behaviorists...marijuana or alcohol??

Philosophy Forums Psychology and Mind
1

When thinking in terms of acceptable behavior, which substance yields the least acceptable behaviors generally, marijuana or alcohol?

I know that you might say that both are bad, because pot smokers are lethargic and unmotivated, and that alcoholics are unpredictable and sloppy. But help me out here, who has some statistics that we can compare? Do more alcoholics beat their wives? Is pot or alcohol responsible for more auto accidents? Aside from social stigmas, only in terms of behaviors produced, (in general cases), which is worse, marijuana or alcohol?

2

I don’t have statistics but I do know people that do one or the other or both.

I see it as a personality thing. They affect your personality they enhance it , subdue it or change it altogether. Niether one is worse than the other. And they are only bad if abused. Its the abuse that causes the problems.

3

So given that we accept that they both will in fact be abused, which is worse, (generally), the behavior exhibited by a marijuana abuser? Or that of an alcohol abuser? Aside from individual cases, speaking in terms of the behaviors which characterize and distinguish the two kinds of abuse, which behavior is less acceptable?

4

I would think marijuana.

5

Tell me why then!!

6

Well, if you think about pure potential for adverse effects, I’d have to say alcohol. Pot very rarely makes a person violent, and, despite their inability to add to society, they are not actively destroying society. Alcohol, however, lowers a person’s inhibitions…in freudian terms, it removes the voice of the superego desires, leaving the id desires with more control over the ego. This allows for drunken stupors, or for drunken rages, which can be much more violent, and much more destructive, than marajuana.

However, another factor to consider is that, in people with ADHD and other attention based disorders, alcohol can be a calming influence, and can lead to a more focused approach, as its a CND, and reduces the hyperactivity of the person imbibing. Likewise, some of the greatest writers of the world have been alcoholics, and have done their best only while intoxicated. So the negatives should probably be weighed against the positive.

Of course, if we broaden the scope of things, we find that heroin is the worst of all of them, with cocaine as a close second. Why? They cause people to be more active, and less restrained in their actions, giving a much greater chance of destruction. In addition, they’re highly addictive, and have been known to drive people to robbery in order to gain the funds to replenish their stock. Have you ever seen a pothead rob someone for money? no. Why? Because when stoned out of your mind, you’re far too likely to forget the gun at home. And drunks? well, they just tend to become bums when they’ve exhausted their money. The harsher drugs are far worse. Especially since they have a much stronger component of physical withdrawal.

So, drink and smoke as much as ya can, just don’t snort, shoot up, or chase any dragons.

7

My ideas don’t need justification, just believe what I say. :laughing:

“Getting stoned” results in being relaxed, while “getting wasted” results in being clumsy. I don’t think too much damaged could be done being relaxed as opposed to being clumsy.

8

It’s impossible to do absolute statistics on this: if there’s a car accident between a rat-arsed good driver using a vehicle with lousy brakes, and a bad driver with four henries in his system, what/who caused the accident?

Anyway, I do think alcohol is worse, because it’s more accessible, socially accepted, and often encouraged.

9

So then should alcohol be illegal? Or should weed be legal? Or should we just leave things as they arbitrarily stand?

10

Weed should be legalized. Netherlands has legalized it although, the overconsumption of weed is becoming a problem. Alcohol prohibition went through a period of bootlegging and overcame legislation to make it legal. Weed should follow suit. As far as the effects of weed, I’m no expert, but my guess would be it’s no more harmful then the effects of alcohol on the body/brain. The quantity of both matter considerably in determining which is more harmful. Both have damaging effects of equal stature when taken in excess.

One problem could be the decline in worker efficiency, although it’d be hard to tell the drop off considering work habits without weed.

11

I’ve known many people who get high before or during work, and they had no problem with getting by (one was even promoted). Probably not be good for everyone, but just sayin.

12

I just haven’t been able to understand why it’s illegal. It’s like I keep asking and no one has an answer which satisfies. Any day I’m expecting a breakthrough in evidence or something to change my mind. So far…nothing.

13

It would definitely hurt the tobacco and Alcohol industries if made legal. I wouldn’t call that ‘breakthrough’ but it’s a start.

14

Haha about the guy getting promoted. I often thought that a ‘relaxed’ state would actually help workers that work in certain jobs remain ‘calm.’ But that’s just speculation. Your point is well taken. All my roomates had jobs and smoked weed on a regular basis, so I know this goes on and they still kept their jobs, but dropped out of school. Goes to show that a high worker doesn’t need to have high skills.

15

The thing is that baccy (both wacky and regular) and alcohol are industrialised, so there are strong monetary interests behind. Capitalism has its centre (IMO) in making a living off other people’s destruction.

16

I’ve said this a million times. If I could buy weed from the government, even at $50 a gram, I would. They’d make the same money that they make off fines without clogging up the criminal courts and it’d be more consistent for them. Hell, they could use the money for education, or to pave highways, or to fight terror.

17

And have more room in the prisions for real crimminals.

18

I can’t say I prefer one type of person over the other : pot-smoker or alcohol-drinker. I’ve had both in my life. Though I do feel drunks are far worse than stoners simply because they’re more sociopathic and cause more deaths per year.

In terms of “socially acceptable”, I think the question’s unfair because alcohol has been a part of western culture for millennia, and as such has found a way to integrate the intoxicating properties and control them in a socially acceptable manner to curb overuse and such. This was before automobiles, of course, but still. The cultures adjusting. If you look at cultures with other substances, nicotine, THC, DMT, et cetera, they, like the west, have traditions and rituals involving the substances that attempt to minimize abuses.

The problems many Native Americans had with alcohol in the past, in a social sense, is similar to gen-x-ers and millenials with heroine. No controls or conditioning.

If I’m right, the situation will improve for us regardless of regulation like it did for the Native Americans.

19

Is this an ad for GAP T-shirts?

20

Definitely, alchohol causes way more car accidents than marijuana. Alchohol can cause people to be much more irrational and physically inept than marijuana as well. I definitely have become clumsy and unpredictable because of alchohol much more often than I have become lethargic and unmotivated because of marijuana. But really, both of them can be used well or used foolishly. Just depends on the person.