Drunk is the only time I truly enjoy life. Life is just dredging on day after day on a work, commute, sleep pattern that makes me hope for a young death

When I drink I feel like life is supposed to feel like. I feel like little things can make me happy and I truly enjoy those little things. If it kills me, at least I died enjoying SOMETHING. I know I need to stop, but it so hard when everything else is so awful.

That being said, labels would make sense.

I wish there were more choices of non-alcohol beers, but it's usually a choice of one shitty brand that tastes like soap or worse. There are good non-alcohol beers, but bars and pubs seem to have no interest in them.

If they put half the regulation effort into booze the same way they do with cannabis we wouldn’t be having this discussion.

Well here's the thing though (not to invalidate what you are saying about cannabis users). I'm just saying because I work in the field of addiction, and it's a bit of a twist on the perspective

People often have an unconscious idea that the mood altering substance drives the behavior. But it's actually the other way around, typically the specifics of the individual's mental health and emotional issues drive the consumption of the specific substance.

Alcohol users, for example, have generally extreme anxiety disorders. Those arise for a variety of very valid reasons. So it's more accurate to say people who have severe anxiety, tend to self-medicate with alcohol. And people who stick with cannabis, have other issues they are running from

It's just a little twist on perspective, that's all. A lot of times we think about what alcohol does to people, but neglect to see that the problem preceeds the drinking

I will declare my bias, even though I am a cannabis user, I think it is a substance which most people are in heavy denial about. We are currently exiting the zeitgeist of "it's a panacea" and finally starting to embrace the fact that it's a very dangerous substance for most users. We can overtly see for example a drunk punching a hole in the wall, but we don't really see in the same way, a heavy cannabis user who's becoming emotionally non-functional and can't govern his/her own life. Or who can no longer distinguish observable reality from the thoughts in their head.

It is zero. I was shocked at the effects of trace amounts of ethanol seen to mitochondrial function in my lab. Far less than a single shot in the body.

Labels are fine but increasing the price sounds ridiculous. I don't drink alcohol but I cook with it all the time. I don't need an increase in my grocery bill.

Education is the important part. I'm astounded that some people don't know how bad alcohol is...

My grandpa was dry and an uncle was alcoholic for a long time. My upbringing was never shy from talking about the negative effects of alcohol.

However, our society is built such that alcohol is part of the machine to keep the anxiety at bay. Forcing a reduction of alcohol consumption by itself is a bad idea, as it would make all the anxiety problems worst. Make sure people know how dangerous it is, but allow people to find other tools to help where alcohol is used.

How to you break the social barrier of low confidence and shyness in young adults? How to you recharge and reset the overworked office brain? How to you release muscle tension after a long day of sports?

Hard agree. The amount of alcohol that humans can safely consume is approaching zero.

The reality hasn't changed, only our understanding of it.

20 years ago was 2005. It declined heavily from the 80s.

Well it feels like more people are smoking weed than they used to.

I think your view is very rational and compassionate. And I work in addiction recovery, so I'm actually proud of you for being informed enough to hold those opinions, especially as you haven't suffered through an addiction. I would love it if more people took a more sober (heh) and humane view such as yourself.

To touch on what I'm thinking about your 2nd paragraph, I view alcohol as humanity's oldest anti-anxiety medication. Perhaps its a one-dimensional view but I feel it explains it's grip on people well into this "modern" age. (Well, modern enough to know better, right?) And not to get into a whole political foofaraw, I do think that capitalism has propped up huge industries that preyed on human frailty and vice, and governments got "addicted" to vice tax as well. Government has always been heavily embroiled, and those mammoth brewing corporations have insane political clout.

I've always had a strange interest in the undercurrents of liquor/social policy in my home Province of Manitoba. I've followed the evolution of our laws and policy far more than any normal person would. I could give an extemporaneous 2 hour presentation, with hot questions no effort lol

Our story starts in the late 70's where liquor stores were open 10am-3pm M-F and any establishment which sold beer must have an attached hotel (under the justification that should a person find themselves intoxicated, they would have safe haven). Beer stores were open from 9am-6pm for the working man, as nobody got drunk on beer, only ever on spirits... or so it was said...

Yeah, it's like the pictures on cigarette packages. We all know it's terrible for us, but if you're addicted it probably won't make a difference.

Still I'm all for it, it could help someone on the way to an addiction to think over their consumption.

I dunno. I was surprised to learn the extent to which it’s carcinogenic. And the fact that there are no known benefits.

Maybe a warning label would have helped him not get addicted.

I also don't think most people know it's a major carcinogen. They think of it in terms of alcohol poisoning and nothing else.