Imagine you’re a young adult who likes to socialize. Every now and then, on a Friday night, you invite your friends over to your apartment to have a good time. You’ve been planning ahead for this evening, of course. It wouldn’t be a decent party if you didn’t have some drinks available to offer to your guests. Not everyone likes alcohol, that’s perfectly normal. For them you have the usual juices and soft drinks. But it’s also normal that some of your friends enjoy a beer to loosen up a little, even others prefer wine. So, being the good host that you are, you’ve organized the ingredients to make beers and wine: Hop-infused barley juice, grape juice, and - most importantly - high percentage vodka. Because, you know, the raw stuff is the only form of alcohol legally available in your country, according to the brand new legalization law.

You didn’t go to the supermarket or the gas station to buy the vodka, of course. There are exactly three options to legally obtain vodka:

1. You can ask a doctor to prescribe it to you. Once you have the prescription, you can order it from some online pharmacy. To save on shipping, you’d of course order in bulk for the five next upcoming parties. Having a sick note saying you need vodka to heal is just a tiny bit weird to you.
2. You are registering in a vodka distiller’s club. For a low contribution they give you all the vodka you need. The list of club members is shared regularly with the police - for no specific reason whatsoever. You’re sure it will be fine.
3. You set up your own distillery at home. How hard can it be? Only issue is the upfront invest that motivates a bit too much to recoup the investment somehow. But as long as you don’t exceed having 50 liters at home (or carrying 25 liters with you outside) you’ll be fine.

After thorough analysis, you ended up taking option number 4, asking that one friend that always has a stash of vodka at home and is more than happy to share. They’re really nice. You just get a feeling their life revolves a little too much around vodka. But you can also relate. Isn’t it a beautiful thing mother nature has given us alcohol? A simple ingredient for beverages that can make you forget about the stress you had at work? That can turn off your social anxiety and help you to better connect to fellow human beings? But you also know about the dangers of course. It needs no saying that you should not spend all of your free time being drunk. Showing up at work hung over is bad, and showing up drunk is an absolute no-go. You can’t be that person the movies warn you about.

You ended up buying 5 bottles of vodka from your friend. More than you will need - you know that. But you’re a bit ashamed to keep using your friend as your dealer, so you overcompensate. The morning after the party you check the fridge and find one and a half bottles still being left. They lie in the drawer, tempting you every time you open the door. A small drink here and there doesn’t hurt and has the benefit of clearing the space in the fridge. Deep down you know, this is how it starts. How entire winters pass by you because those drinks you enjoy alone in the evenings become normal. And there is enough parties to fuel that cycle because winter sucks and it’s unbearable without partying a little every now and then. The easiest way to fix this whole dilemma would be if you could just buy pre-mixed beer and wine at the supermarket. No need to source pure vodka in exceeding quantities every time you want to throw a party. Heck, being able to pick up two small bottles of beer from the gas station when a friend spontaneously comes over to play video games - that would be a game changer! But alas, that’s not how the law was written. Eventually, you just resign and find that life is easier not indulging in the vodka-mixing business at all any more. Your friends will be ok with it - missing the drinks at the parties just a little bit. It’s ok. You’re just a bit worried about that one friend who didn’t end up making the same choice as you.