Misery increases drug abuse. A miserable people will seek out greater escapes.
We are not holding steady because of the WOD. We are holding steady because we are a (semi) free and secure people.
The lovely rat experiment that proved that everything is horribly addictive? Yeah. Somebody redid that experiment, but this time they put the rats in a nice cage with toys, company and stimulation. The rats did try the drugged water, but ended up rejecting it the majority of the time, with the occasional sip and nothing more.
The rats that drugged themselves to death in the early experiment were in miserable conditions and reached for drugs as their only means of dulling the boredom and pain.
China has never been known as a ‘paradise’ by any definition. Miserable Chinese people turned to drugs. Shocker. And people in hospitals use more narcotics than any other population. Another surprise. /s
That is a theory. You have no way of knowing if that is true. I find that theory unlikely though. In 1886 when Pemberton started selling cocaine laced drinks, (Coca-Cola) I think that the only reason it didn't result in a massive surge in addiction is because the cocaine got stripped out of the drink shortly thereafter. Why do you suppose they started stripping out the cocaine? (before the government MADE THEM) Wasn't that ingredient their original selling point?
Do *YOU* really believe that society would be okay if cocaine drinks were available?
Oh, and China had been around about 4,000 years without turning to massive drug usage. How does that jive with your theory? Did they just realize they were miserable when drugs got legalized?