I hate how large of a role alcohol plays in society (with a mini rant about weed/thc in society)

I just really hate how normalized and tolerated (tbh in many contexts even celebrated) alcohol is. This especially sucks because I’m Asian and I suffer from Asian flush when I drink. I’m constantly judged when it comes to alcohol, especially at work where happy hours happen very often. It sucks because alcohol eventually becomes its own conversational topic that I just can’t relate to others given how relevant drinking is to their lives. I know my coworkers don’t intentionally mean to leave me out of the conversation, but when there is so much connection and conversation being made over alcohol, it’s hard to relate when I basically can’t drink.

What makes alcohol such a hot topic for me is how choosing to not drink results is also perceived negatively. Whether it is being left out or being judged negatively as someone who is lame and boring (even if it is literally just because I cannot drink due to my biology), there is just so much shame and social pressure associated with alcohol.

What made this even more of an issue for me personally is how weed/thc is viewed in society (btw, I’m in a state where weed is legal). For the sake of conversation, I’m specifically going to be focusing on edibles and thc drinks just because I’m specifically talking about alcohol. FWIW, it just really bothers me that people can be so open about how much they drink and get wasted while I am absolutely shunned for just enjoying a 10 mg thc drink. What’s worse is that I am way more sober after a 10 mg thc drink than my coworkers after a mixed drink, yet I’m still the worse person because of the stigma surrounding weed and thc. I just can’t win. If I don’t drink (because I can’t due to how terrible alcohol makes me feel due to Asian glow), I lose. If I do drink, I lose because of Asian glow. If I choose a different drink like a thc drink because it doesn’t give me the effects of Asian flush, I also get judged. One specific scenario is work where, at least in my job/company, happy hour happens regularly (I can’t really just go find a new job given the current job market, let alone how common happy hours and drinking at company parties are in most companies).

Then there’s the whole legal aspect of weed and thc. I’m not going to dive into it, but it just really sucks that alcohol is legal while weed is not (on a federal level). Asian flush is basically making me seem like a loser given how alcohol affects me and how thc/weed is either illegal or stigmatized in normal social situations where it is legal.