I had never considered that before, but it makes sense.

Just goes to show that the more "moralists" try to keep people from anything remotely mood-altering, the more actual damage they can cause.

I agree that the toll taken by alcoholism is staggering; but then again, as long as we continue to see such behavior as caused by the drug, rather than a symptom of how people are trying to self-medicate, we will continue to do all the wrong things.

For example, it is a death penalty offense in North Korea to watch television programs from outside the country; and yet, people there still do so. Punishment, as any of us on a restricted diet can attest, is a very short term consideration.

I used candy, pizza, and ice cream to self-medicate during a very stressful time in my life. It was dangerous (I had an eating disorder) and would have had long term health consequences had it continued.

Yet if we banned such things, I have no doubt there would be a black market in it