Calling alcohol a "drug"

[Damien]

I get it. It alters your perception. It has a physiological effect when ingested. It's a drugs.
What I don't get is that when someone is fairly drunk, they us the term "He/she is on drugs"

So I come here with a question;

Who here would refer to being drunk as being on drugs. Why do you say this? Do you have some kind of problem with alcohol?
I don't feel to good with people taking cocaine but I don't go out of my way to call them junkies.

Does anyone here know people that call alcohol a drug. Not because it is one, but because that is what their belief is. Or whatever...

you know

[DancingTomato]

Alcohol and caffeine are 'drugs.' After having tea or after a few beers, I do not consider it being "on the drugs."

[HungarianSupermarket]

Cannabis is a drug too but people usually say "that guy is stoned" instead of "that guy is on drugs". English is just a compliated language. We have a lot of words to describe very similar things.

Nobody says they are going to starbucks to get high, even though they technically are.

[Rallard]

Sometimes when I go out with my friends and they get drunk, I tell the sober people I'm with that "I hate hanging out with these fools when they're on drugs." Alcohol may be legal but it's a DRUG, okay, and it's bad for you and if you're drunk then you're on drugs. Treat it as such, refer to it as such.

[Damien]

At 1 minute ago, Rallard wrote: Sometimes when I go out with my friends and they get drunk, I tell the sober people I'm with that "I hate hanging out with these fools when they're on drugs." Alcohol may be legal but it's a DRUG, okay, and it's bad for you and if you're drunk then you're on drugs. Treat it as such, refer to it as such.

So we should refer people that come out of starbucks or who drink coffee all day long to being on drugs now? Okay, lets see how that goes.

[kanef]

drug = some chemical that changes your body.

alcohol is a drug,
caffeine is a drug,
hell, even aspirin is a drug.

[Rallard]

At 13 seconds ago, Damien wrote: So we should refer people that come out of starbucks or who drink coffee all day long to being on drugs now? Okay, lets see how that goes.

Thanks for stealing someone else's example, pleb.

And yes, we should. Caffeine is dangerous as well, and anyone who needs mind-altering substances to function is a waste of life as far as I'm concerned.

[MushookieMan]

At 1 minute ago, Damien wrote:

At 1 minute ago, Rallard wrote: Sometimes when I go out with my friends and they get drunk, I tell the sober people I'm with that "I hate hanging out with these fools when they're on drugs." Alcohol may be legal but it's a DRUG, okay, and it's bad for you and if you're drunk then you're on drugs. Treat it as such, refer to it as such.

So we should refer people that come out of starbucks or who drink coffee all day long to being on drugs now? Okay, lets see how that goes.

So yes, in most cases referring to being drunk as being on drugs means that the speaker has something against alchohol. They are being willfully ignorant of a specific term and use a more ambiguous one. Of course one exception would be if someone wasn't a native speaker and didn't know which to use.

[MushookieMan]

At 1 minute ago, Rallard wrote: And yes, we should. Caffeine is dangerous as well, and anyone who needs mind-altering substances to function is a waste of life as far as I'm concerned.

Good thing nobody cares about your opinion.

[Damien]

At 1 minute ago, Kane-Farrell wrote: drug = some chemical that changes your body.

alcohol is a drug,
caffeine is a drug,
hell, even aspirin is a drug.

I KNOW. THATS WHAT I SAID. But refering to it in a casual conversation is what bothers me. We have specific words for specific types of drugs. Thats why words like "drunk" or "high" or "tripping balls" are here.
Putting everything into one specific category is a fascist and extreme form of thinking.

If I'd take your extreme example, I could call all fascists and extremist nazis or a communist or a fucking republican.

You see how many grey areas there are? I don't get you people anymore.

[Rallard]

At 1 minute ago, MushookieMan wrote:

At 1 minute ago, Rallard wrote: And yes, we should. Caffeine is dangerous as well, and anyone who needs mind-altering substances to function is a waste of life as far as I'm concerned.

Good thing nobody cares about your opinion.

Nobody ever cares about my opinion on this site. But the fact of the matter is: I'm right, you know it, and you just gotta deal with it.

[StationToStation]

At 9 minutes ago, Damien wrote: I get it. It alters your perception. It has a physiological effect when ingested. It's a drugs.
What I don't get is that when someone is fairly drunk, they us the term "He/she is on drugs"

So I come here with a question;

Who here would refer to being drunk as being on drugs. Why do you say this? Do you have some kind of problem with alcohol?
I don't feel to good with people taking cocaine but I don't go out of my way to call them junkies.

Does anyone here know people that call alcohol a drug. Not because it is one, but because that is what their belief is. Or whatever...

you know

Yes it is a drug and while someone who is drunk is on drugs, to describe them as being so, whilst being accurate, is liable to start an argument with them or give others the impression that they are breaking the law. So I would just call them drunk.

