Cerebral vs Visceral Experience

People enjoy getting fucked up. This has really been the case since early civilization began to develop and monks began experimenting with different fermenting techniques. They figured out how to ferment grain, and voilà--humans were no longer nomads. At least that is the story someone told me.. the myth of the genesis of alcohol.

In America, we have a strange contradiction in the legal system. In many circles the discussion has become cliche with the extent that it is merely a self-satisfying circle-jerk for like-minded people who want to rant about the system of control in which they are trapped. I'm talking, of course, about the marijuana vs alcohol debate.

Some people drink alcohol, and frown upon pot smoking. Some people smoke pot, and drink, too. There are probably even those who smoke pot, but frown upon drinking. I haven't met many people who smoke pot but are purposefully against drinking, but there are those who refrain from drinking in favor of smoking marijuana. The reason that these two very popular recreational substances are so interesting in light of one another is because one is legal and one is illegal. Yet, the usage of both is perhaps the same in the age group 18-28.

Personally, I prefer smoking over drinking and I don't like to mix the two. When they mix, I usually get the spins. I've asked people, and they all say they feel the same way. This is a positive thing for some--a negative for others. The reason these substances in compound create such mixed feelings among users is because they intoxicate in a fundamentally different way.

When a person gets high, THC is absorbed into their bloodstream and creates a euphoric effect. This feeling is best described as a "cerebral" experience. Sometimes people smoke weed that produces a "body buzz," but the most commonly affected part of the body when smoking is the brain. This is why once high, a person will begin to notice a more active imagination. Paranoia is evidence of an over-active imagination. But in essence, pot smokers primarily think more, or perceive that they are thinking more because of marijuana's primary intoxicating effect.

Alcohol is a different story altogether. Once alcohol is absorbed into the blood stream it is filtered by the liver. As opposed to the feeling of increased sensitivity in marijuana intoxication, alcohol sedates the user, and makes the user desensitized. This is why drinking and dancing go hand in hand. The user is desensitized and uninhibited, and can really only feel the percussive elements of the music. Stoned people, as opposed to drunk people, may be more inclined to musical intricacies and complexities. Drunk people just want a good beat and refrain so they can dance and sing along without having to remember much.

Alcohol is a visceral experience. This means it is mostly a bodily experience. People drink to get out of their head, to drown their problems--at least that is one reason why people enjoy drinking. Drinking allows one to let their guard down by releasing their inhibitions. Weed makes people more paranoid because every thought is amplified.

All of these assertions are rooted in personal experience. Either I have made these observations about smoking and drinking, or I've learned them through discussion with people about drinking and smoking experiences. So, take it all with a grain of salt--but don't dismiss it all together logomaniacs.

Another interesting issue about the debate between marijuana and alcohol is that one is more lethal than the other, and yet it is legal. Alcohol is far more lethal than marijuana. It is possible to drink enough alcohol to be poisoned, not to mention the consequences of being intoxicated and have all of your senses dulled and impaired. Marijuana has a toxicity, but it would require more than 750 joints of the most potent strain of ganj, and they would have to be smoked in less than fifteen minutes in order to reach overdose. Realistically, no one could smoke that much. Additionally, marijuana does not impair the motor functions of most users.

On average, the general reaction is to be hungry, happy and lazy, with plenty of deep and colorful thoughts to keep you company. Alcohol can also make a person happy, but it can also make a person sentimental. The difference between being happy and sentimental is that sentimentality be emotionally multi-polar. There also is a risk of using alcohol intoxication as an excuse to be excessively emotive, saying and doing things they wouldn't normally do if sober.

Marijuana brings out the lethargy in the person using it; alcohol brings out the animal. Marijuana is a cerebral experience, and alcohol is a visceral. One is mostly a euphoria of the mind, the other of the body. This explains why the mixing of the two causes such...undesirable...results. Again, whether this is really undesirable varies from user to user.

Other contentions against the usage of Marijuana is that it is currently illegal in the United States. This is reason enough for some people to stay away from it, but not everyone follows the speed limit all the time. Of course, there are certain rules that people are suppose to abide by when imbibing alcohol, and those limitations are often pushed--hence the amount of advertisement threatening the consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol.

So, should people smoke even though it is illegal? People still drive even though drinking is illegal. Is drinking and driving the same as smoking and driving? As I have tried to explain the intoxicating effects of the two substances are entirely different, and should not be treated as though they are the same. Paradoxically, they should be considered with the same criteria when it comes to determining their legality.

I'm inclined to promote a philosophy that suggests that what is necessary to govern the flock is irrelevant to a single sheep. That is granted that the sheep can think for itself. But we aren't sheep--we are complex biological organisms that have developed ideological structures to help organize and control the masses. Individuals often slip through the nets cast out to keep everything contained. And there are too few people both loyal and zealous enough to hunt down and enforce the ideals that hold civilization together. Therefore, I do believe that if one is responsible enough, confrontation with law enforcement should be avoidable.

Finally, I'm not suggesting that marijuana is better than alcohol, but I am saying that they serve two different purposes when it comes to recreational intoxication. Also, great care should be taken when mixing the two as excesses of both can lead to serious and/or unwelcome consequences. Enjoy your leisure time, have fun and do what you will--but harm none with malice.