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PaperclipPerfector  5d ago (text post)   2491 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for April 25, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Alcohol can enhance social bonding; nicotine can enhance learning. But what is the best possible use case of cannabis? Can it serve a prosocial function in a specific context?

The only thing I can think of is that it can transiently “heighten” non-cognitive sensations, and so it may be useful for highly sensory experiences — anything from large meals to the highly sensory experience of a beach. This would be a general pleasure-amplifier, which may be worth the cannabis costs if the experience is highly sensory, and would also give us a better memory of the experience (possibly).

Is there any other “benefit” to it? I don’t think if enhances social bonds like alcohol, and its relaxation effects are too transient and come at a higher cost with more anxiety later on.

It genuinely does boost creativity by helping you see your own projects from different angles, helps you sleep, and is an amazing aphrodisiac.

I have the general impression that the "enhanced social bonding" of alcohol is just the same sort of euphemism that people use to justify the use of cannabis.

Alcohol makes the deliberate thinky bits stop working as well, so the behaviors exhibited by drunk people are less likely to be part of complex and deliberate social maneuvering. Behaving desirably while drunk is a costly signal of actually being desirable and not faking it.

Saying this in so many words is discouraged unless you dress it up in euphemisms like "lowered inhibitions".

I think that half of the effect of alcohol is entirely placebo. Legally and socially, we give a lot of slack to any behavior displayed while inebriated. So being drunk gives you plausible deniability to act on your desires (within reason) without being judged by society or yourself.

For example, consider sexual promiscuity1 in women. Some women are not interested in causal sex, and some are openly promiscuous -- which is typically seen as defection by some other women and invites some social censure. But another strategy for women who are into causal sex is to only display promiscuous behavior when drunk2. Something like "sure, I made out with a stranger in that club, but I was drunk, so it does not count". I might be talking out of my backside here3 but I think it is likely that for a given sex act with a stranger, the fraction of women who would be willing to engage in it while inebriated is 2--3 times the fraction which would engage in it while totally sober.

1 Not that I find anything wrong with that, if there was an endless supply of strangers who mutually wanted to have sex with me, I would probably be rather promiscuous.

2 Of course, this is complicated by the fact that inebriation is also frequently desired for non-instrumental reasons. Which is what makes the plausible deniability work in the first place.

3 The only thing which would qualify me less would be an ordination into the RCC.

THC is highly variable in it's impact on different people.

But let's operate under the assumption that complete sobriety is an unrealistic goal.

THC has important advantages over virtually every other intoxicant. It basically can't kill you on its own. It's less addictive than alternatives. DUI deaths drop where people sub THC for alcohol.

I'd also say that weed is a great family drug. It improves sex, but I can't imagine trying to have sex with anyone I shouldn't be having sex with. It settles anxieties and smoothes chronic pain. Lubricates social occasions like hanging out with the elderly or children, it's the family drug: provoking laughter rather than fighting.

It's a great social drug. I had edilbles when I bummed around ait was amazing.

My favorite anecdotes include one where my Italian friend had way too much. He only smoked but never had an edible, and I had to drop him off at his room. I was quite high too. It felt like being in a video game in real time. It was raining very slightly. We walked through the dark, party-lit mountain roads of Thailand, which were quite reminiscent of Far Cry 3 and the setting there. Fuck, I can't wait to do it again.

Is there any other “benefit” to it? I don’t think if enhances social bonds like alcohol.

It does. Taking any drug alone seems off to me because the social aspect amps everything by 100x. Any kind of substance usage done alone is a massive red flag unless its some high-brow liquor.

It works reasonably well as pain management for certain types of chronic pain.

In a ludicrously-narrow application, I have a friend who can only tolerate eating fish after utilizing THC.

Incredible.

He and his wife joined me and mine on vacation. We were all staying on the coast and the other three of us wanted to go to a seafood restaurant for dinner one night. He asked that he not drive, consumed a gummy, and joined us.

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