Brain Addictions

Addiction is defined as not having control over doing; taking, or using something to the point where it could be harmful.

In essence, humans have a “knowledge addiction”, for curiosity is a key motivator to their learning and discovery. There is a clear link between curiosity, motivation, and the reward system. It is said that ‘workaholism’ is in sort a form of learning addiction, very similar to alcoholism.

Intoxicants or psychoactive substances have long been used for religious; artistic; athletic; medicinal, and recreational purposes.

Here are the four groups: Hallucinogens (substances causing visual, auditory, and other hallucinations); Inebriants (substances like alcohol, chloroform, ether, benzene, and other solvents and volatile chemicals); Hypnotics (substances causing states of sleep, stupor or calm, such as the mandrake, kava, tranquilizers and narcotics, including opium and its derivatives), and Stimulants (substances causing an increase in mental and/or physical stimulation not usually impairing the user's performance of daily tasks: Tea; coffee; cocoa; Coca-Cola alike; betel; tobacco; cocaine; amphetamines; khat; cardamom; cannabis, etc...)

The casual use of select intoxicants and stimulants is usually prohibited by common and cannon law norms, as they are capable of inducing a high degree of intoxication, which, may endanger the individual or another and justify arrest.

Alcohol as an intoxicant affects a wide range of structures and processes in the central nervous system, and increases the risk for intentional and unintentional injuries with adverse social consequences.

A substance classified as a stimulant may at the end of the altered state of consciousness induce sleep, whilst, an inebriant may have hallucinogenic properties.

Caffeine is in fact an intoxicant because if taken at high doses, its effects can be dizziness; hyper-excitability; mild euphoria, notwithstanding, also causing anxiety; nausea, and nervous tremors at high enough doses.

However, caffeine is not mentioned anywhere in the Holy Quran or Hadith as being specifically 'haram' and neither are betel and cardamom, although intoxicants. It is understood though that all things in moderation are admissible, and thus, their misuse could be ‘haram’ or ‘makrooh’ at best.

It was actually determined that?coffee is considered a drink, not a medicine, and the Shehakol blessing is made over coffee

Tea similarly to coffee, did not just enrich our lives as delicious and effectual beverages, they along with tobacco and other opiates changed society. These intoxicants although adverse, became a reason for social gatherings and togetherness.

Drugs can cause a person to appear intoxicated. At fairly low doses, barbiturates for example may make a person seem simply drunk or intoxicated, but people who use them often become totally dependent on them.

Intoxicants can be classified in many different ways regardless of chronic and sometimes permanent effects, according to their mechanism of action or legal status. Whereby, generally speaking, 'legal' intoxicants are those like alcohol; tobacco products; and caffeine, whereas, drugs in general are 'illegal' ones…

Food for thought!