If you asked people what the world’s most
popular drug is, what would the most common answer be? Many people will say marijuana, or cannabis
if they’re pretentious potheads. There will be some people that get closer
by saying tobacco or alcohol. Probably fewer than say weed, because when
most of us hear the word drug we think of illegal drugs. However, none of these are correct. The right answer: caffeine. We don’t think of drinking coffee as doing
drugs, but that’s what it is. So read on to find out more about the only
recreational drug that your parents will encourage you to take with that Starbucks gift card
they send you at Christmas.
10. It Makes You Feel Good The main reason that people take drugs is
because they make the user feel good. Drugs can make us feel so good that they’re
dangerous. Some people are willing to take them despite
the side effects and risks. The lows and highs for coffee aren’t quite
as extreme as heroin, but as you’ll see they do exist. Let’s start with the high. Caffeine consumption stimulates the release
of the chemical dopamine, which leads to euphoria. Other drugs that rely on dopamine include
cocaine and ecstasy. Recent research has shown that caffeine also
acts on the same neurotransmitters that marijuana does.
So, that buzz you feel when you have your
first cup of joe in the morning is caused by chemicals being released in your brain’s
reward system. In addition to the rise in productivity, this
is another one of the positive effects of caffeine consumption. 9. It Can Have Side Effects Like most things in life, caffeine can have
some nasty side effects, especially if consumed to excess. Most of us know that it can cause insomnia,
nervousness, and anxiety. However, there are other negative possibilities
as well. These are much more rare, but they do occur. In some people, caffeine may cause stomach
problems, nausea, vomiting, headaches, chest pains, and increased heart rate. There are also some people who should take
extra caution.
It can sometimes make anxiety disorders or
bipolar disorder worse. It’s also probably good to avoid it if you
are pregnant or if you are a child. It also can make certain problems worse, like
glaucoma, epilepsy, and high blood pressure. If you have something like that that impacts
your life, make sure you talk to your doctor, or more realistically, look it up online. Again, these effects are rare but it’s good
to at least keep them in mind. 8. You Build Up a Tolerance Has this ever happened to you? You do something fun you’ve never done before,
and the first time you do it it’s incredibly intense and memorable.
The next time you do it, it’s still really,
really good, but maybe not quite as intense. But you still really like it, so you do it
a lot. And after a while, it’s still kind of fun
but it’s not the same. You enjoy it, but not as much. You just built up a tolerance. That’s what happens when you consume a substance
often. And this happens with caffeine as well as
with other drugs. In one study, subjects became desensitized
to the effects of caffeine in the first four days of consumption. This tolerance building is why you tend to
need more over time in order to feel the same effects. The best way to keep your tolerance low is
to keep your consumption levels low. And if you feel you’re drinking too much,
you can always take a few days off. But, that might be hard because… 7. It Can Cause Withdrawal When someone tries to quit taking a hard drug,
let’s say heroin, there are often withdrawal symptoms. Part of the reason it’s hard to quit is
because the drug makes us feel good, but another reason is because stopping feels so bad.
This is the case with caffeine for many people. Attempting to stop consuming caffeine can
lead to withdrawal symptoms. Caffeine use releases adrenaline, which causes
an energy boost. But this energy boost wears out eventually,
and many people decide that means it’s time for more caffeine. But overconsumption can wear down your adrenal
gland, making you dependent on the adrenaline boost provided by caffeine. This leads to withdrawal symptoms ranging
from headache to constipation to depression. Luckily, these are usually milder than the
withdrawals experienced by heroin addicts and will usually go away within a week or
so. Whew! 6. You Can Overdose On It Most things should be enjoyed in moderation,
if at all. Caffeine has tons of health benefits, but
too much of a good thing can turn into a bad thing. According to the Mayo Clinic, up to 400 mg
of caffeine per day is safe in healthy adults. But, this amount differs based on your age,
weight, and sex.
Caffeine overdose usually only leads to unpleasant
symptoms that go away once the caffeine is flushed out of your body. So, most of the time, it’s not that bad. Milder symptoms include dizziness, diarrhea,
and fever. But you should go to the doctor if you experience
trouble breathing, vomiting, or convulsions. It’s probably best you go to the doctor
after that whether you drank any caffeine or not. To avoid all this, keep your daily caffeine
level below 400 mg, and even less if you aren’t used to it or are a particularly small person. 5. It Can Kill You As we said earlier, caffeine overdose usually
only leads to mildly unpleasant symptoms.
Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. In extremely rare cases, it can actually help
kill you. Again, this can only happen if large amounts
are consumed in a small amount of time. Back in April, a teen in South Carolina died
after drinking a McDonald’s latte, a large Mountain Dew, and an energy drink in under
2 hours. He suffered from a caffeine induced cardiac
arrhythmia. Based on estimates, he may have consumed about
470 mg of caffeine, over the daily recommended limit, in under two hours. The energy drink is particularly to blame,
as it contains tons of caffeine and sugar. The American Association of Pediatrics has
warned against kids and teenagers consuming energy drinks, and they say no one can ensure
they are safe.
