Why is it that the most addictive substances are also the most dangerous? Shouldn’t those two factors be independent?
In: Chemistry
We call harmless or beneficial addictive substances “necessities”. People don’t complain about how everybody craves oxygen or water even though nobody would voluntarily go without them. Even things like sugar or mental stimulation or sex only get called addiction in the most severe cases, where it interferes with other necessities of life. Marijuana and alcohol are “habit forming”, it’s only harder drugs like heroin or meth that are addictive. Nicotine and cocaine moved from cool pick-me-ups to addictions as the political winds changed against them.
The two factors *are* independent, our terminology is not.
Latest Answers