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Culture War Roundup for the week of March 2, 2026

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Yes.

I extensively experimented with that method and in my experience, it's been a dud. Some limited use can help at first, but the nervous system quickly adapts to the substance and becomes dependent on it, at which point the effect on socializing is more often to suppress one's vitality and make one dull than it is to create a sexual glow. And the negative effects on health are really bad.

My experiences with alcohol are that it makes me a sad, weeping drunk about half the time and an utterly silly, horny drunk the other half. That roulette wheel can be fun with an intimate partner you already want to have sex with, but I don't think it would be sensible with a stranger.

Alcohol does not, however, make me more social, except with people I'm already likely to be social with. So I might be more talkative to a friend, but I wouldn't be more likely to be socially gregarious to a third party or a date I barely know. And at the point where I'd consumed enough alcohol to get to that point, I would already be so impaired that I came off as uncoordinated and slurring even to myself, which probably means other people would perceive me as mad drunk.

I also tried phenibut once, before the FDA cracked down on it, and as best I could tell it had exactly 0 effect.