Accepted as in believed.
It was accepted by Harlan Ellison that illicit drug use existed in the Star Trek universe and that illicit drug dealing happened on the heroic starship Enterprise.
Recreational drugs in the Trekverse
- Thread starter F. King Daniel
- Start date
Accepted as in believed.
It was accepted by Harlan Ellison that illicit drug use existed in the Star Trek universe and that illicit drug dealing happened on the heroic starship Enterprise.
Every time this topic comes up, I express the same idea, and nobody seems to notice. Nonetheless, here is my idea again.
I think that in a Trekkian future that is much more socially liberal and open about all sorts of things, there would be many recreational psychoactive substances (or perhaps electronic devices with similar effect) that have been developed and refined to a high degree for pleasurable experiences, but at the same time engineered specifically to have little to no negative physical or psychological side effects, and to not be addictive at all.
So some Starfleet officers will get back to their quarters at the end of their shift and choose to relax with a good book and a glass of wine. Others will kick back, close their eyes and listen to some classical music or jazz (since those are apparently the only genres that exist in the future). And still others will spend a couple of hours exploring a radically altered state of consciousness.
Kor
I think that in a Trekkian future that is much more socially liberal and open about all sorts of things, there would be many recreational psychoactive substances (or perhaps electronic devices with similar effect) that have been developed and refined to a high degree for pleasurable experiences, but at the same time engineered specifically to have little to no negative physical or psychological side effects, and to not be addictive at all.
So some Starfleet officers will get back to their quarters at the end of their shift and choose to relax with a good book and a glass of wine. Others will kick back, close their eyes and listen to some classical music or jazz (since those are apparently the only genres that exist in the future). And still others will spend a couple of hours exploring a radically altered state of consciousness.
Kor
The orgasm inducing device used in TNG The Game suggests to me that the crew weren’t accustomed to drug use. The crew took them in with child like naivety when even the most occasional of users should have noticed that they were becoming addicted.
Or maybe the entire premise was perfectly plausible, and I’m just deflecting the trauma caused by watching Riker’s cum face.
Or maybe the entire premise was perfectly plausible, and I’m just deflecting the trauma caused by watching Riker’s cum face.
Drug use will always be there in any future scenario, the same as slavery and murder! Even in a Utopian reality such things are there but not spoken about or seen! One man's Utopia is another man's Dystopia!
JB
JB
Well, that addiction happened fast and also had a mind control aspect to it that made the crew do things (like dismantle Data and turn over the ship to the Ktarians) far out of character and not like an addicted junkie looking for a high. If anything, their acceptance of this psychotropic game amongst, even Picard and Crusher before they tried it, suggests that recreational drugs are perfectly acceptable on a Starfleet starship.
Do they know its nature? Or do they just start playing, thinking it's harmless, and it lulls them into a state where they have no will to stop?
Or used to orgasms?
Agreed. The mechanism called "The Holodeck" was something I thought was counter productive for a utopian society, and I'm shocked it wasn't a gradual problem except for Barclay. I can definitely see such a creation could be addictive; can cause some brain trauma, a person could get confused on what was real and what wasn't.
With the fully immersive sensory experience that the holodeck provides, it’s surprising that more episodes didn’t play out like Frame of Mind (TNG)
If so, what do you think might be the cause of it? Was Tasha Yar wrong in her explanation?
WESLEY: What I can't understand is why anyone would voluntarily become dependent on a chemical.
DATA: Voluntary addiction to drugs is a recurrent theme in many cultures.
TASHA: Wesley, no one wants to become dependent. That happens later.
WESLEY: But it does happen. So why do people start?
TASHA: On my home planet, there was so much poverty and violence, that for some the only escape was through drugs.
WESLEY: How can a chemical substance provide an escape?
TASHA: It doesn't, but it makes you think it does. You have to understand, drugs can make you feel good. They make you feel on top of the world. You're happy, sure of yourself, in control.
WESLEY: But it's artificial.
TASHA: It doesn't feel artificial until the drug wears off. Then you pay the price. Before you know it, you're taking the drug not to feel good, but to keep from feeling bad.
