ok so "does mad honey get you high" is literally what i typed into google before i ended up here. read a few threads since and now i feel a bit silly for asking, but nobody actually says why its the wrong question, people just wince and move on.
so whats wrong with the framing exactly, and whats the better question? genuinely asking, not fishing for a lecture, i just dont want to walk in with the wrong picture in my head
nothing wrong with you asking it, everyone does. the word just drags a shopping list in behind it - how strong, how long, when does it kick in. you turn up expecting a score and then spend the evening marking whatever happens against it
the "when does it kick in" bit gets loads of people. nothing happens for a while so obviously the answer must be more
Two things worth pulling apart. There is real pharmacology here, it's just not the shape people are picturing: it acts on ion channels, and what the body notices is mostly cardiovascular and vestibular - warm face, heavy limbs, a bit wobbly, sometimes queasy. Some people find that pleasant and reach for "high" because it's the only word they have for feeling different.
Feels similar isn't is similar, though, and the expectations borrowed from the other thing are what cause the trouble.
and the press only ever runs two headlines, NATURE'S OWN PSYCHEDELIC or TOURIST HOSPITALISED BY KILLER HONEY. still waiting on "man tries some honey, feels warm, goes to bed at ten"