eli5: if the substance of choice is legal, what stops one from getting intoxicated on their deathbed ?
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Many people die this way, even with illegal substances. Death is not quite as serene as the other poster made it seem. Many deaths are painful– we can speculate about the moment of death, but for those with horrible terminal illnesses, no speculation is required. Our society tends to force people to prolong their suffering as long as possible as if living was some sort of race, even when they’re in pain(see the battle against euthanasia).
To answer your question about what *exactly* stops people from attempting to alleviate the pain and anxiety of death, probably the taboo on drugs is the main thing. The second is the religious idea that suicide, even when you’ve lived a long life, or even if you’ve lived a long life in **horrible pain**, is somehow forbidden. These two taboos are the main things “stopping” someone from doing what you propose in many cases.
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