We’ve all heard all of the stereotypes of alcoholics and stoners, alcoholics being loud and rude, maybe even being violent, and stoners being calm yet over the top with where their minds wanders off to. And for the most part, these assumptions true. Talking to a designated sober person in any party situation can offer a lot of light into which they prefer to take care of when under the influence. And in the grand scheme of things, our society would rather promote the process of becoming an alcoholic more than being a stoner.

Even though some substances are legal in many states, there’s still a massive regulation difference between recreational drugs and alcohol. And I’m not saying we should make all drugs legal, I’m just saying with two highly dangerous substances we shouldn’t villainize one and turn a blind eye to another. Keeping both sides and not stigmatizing just one can both help keep people open about what they do for fun and also keep the public aware of the obvious dangers to both activities.

Also in my long time being the designated sober person, I feel taking care of friends who are at a moderate level of being high is a lot better to deal with rather than a drunk friend who’s equally under the influence. Maybe it’s just the people I expose myself to, but someone who’s high, in my opinion, is a lot calmer compared to drunk friends who would get pretty aggressive. With that said, having it more publicly accepted to be drunk than high is a shame due to how most people’s reaction to a reasonable amount of exposure to drugs is less bothersome and a tad bit less dangerous than drinking.

Some might say due to drugs messing with brain chemistry and has potential for permanent damage, they should be more regulated. To those people I ask, is there a body part that alcohol affects greatly? Yes, too much alcohol can lead to kidney problems and even failure. Even though the kidney isn’t on the same level of importance as the brain in some people’s eyes, having kidney problems is very painful and can lead to a very painful death.

Yet still, people say that drugs always lead to negatively affects no matter the dosage or amount consumed, which is highly hypocritical when you do your research about what leads to alcohol poisoning or drug-induced brain damage. It depends on a lot of factors for both and is actually very similar to each other with the person’s size, metabolism, history of these issues running in their families, and many more.

Again, I’m not condoning a stoner lifestyle over one that chooses to drink, I’m just saying both sides have issues and are very dangerous. We shouldn’t focus all our effort into restricting one side and letting the other be as socially acceptable as it is. If we are going to villainize or even turn a blind eye to either alcohol or drugs, we shouldn’t be exclusive about it.