After two cups of strong coffee with brunch and a jittery drive home, I’ve been inspired to post about something that’s been on my mind for a long time…will caffeine become the next controlled substance?
I’ve mentioned the thought to friends on occasion–the unanimous response is, “Of course not!”. But I don’t think it’s that clear-cut.
With today’s social trends, we’re seeing more and more children and teens using their allowance to buy copious amounts of Starbucks. Energy drinks have flooded the market. Caffeine is a drug (sometimes an addictive one) that we see used recreationally every day around the globe. We’re starting to see alcoholic drinks that include caffeine being pulled from the shelves due to the potentially dangerous combine effects of the two drugs.
Consider cigarettes or alcohol for a moment. Watch and episode of Man Men, and you’ll see a time when smoking and scotch were common place at the office…during working hours. Mind-boggling now-a-days, but perhaps 30 years from now, we’ll have just as hard a time imagining the coffee thermoses lined up in the break room and the steady influx of caffeine we’re accustom to in today’s office. High schools use to have areas where students could enjoy a cigarette–but now, most campuses are “drug-free”.
Will my kids or grandkids one day be amazed to hear that my grandma started serving me black coffee when I was 12 years old? That coffee shops were common place on college campuses and virtually all college students would study with a substantial supply of performance-enhancing caffeine within arms reach? That anyone could buy these things called “5-Hour Energy” and “Red Bull” from any gas station or grocery store in America…without I.D.!?!
Maybe this sounds far-fetched, but I think this could be a future reality, more so than most other will believe.
What do you think?
Ryan, you are scaring me here!
No one ever lost a job because they consumed caffeine. No one ever collapsed in a heap on a street corner because they were drunk or high on caffeine. No one ever emptied the spousal bank account because they were looking for a caffeine fix. No one ever defaulted on a mortgage just because they drank too much caffeine. People don’t rob banks to feed their caffeine habit. People don’t get shot on street corners because of violent caffeine dealers.
As for kids/teens getting hooked to caffeine, I don’t have much to add, but I will offer this personal anecdote of mine:
I started my ‘addiction’ to caffeine during my senior year of high school. Irresponsible as it may have been, I’d stay up every night, even school nights, talking to my then-girlfriend about…. well… what you’d think two teens would be talking about on the phone late at night (too much information? I apologize). On my very last day of high school, I had a big government exam coming up, and government was the most important class of senior year. The exam was around 200 questions in total, and none were multiple choice. Every question was based on your memory. I didn’t study. I stayed up 2-3 hours the night before talking to my girl. The following day, I ate breakfast and drank two sugar-free energy drinks (caffeine in synthetic form in its finest moments). I studied all morning and ultimately passed the exam with a 98.
I could sit here and attribute that 98 to my constant grind-it-out study skills (don’t mind me; just bragging), but I’ll chalk that up to caffeine assisting me as something comparable to a performance enhancing drug in baseball.
I love caffeine. I do, I do, I do!
As for young kids drinking it? I really don’t have much to offer in terms of expertise or advice.
Thanks for the post! I agree that caffeine doesn’t pose the risk of hard drugs, but do you think regulations similar to those on tobacco or alcohol could be put on caffeine?