Slidey said:
Neb: Barbiturates are like alcohol but stronger. Based off alcohol, I can easily understand their danger.
Yah yah I know what they do, but they're erm, pretty minor in terms of how many abuse them yah? Compared to other drugs of similar intensity. I mean, alcohol's slow acting and pretty light, generally, whereas barbiturates are, like you said, stronger, intense and fast acting. So pretty much anyone who uses alcohol for any positive effect wouldn't use a barbiturate since they pretty much knock you out like *that*
Barbiturates are really easy to make. True story.
KFunk said:
(say, in terms of the resetting of molecular/physiological homeostasis) whereas addiction tends to be a somewhat vague notion (note the potential moral and philosophical undertones - are we addicted to water/sex? Is it only addiction when it is a problem? or when it displaces other behaviors? What defines a 'problem'?).
Perhaps it has a lot to do with what's necessary for the human body. You know, water, food and sex are kinda what humans are designed to use/do, whereas using heroin (or alcohol, or ether) doesn't quite fit into that definition.