I have had issues with alcoholism and many great men have and so have many dubious men - an addiction is merely that. Why, how often do you see people on their hands and knees looking for used cigarette buds to smoke? Daily, I'll bet.

I don't make a value judgement about the people who take illegal drugs, but yes they are breaking the law. Is it prudent? No. Even so-called "soft" drugs like marijuana can have terrible effects. I have known people who have went mad from it. When I was younger I wanted to try amphetamines, I never did, but I was really hoping to get mania.

I know a couple of people who still do it and haven't went mad yet. I hope one of them does and the other I am cool with. Most people take drugs to be cool and break the law, I took alcohol beacuse it made me feel alive, I needed it like a whore needs spunk. I was a vessel, like most people are (and I still am), I needed alcohol to come alive.

I still miss it. I want to drink right now. I want to drink myself into oblivion.

[Gimmick]

"It's a drugs".

[Elfer]

I'd say if someone says that, they're just trying to be an asshole and deliberately misleading with their phrasing. You can be technically correct and still be abusing context. Context, of course, being much more relevant to having your meaning understood than dictionary definitions are. Ludwig Wittgenstein probably put it best when he said "The meaning of a word is its usage."

For example, if someone said "The military is having trouble controlling the population. They are trying to impose order in the city by cracking down on resistance from civilians, but many of the citizens remain recalcitrant," You would more or less understand what the person meant, even if you've never heard the word recalcitrant before. This is why infants can learn a language, despite not having any previous structure to build on.

In other words, any time someone uses a common phrase to describe a situation, you disagree, and the next thing out of their mouth is "Well, actually..." then they're probably just an idiot trying to look clever.

[Rallard]

At 6 minutes ago, StationToStation wrote: Most people take drugs to be cool and break the law

Maybe most 12 year olds.

Do you honestly picture a drug user taking his drug and going, "Heheh, fuck tha police, I'm a pretty cool guy," instead of doing it for the effects?

[StationToStation]

At 1 minute ago, Rallard wrote:

At 6 minutes ago, StationToStation wrote: Most people take drugs to be cool and break the law

Maybe most 12 year olds.

Do you honestly picture a drug user taking his drug and going, "Heheh, fuck tha police, I'm a pretty cool guy," instead of doing it for the effects?

Yes. I have known plenty of people who do drugs and the initial reason seems to be hipness. I do know one person who quite marijuana who stated that it's not as good as getting pissed.

You have far too much faith in humanity and the people of my country pretty much do things because they are not meant to. I remember during the riots - and this is the attitude of the middle aged alone - the common consensus is that they were justified because the police shot that arms dealer kid just because he was black, because "when do they ever do anything good?".

Honestly, a grown man is not better than a 12 year old - a grown man is worse.

[MushookieMan]

At 11 minutes ago, Rallard wrote:

At 1 minute ago, MushookieMan wrote:

At 1 minute ago, Rallard wrote: And yes, we should. Caffeine is dangerous as well, and anyone who needs mind-altering substances to function is a waste of life as far as I'm concerned.

Good thing nobody cares about your opinion.

Nobody ever cares about my opinion on this site. But the fact of the matter is: I'm right, you know it, and you just gotta deal with it.

You say you're right that people who drink coffee are a waste of life? Doesn't that imply they should be culled from the population? That's the strangest justification for eugenics I've ever seen.

[StationToStation]

At 3 minutes ago, MushookieMan wrote:

At 11 minutes ago, Rallard wrote:

At 1 minute ago, MushookieMan wrote:

At 1 minute ago, Rallard wrote: And yes, we should. Caffeine is dangerous as well, and anyone who needs mind-altering substances to function is a waste of life as far as I'm concerned.

Good thing nobody cares about your opinion.

Nobody ever cares about my opinion on this site. But the fact of the matter is: I'm right, you know it, and you just gotta deal with it.

You say you're right that people who drink coffee are a waste of life? Doesn't that imply they should be culled from the population? That's the strangest justification for eugenics I've ever seen.

The world is vastly overpopulated anyways and everyone has it coming to him. Fuck it, I'm an ex-drunkard who takes 10 energy drinks a day to stay awake, but I agree with him - put me in the gas chamber too.

I would like to request, however, that you make a human skull pyramid at the end, Khan-style.

[Damien]

This Rallard guy is really rustling my jimmies guys.
Well, if it weren't for him we wouldn't have an active discussion I guess.

If it weren't for the haters and cunts this thread would've been over before I farted a second time.

Please never change.

[Rapacity]

Damien, the people you're hanging out with are calling you a crackhead by saying that you're on drugs.