WESLEY: And that's the trap?
TASHA: All you care about is getting your next dosage. Nothing else matters.
WESLEY: I guess I just don't understand.
TASHA: Wesley, I hope you never do.
DATA: Voluntary addiction to drugs is a recurrent theme in many cultures.
TASHA: Wesley, no one wants to become dependent. That happens later.
WESLEY: But it does happen. So why do people start?
TASHA: On my home planet, there was so much poverty and violence, that for some the only escape was through drugs.
WESLEY: How can a chemical substance provide an escape?
TASHA: It doesn't, but it makes you think it does. You have to understand, drugs can make you feel good. They make you feel on top of the world. You're happy, sure of yourself, in control.
WESLEY: But it's artificial.
TASHA: It doesn't feel artificial until the drug wears off. Then you pay the price. Before you know it, you're taking the drug not to feel good, but to keep from feeling bad.
WESLEY: And that's the trap?
TASHA: All you care about is getting your next dosage. Nothing else matters.
WESLEY: I guess I just don't understand.
TASHA: Wesley, I hope you never do.
Naturally, a show centering on disciplined enforcers of human values would have fairly little opportunity to put in a word edgewise about condemned practices. It is our heroes' paid job to condemn.
This quite regardless of the nature of the thing to be condemned. There are few surprises there, though. Condemning cloning and genetic augmentation are the two future twists, while nothing about today really gets treated differently as such. Sexuality is at best as liberal as it was in the 1960s US, making folks giggle and blush regardless of the exact shade of rainbow involved. Substance use, likewise - foods and beverages are divided into innocent and delightfully sinful, while reliance on medication of any sort is shameful. But those things don't warrant police/Starfleet official intervention, even though the busybody heroes still sometimes try with sexual practices at least.
What would the civilian side look like? We have no idea, as all the detailed civilian setups are alien ones, foreign even to the multicultural UFP.
Timo Saloniemi
This quite regardless of the nature of the thing to be condemned. There are few surprises there, though. Condemning cloning and genetic augmentation are the two future twists, while nothing about today really gets treated differently as such. Sexuality is at best as liberal as it was in the 1960s US, making folks giggle and blush regardless of the exact shade of rainbow involved. Substance use, likewise - foods and beverages are divided into innocent and delightfully sinful, while reliance on medication of any sort is shameful. But those things don't warrant police/Starfleet official intervention, even though the busybody heroes still sometimes try with sexual practices at least.
What would the civilian side look like? We have no idea, as all the detailed civilian setups are alien ones, foreign even to the multicultural UFP.
Timo Saloniemi
I'm not sure what you mean. People will always be looking for a bigger thrill, a higher high. In a world where money isn't a thing and "we work to better ourselves", one might suggest all our heroes are adrenaline junkies doing it all for the thrill.
Not necessarily.
I indulge in edibles every once in a while as a 40 year old. However, in my teens and 20s, I did a little partying with a lot of different substances. I know my way around the scene. But, if I took an edible that was laced with something I was not expecting, my reaction might mirror that of the crews.
Totally think you are deflecting due to this:
Totally think you are deflecting due to this:
Why Riker’sMailbox, why?
I was doing so well, I’d almost put it from my mind, was ready to join wider society and take Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction seriously.
This has set me back years.
In my head humans have evolved to the point where they can handle their drugs better.
This would unlock a whole new type of star trek episode: drug safety protocols malfunction due to ____ putting the crew in real danger
And a new location for characters to interact, next to the holodeck we would have the drugdeck, where they're all strapped into chairs spacing out
Picard: Computer, locate commander Riker.
Computer: Commander Riker is currently wasted in drugdeck 2.
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yeah "suck salt" couldn't have just been a salt lick.
riker refused to touch it and dude loved his synthale, LSD video games, and holographic porn.
If it is a reflection of changing attitudes in television, what do you think might be the cause for the change in those attitudes? Why do you think that Tasha Yar's speech in TNG: "Symbiosis" is infamous? Was she wrong in her explanation?