Soda’s not good for you by any means, but
energy drinks seem to be even more dangerous. 4. It Can Increase The Chance For Hallucinations Caffeine is not like LSD. We’re guessing you already knew that. It does not directly cause any kind of hallucination. But, a study has linked caffeine consumption
to hallucinations. It doesn’t cause hallucinations, but they
are correlated. Those who consume the equivalent of 3 cups
of brewed coffee (315 mg caffeine) per day were more likely to hallucinate than those
who didn’t. Caffeine has been shown to increase stress. The researchers of the study say that stress
is also related to hallucinations. It’s not common at all, but stress may increase
the possibility of hallucinations for those who are prone to them. On the other hand, it may be the other way
around. They say it may be that those prone to hallucinations
may use caffeine as a coping mechanism. The jury’s still out on this one, as they
say. 3. It’s a Social Drug Sure, a lot of times people drink caffeinated
drinks on their own.
In fact, that’s probably the most common
way to consume it. But there is also a unique social aspect to
coffee drinking. The primary locations of these social occasions
are coffee shops. In the coffee shop owner’s ideal world,
people would come in, purchase something expensive, and then leave. But that is not how people act for the most
part. People treat coffee shops as meeting places. They spend hours there studying, chatting,
working on business presentations, or “writing” (AKA wasting time online). They are unique places, like a bar but much
more relaxed. You can talk to other people, but it’s not
expected. And there are probably more people getting
actual work done than at the nightclub. The fact that it helps improve productivity
is one of the main reasons that caffeine is the world’s most accepted drug, and also
one of the reasons that people choose to do their work at coffee shops. 2. It’s Expensive Illegal drugs are expensive. Many small fortunes have been lost to cocaine
and quaaludes… at least that’s what we got out of Wolf of Wall Street.
Unfortunately, caffeine is an expensive habit
as well, and a much more accessible one. Some desperate addicts spend $5 on coffee
per day. In a single day! A coffee habit slowly but surely eats away
at one’s savings, eroding the sense of security and ease that was their savings account. So, why is coffee so expensive? First off, it’s a volatile business, so
owners tend to raise prices because of risk. The crops and market tend to fluctuate a lot,
which causes uncertainty. There are tons of threats to the world’s
coffee supply, and a shortage could really hurt coffee shops. So, the lower the supply of coffee goes, the
higher the price will be for the shops and the customers. It’s production also requires lots of different
people and organizations.
It’s estimated that each coffee bean is
handled by 30 different pairs of hands before it ends up in your cup. Most businesses have middlemen, and coffee’s
got a ton of them. Coffee is not necessary to life, no matter
what you’ve heard people say. It’s a luxury item and is therefore highly
priced. If you want to keep your costs down, stick
with the simpler variations, like black coffee. Specialty drinks are bound to be much more
expensive. And to make it even cheaper, make your own
at home. 1. Governments Have Tried To Ban It Before Most recreational drugs are banned. Coffee and alcohol are pretty much the only
two openly and fully accepted in American society. Alcohol is legal for anyone over the age of
21, and caffeine is totally legal for everyone.
8-year-olds drink soda chock full of sugar
and caffeine. There’s no longer any actual cocaine in
Coke, but there’s still a lot of white powder that’s pretty bad for you. In addition to the health dangers of overconsumption,
there are also psychoactive effects to caffeine. It is, after all, a drug. And, like pretty much all drugs, governments
have tried to ban it before. Banning drugs is like a drug to some people. In the 17th century Ottoman Empire, the consumption
of coffee was a capital offense. Sultan Murad IV was fully on board the anti-caffeine
train, prescribing death for coffee drinkers. That’s right, death. And he didn’t stop there. He would dress up as a commoner and walk around
Istanbul trying to catch people defying his law.
He carried a freaking sword around with him
and when he came upon anyone sipping a latte, he would chop off their heads. Ironically, despite his anti-drug rhetoric,
the Sultan didn’t heed his own warning: his death was caused by alcohol poisoning. The coffee hate wasn’t limited to one country. In England, The Women’s Petition Against
Coffee argued that coffee was to blame for tons of problems, particularly regarding men. They even blamed coffee for causing impotence. They knew they had to fight back, for The
Devil’s Cup had ruined their husbands. This sounds somewhat similar to the Women’s
Temperance movement. And these sorts of ideas continue into the
present day, in a more restrained way. Just last year, New Jersey was considering
banning people from driving after drinking coffee. But, try as they might, coffee will rebound. Despite this resistance and it’s side effects,
we fully expect caffeine to continue to be the world’s most popular drug.