[PIED3]

Are you genuinely upset that somebody accurately described someone under the influence of alcohol as "on drugs" because it's not the most specific term they could of used? If you were confused it would take one second to end any possible misunderstanding "On drugs, what are you talking about? He's only drunk!" "Alcohol is a drug" - conflict over. It would be odd for an argument to go on beyond that explanation because there's nothing left to dispute.
As for it not being specific, why is that a big deal? Do you get annoyed when people say "He is drunk!" rather than "Jim is quite drunk." or perhaps even that annoys you! Maybe you want "Jimmy McGordan has drunk 5 units of alcohol in a 2 hour period and because of this his reaction time is reduced, he is slightly of balance and some of his previous inhibitions and insecurities are gone!". Your complaint is extremely stupid and petty.

[Rallard]

At 7 minutes ago, Damien wrote: This Rallard guy is really rustling my jimmies guys.

Why? Because you know I'm right? And take your rustling jimmies back to 4chan, that phrase should have died months ago.

A clear body is a clear mind, or so they say. How can you even argue against that?

[Freaki-boy92]

People call it a drug because it is.
It's a legal drug, but it's still a drug

[Rapacity]

At 2 minutes ago, Rallard wrote:

At 7 minutes ago, Damien wrote: This Rallard guy is really rustling my jimmies guys.

Why? Because you know I'm right? And take your rustling jimmies back to 4chan, that phrase should have died months ago.

A clear body is a clear mind, or so they say. How can you even argue against that?

Because smoking anything instantly makes your cool points increase to 9001.

[Damien]

At 1 minute ago, Rallard wrote:

At 7 minutes ago, Damien wrote: This Rallard guy is really rustling my jimmies guys.

Why? Because you know I'm right? And take your rustling jimmies back to 4chan, that phrase should have died months ago.

A clear body is a clear mind, or so they say. How can you even argue against that?

I'm not arguing against that. I'm arguing against the nitpicking. The fact that you're not acknowledging grey areas. Like being drunk or high on caffeine. That shit pisses me off because there is so much more out there then being a condescending prick because someone isn't as "pure" as you are.

And the whole "A clear body makes a clear mind" phrase can also be seen the other way around. As in a clear mind makes for a clear body.
From what I see it your mind is troubled by the people who abuse substances. And your body will suffer from this, in stress form.

It's also an entire life style. Its living your life in a clear way. A clear mind can be found in complete abstinence of everything.

This includes masturbation; material goods; and all the other goodies that society has to offer.

So unless you're okay with people calling you an arrogant prick, please stop being black and white.

And I apologize for my shitty 4chan terms. I've been away from this place for far too long. Also, the reason I used that phrase is because I was somewhat joking and you weren't really getting on my nervers(or whatever the fuck it means), you're a cool guy. Don't sweat it. Just avoid being close minded.

[Sense-Offender]

At 5 minutes ago, Rallard wrote: How can you even argue against that?

Hitchens wasn't a waste of life. There are plenty of people who take alcohol or other mind altering substances and are thoughtful and can or do make a difference. no drugs? Say goodbye to much of the great music out there. Don't be so black and white, and don't be so close-minded.

[Rallard]

At 1 minute ago, Damien wrote: From what I see it your mind is troubled by the people who abuse substances. And your body will suffer from this, in stress form.

Haha, what?

My body is perfectly fine. I don't stress over low-lifes who have to rely on mind altering substances to get through the day. You failed pretty hard trying to turn my own argument against me. Doesn't work like that, sorry.

I'm fine with people taking drugs for medical reasons. But what medical reason does caffeine have? It doesn't. It's a crutch to use to get through the day. Alcohol is a crutch to use to enjoy life more, when you're perfectly capable of being happy sober if you want to be.

[Damien]

At 15 minutes ago, Rapacity wrote: Damien, the people you're hanging out with are calling you a crackhead by saying that you're on drugs.

I know right, what the fuck bro. The worst part is that they're on drugs themselves.

See what I did there? I just confused the fuck out of everybody because the person that said this doesn't do anything else besides drinking, you might think that this person smokes weed or snorts coke. BUT NOP. JUST DRUGS. NO NOT THAT DRUGS. THE OTHER DRUGS. THE DRUGS THAT ISNT AS BAD AS THE OTHER DRUGS?

This shit can be confusing. Call alcohol alcohol, call weed weed. The collective all these things are drugs.

[LostFaceInTrain]

Its addictive, therefore a drug

[Damien]

At 4 minutes ago, Rallard wrote: I'm fine with people taking drugs for medical reasons. But what medical reason does caffeine have? It doesn't. It's a crutch to use to get through the day. Alcohol is a crutch to use to enjoy life more, when you're perfectly capable of being happy sober if you want to be.

Your crutch is an internet forum.
Therefor you are a hypocrite.