Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Lorde, the council and the Powerstation shambles

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  • Russell Brown, in reply to Rich of Observationz,

    So, why bother with craft beer and vineyards and maturing single malt whiskies for 20 years? It’s just a drug, why don’t we just inject pure industrial ethanol into our eyeballs for a quick and cheap hit?

    I don't see how preferences about flavour make alcohol not a drug. I love nice beer and aged single malt, but that kind of makes alcohol a more dangerous drug for me – I really like the taste of good alcoholic beverages.

    But now that legalisation has allowed for differentiation of weed strains, you see people making similar distinctions there.

    I've talked to former junkies who've waxed lyrical about the difference between heroin and homebake, with each having its charms. They're still drugs.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    drug |drəg| - noun
    a medicine or other substance which has a physiological effect when ingested or otherwise introduced into the body:
    • a substance taken for its narcotic or stimulant effects, often illegally:
    figurative : mass adoration is a highly addictive drug.

    interestingly its root is in Middle English: from Old French drogue, possibly from Middle Dutch droge vate, literally ‘dry vats,’ referring to the contents (i.e., dry goods). - Spices, herbs etc
    further reading at; https://www.etymonline.com/word/drug

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Moz, in reply to Ian Dalziel,

    drug |drəg| - noun

    Two things: The UK has outlawed every substance that has a psychoactive effect. So technically everything from peppermint tea to roast turkey now need to be separately assessed and approved, backed with 25 years in jail for selling anything not approved. You can guess how that law is being used (hint: it's not part of the war on christmas).

    I was also subject to a disciplinary hearing at one job for referring to fellow employees as drug addicts. After discussion it was agreed that nicotine and alcohol are indeed drugs so my statement was technically accurate, but I should not repeat that characterisation... of the social committee and company directors. The directors were medical doctors (as well as smokers) and the company sold medical software... you'd think they'd be well familiar with "drugs of addiction" and other phrases that normally label nicotine and alcohol as drugs and their dependents as addicts.

    Sydney, West Island • Since Nov 2006 • 1233 posts Report Reply

  • linger,

    Pretty sure Rich’s point was not that alcohol isn’t a drug: merely that alcohol is not treated socially as only a drug, in that we build rituals and crafts around its use. But the same is also true of other drugs in other societies. They’re all still drugs; the difference lies in whether they are given some additional social status.

    [Oops. My browser failed to refresh, leaving nzlemming's post as the last one showing in this thread. I see things have since moved on. As you were.]

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report Reply

  • mark taslov, in reply to Ian Dalziel,

    figurative : mass adoration is a highly addictive drug.

    personally I find counter-trolling Rich’s distinctive brand of innocuous trolling addictive af – hooked on that shit.

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report Reply

  • mark taslov, in reply to linger,

    we build rituals and crafts around its use

    reminded of my second favourite youtube clip

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report Reply

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