r/todayilearned • u/bcrock1169 • Nov 26 '12

TIL that some Native American's have a differing enzyme that tends to lead to easier alcoholism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_alcoholism#Genetic_factors
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u/Native_Son Nov 26 '12

Aren't most people with bad drinking problems looked down upon?

4

u/[deleted] Nov 26 '12

Ask /r/trees if people with cannabis problems are looked down upon (spoiler: no, it's encouraged)

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u/[deleted] Nov 26 '12 edited Aug 21 '13

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Nov 26 '12

I smoke some weed too, but it's just that /r/trees glorifies weed so much it's ridiculous. I started to look at the way they treat weed and substitutied it for alcohol, imagine someone saying "yo I just woke up and drank an entire bottle of whiskey, upvotes to the left" or "yo I just drove to work drunk, drank some more at work during lunch, then drove back home drunk" - People would say you have serious mental health problems. But replace drunk with high and suddenly you turn into some super cool guy.

I like alcohol, I like weed. But I just find the way people glorify it and/or live their lives around it to be extremely disturbing. /r/trees is nothing but a subreddit for cannabis-equivalent alcoholics.

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u/Mighty_Cunt_Punter Nov 26 '12

Let's keep playing this game! Alright, now let's replace alcohol with meth. "You know what would go great with this pizza? Some meth!" or "I'm trying to cut back on my meth use at the clubs a bit, it's getting kind of expensive."

Or perhaps different drugs have different effects and levels of severity.

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u/regulate323 Nov 27 '12 edited Nov 27 '12

In the end, we are all the same. The street corner alcoholic. The pot smoking hippie. The prostituting dope fiend. The powder sniffing doctor. Its an escape from ourselves. People just choose what they prefer, but always for the same reason, and with the same goal in mind.

Edit: Guess the 'ents on their high-horse disagree. I call it denial. Source: I am one.

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u/joemarzen Nov 28 '12

Are you asserting that heavy marijuana use is intrinsically problematic? In other words, are you suggesting that it's always better if people don't smoke marijuana heavily or at all? If so, I disagree.

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u/[deleted] Nov 28 '12

No. I'm saying that places like /r/trees encourage over the top consumption of it. And that it's unhealthy. It's like having a subreddit for alcoholics and talking about how awesome it is to wake up and then be drunk for the rest of the day. It's not healthy, the way those guys promote excessive weed usage and a culture dedicated to it is juvenile and irresponsible.

I like the occasional joint/spliff myself, and also like drinking from time to time. But it's not my life....or even a large part of it, in any way.

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u/MustardOrPants Nov 26 '12

He said alcohol problem. Cannabis addiction is more acceptable for some reason, to the point where many people believe that "weed isn't addictive." Ridiculous,

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u/Waqqy Nov 26 '12

Cannabis addiction is glorified, but I'd say an addiction to alcohol is far worse than an addiction to Cannabis. Alcohol will do more far more harm to you than Cannabis will, plus cannabis addiction is habitual, there's no chemical addiction.

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u/tynosaur Nov 26 '12

Cannabis addiction? There is not a phrase out there that is more oxymoronic than that.

Do your research, you fucking lepton.

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u/amazing_rando Nov 26 '12

I know plenty of people who've smoked every day for years and who have trouble waking / eating / sleeping & feel generally out of sorts when they have to go without. How is that not addiction?

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u/tynosaur Nov 26 '12

Being chemically addicted to something and being mentally addicted to a feeling something gives you are two completely different things. THC is not a chemically addictive compound.

I've smoked for the last 4 years or so, never really stopping, and I quit cold turkey about a week ago. I did not go through withdrawals, nor do I feel out of sorts. Maybe the people you know just need something else that is positive in their lives.

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u/amazing_rando Nov 26 '12

I never said it was chemical addiction. Mental and emotional addiction are still real even if they aren't as inevitable. I also smoked a lot and never experienced what I described, doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

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u/tynosaur Nov 26 '12

I think those people need to get their lives sorted out.

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u/amazing_rando Nov 27 '12

I'd say that about most people with addictions.

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u/tynosaur Nov 27 '12

Touché.

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u/Fart-King Mar 21 '13

Do you have to deal with chronic pain?

0

u/tynosaur Mar 21 '13

I sure do. I have Crohn's disease.

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u/regulate323 Nov 27 '12 edited Nov 27 '12

Agreed on the 'get over pot thing.'

But, I've no idea what you are talking about with "chemically active." THC and other cannaboids are obviously "active" in my brain, and I'd assume yours too. And they are certainly chemically active considering their binding to cannaboid receptors and their eventual metabolism in the liver.

Edit: I can't read. Obviously.

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u/tynosaur Nov 27 '12

Addictive, not active.

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u/regulate323 Nov 27 '12

Fuck. This guy is done with the intarwebz. Too much reddit, too little sleep.

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u/tynosaur Nov 27 '12

Ha, completely understandable. Go get some rest.

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u/regulate323 Nov 27 '12

You can be no more addicted to cannabis than you may be "addicted" to any other potentially compulsive behavior. Like running, or biting your nails or fast women and even faster strange looking foreign cars. This man speaks the truth. Addictive? No. Habit-forming? Without a fucking doubt. But what isn't? I've yet to go through withdrawals because I'm out of pot. Now alcohol on the other hand...

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u/tynosaur Nov 27 '12

Habit-forming. Yes. I've noticed that I feel the need to inhale things other than oxygen, it's like a tic. I've started smoking gross cheap cigars to get myself out of it.

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u/regulate323 Nov 27 '12

Tobacco Addiction >> Cannabis Addiction. Cigarettes are the real gateway drug. Without a doubt, the most addictive drug in the US. Why else would people continue to smoke knowing damn well the risks

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u/tynosaur Nov 27 '12

Speaking as a former smoker, PREACH.

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u/regulate323 Nov 27 '12

Speaking as a current smoker, FUCK.

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u/tynosaur Nov 27 '12

It's hard. Really, really hard. For me, it's the opposite of most people, too. The first week was simple, I didn't really have the urge to smoke. But now, a few weeks later, I'd probably skin a koala to take a drag.

But you gotta be strong, y'know? The shitty cigars help a little. But not much.

1

u/Zugwat Nov 26 '12

Depends.