I know it’s a fun story that dolphins pass pufferfish or something and the venom gets them “high” but I wonder if this is accurate. This seems like a cute urban legend more than genuine animal psychology. Or am I wrong? Is it scientifically verified somehow that dolphins have the cognitive ability to deliberately abuse drugs and get high socially?
In: Biology
It seems to be true. Here’s a video of the them doing it.
There are those that reject this theory.
https://grist.org/living/dolphins-arent-getting-high-on-pufferfish/
>Tetrodotoxin simply doesn’t make sense as a drug (and let’s be honest — if it did, humans would be snorting it off bathroom counters already). In very, very, very low doses, tetrodotoxin causes … slight lightheadedness … I guess it’s possible to see how one might relate these mild effects to the “high” feeling that comes from THC, the main ingredient in marijuana, but it’s a stretch to say the least …
>People get poisoned with TTX every year, and there’s a reason you don’t hear anyone describing the experience as a ‘high’: that’s not how tetrodotoxin works … It’s a poison, not a party drug. There is nothing fun about it.
…but I think this ignores the fact that different species have different physiologies. Some things that humans ingest are poisonous to other species. For instance, grapes are poisonous to dogs. That the dolphins don’t show the same adverse reaction to pufferfish as humans shows that this is the case. Dolphin tolerate pufferfish toxin ingestion and seemingly seek it out.
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