In my opinion, there are far more effective psychotropic alternatives that have less negatives and even more pronounced anxiolytic and pro-social effects.[1]
My personal experiences with these alternatives have led me to agree that there are very real societal benefits from cultural acceptance and norms regarding substance usage and that humans have had a relationship with psychotropic compounds for a very, very long time. I think that we have not been evaluating societal norms dictating which substances we can engage with. Alcohol, Tobacco (Nicotine), and Caffeine have maintained the largest acceptance area within the “Substance Use Overton Window [SU-OW]”[2] for hundreds if not thousands of years. This dominance within our cultural norms have made it difficult to adopt potentially better alternatives due to them residing outside the SU-OW.
Some options that I have hundreds of experiences with that have all been better or more effective than alcohol:
Some of the above options are also GABAergics, like alcohol, which avoid the toxic effects of alcohol. Not all of them are created equally and they each have their own matrices of considerations/dangers but I find them all to be better than alcohol.
I think there are many good reasons for us to evaluate our relationship with Alcohol but I am unique in that I am in favor of ethical, intelligent, moderate substance use where others combine the health impact of alcohol with a broader philosophical decision of engaging with substances at all. There are REAL health impacts of alcohol but my values lead me to think we should be evaluating other replacement candidates rather than promoting full sobriety.
I must caveat this by saying that concept of critical, moderate, intelligent substance usage is a very complicated idea with real consequences to consider. It’s not an activity that everyone can or should engage in, but I’ve been able to manage moderated substance usage for 15 years now and I have experimented with 100+ Research Chemicals, Nootropics, Peptides, Supplements and other chemical compounds with psychotropic effects.
I’ve just made this up but I may need to write a post about how there is a specific Overton Window regarding accepted substance abuse with unique features and dynamics affecting it.
I agree that we should be evaluating other replacement candidates.
Phenibut is much more dependence-inducing than alcohol (isn’t the practice with phenibut to use it no more than 2x a week?). Duration of action and addiction aside, phenibut is a fantastic drug, especially with regards to pro-sociality. It would be great if we could create a shorter lasting, less addicting phenibut. (Maybe a drug can be engineered so that redosing within 12 hours has no effect?)
I think Gabapentin and Lyrica are also more dependence-inducing than alcohol, or at least build tolerance faster to their recreational effects. L-Theanine is way underpowered compared to alcohol and the other drugs on your list.
Kratom and tianeptine have a different cluster of effects; I don’t think they facilitate socializing and bonding like alcohol does. (Consider the stereotypical image of an opium den vs a bar.)
Kava I haven’t researched much. What are your experiences with it?
GHB comes very close to alcohol in effects, and I’m generally a proponent of replacing alcohol with it on an individual level. Do you have personal experience with it?
A nice cup of tea? Tea-parties and tea-dances are a thing, but i think rather a different thing from alcohol-based gatherings. Maybe these substances would work for the individual, but still depend on the alcohol others are taking.
In my opinion, there are far more effective psychotropic alternatives that have less negatives and even more pronounced anxiolytic and pro-social effects.[1]
My personal experiences with these alternatives have led me to agree that there are very real societal benefits from cultural acceptance and norms regarding substance usage and that humans have had a relationship with psychotropic compounds for a very, very long time. I think that we have not been evaluating societal norms dictating which substances we can engage with. Alcohol, Tobacco (Nicotine), and Caffeine have maintained the largest acceptance area within the “Substance Use Overton Window [SU-OW]”[2] for hundreds if not thousands of years. This dominance within our cultural norms have made it difficult to adopt potentially better alternatives due to them residing outside the SU-OW.
Some options that I have hundreds of experiences with that have all been better or more effective than alcohol:
- Gabapentin
- Lyrica
- Phenibut/F-Phenibut
- L-Theanine
- GHB/BDO
- Kava
- Kratom
- Tianeptine
Some of the above options are also GABAergics, like alcohol, which avoid the toxic effects of alcohol. Not all of them are created equally and they each have their own matrices of considerations/dangers but I find them all to be better than alcohol.
I think there are many good reasons for us to evaluate our relationship with Alcohol but I am unique in that I am in favor of ethical, intelligent, moderate substance use where others combine the health impact of alcohol with a broader philosophical decision of engaging with substances at all. There are REAL health impacts of alcohol but my values lead me to think we should be evaluating other replacement candidates rather than promoting full sobriety.
I must caveat this by saying that concept of critical, moderate, intelligent substance usage is a very complicated idea with real consequences to consider. It’s not an activity that everyone can or should engage in, but I’ve been able to manage moderated substance usage for 15 years now and I have experimented with 100+ Research Chemicals, Nootropics, Peptides, Supplements and other chemical compounds with psychotropic effects.
I’ve just made this up but I may need to write a post about how there is a specific Overton Window regarding accepted substance abuse with unique features and dynamics affecting it.
I agree that we should be evaluating other replacement candidates.
Phenibut is much more dependence-inducing than alcohol (isn’t the practice with phenibut to use it no more than 2x a week?). Duration of action and addiction aside, phenibut is a fantastic drug, especially with regards to pro-sociality. It would be great if we could create a shorter lasting, less addicting phenibut. (Maybe a drug can be engineered so that redosing within 12 hours has no effect?)
I think Gabapentin and Lyrica are also more dependence-inducing than alcohol, or at least build tolerance faster to their recreational effects.
L-Theanine is way underpowered compared to alcohol and the other drugs on your list.
Kratom and tianeptine have a different cluster of effects; I don’t think they facilitate socializing and bonding like alcohol does. (Consider the stereotypical image of an opium den vs a bar.)
Kava I haven’t researched much. What are your experiences with it?
GHB comes very close to alcohol in effects, and I’m generally a proponent of replacing alcohol with it on an individual level. Do you have personal experience with it?
A nice cup of tea? Tea-parties and tea-dances are a thing, but i think rather a different thing from alcohol-based gatherings. Maybe these substances would work for the individual, but still depend on the alcohol others are taking.