Why is pure dopamine not a recreational drug? And if it was wouldn’t it be the most addictive and fairly side effect free?
Last Updated: 26.06.2025 02:19
Let’s say you can smoke it, snort it, inject it etc. when your brain releases dopamine, if we simplify it, you feel happiness and satisfaction. Which is cause of all addictions in the world, such as sugar, nicotine, caffeine and other drugs. So yes, pure dopamine would be the most addictive of them all, since it’s the sole cause of all the addictions.
Now side effects. Since it would make you feel very good, nothing would bring you pleasure anymore, because nothing would release more dopamine than the use of the drug. So your life would suddenly have no purpose at all. Nothing would satisfy you. Not sex, not porn, not tiktok,not food, not films, not hobbies, not time with friends and not even other drugs. So you would just lie on the couch, inject dopamine every few minutes and when it wears off, feel no happiness at all.
It’s like the worst drug ever, with the biggest addition of all, short term satisfaction, worst ever withdrawal, and most destructive side effects, disabling you from feeling any other joy of life.
Dopamine doesn’t work that way, but let’s put that on hold and imagine it does, so I can focus on the „side effects free drug”.