine habit. Went from 4 cups, to 1 over a month, then just green tea, then just water. I only lasted about 6 weeks on water only.

      My god. I couldn't believe how unmotivated, soulless, and empty I felt. Judging by the reddit sub for kicking caffeine, this can last for over a year. It's terrifying

      • watwut 2 days ago

        When I stopped coffee it was 3 days of being tired and that was it. Which, from what I read, was to be expected normal.

      • dyauspitr 21 hours ago

        I drink about 3 cups of tea a day and no caffeine on the weekends. The reason I don’t have it on the weekends is because it’s not part of my weekend morning routine and I don’t even notice it’s missing.

      • badpun 2 days ago

        Imagine how hard it would be to kick oxy if you were taking it every day for 20 years. Habits and addictions get ingrained with time.

    • squigz 2 days ago

      We've also been drinking coffee for a long, long time.

      • kibwen 2 days ago

        To be pedantic, we've also been prescribing opioids since Ancient Sumer, 8,000 years ago.

    • an0malous 2 days ago

      15-20% of Americans have taken psychiatric medications in the last year

rurban 2 days ago

Don't forgot sugar, which is stronger than cocaine

  • tayo42 2 days ago

    I never sold possessions to buy more sugar...

    • hsbauauvhabzb 2 days ago

      If heroin was $1/kg I doubt anyone would sell possessions for that, either.

    • hshdhdhehd 2 days ago

      Luckily industrialisation and the processed food industry has your back providing cheap abundant simple carbs for your pleasure and (later... discomfort)

      Sugar? For snobs anyway. Corn starch for the masses.

    • t-3 2 days ago

      ... because sugar is extremely cheap. Even if it was legal, cocaine would be impossible to get that cheap, unless some DNA editing is done to make yeast shit it out maybe. If sugar cost $100/gram I could see crime happening to be able to taste some candy or non-sour bread.

      • badpun 2 days ago

        Back when sugar first appeared in Europe, it was only affordable to upper-middle classes and above. And yet, I haven't heard about any addicts robbing people so that they can afford sugar. I don't think it's holding quite the same grasp on people as some narcotics do.

      • lblume 2 days ago

        The cheapness is due to the prevalence, and the prevalence of sugar caused sweetness receptors to be evolutionarily advantageous. There is no world in which sugar is extremely expensive, markets still function basically in the way they do now and humans experience the sensation of sweetness the way they typically do now. Cocaine and other types of "hard" drugs are qualitatively different in that regard.

        Your example also doesn't really hold up because people typically don't process cocaine in the way they do with sugar and other carbohydrates. In your hypothetical scenario, we might see people consuming large amounts of pure sugar (or artificial sweeteners), but they wouldn't go to lengths of baking bread using it.

      • projectazorian 2 days ago

        > Even if it was legal, cocaine would be impossible to get that cheap, unless some DNA editing is done to make yeast shit it out maybe.

        Not as cheap as sugar, but probably as cheap as coffee. Coca and coffee grow in the same climates, and in recent years the cartels have bred varieties of coca that grow outside of the traditional climate as well. Imagine what modern agribusiness would be capable of.

      • tayo42 2 days ago

        You can eat one m&m or cupcake without having a freak out. Not the same for a line of cocaine. Which then leads to licking the bag and rubbing what you can on your gums.