Intoxication

Freudian Dictionary

The crudest of the methods of influencing the body, but also the most effective, is the chemical one: that of intoxication ... The services rendered by intoxicating substances in the struggle for happiness and in warding off misery rank so highly as a benefit that both individuals and races have given them an established position within their libido-economy. It is not merely the immediate gain in pleasure which one owes to them, but also a measure of that independence of the outer world which is so sorely craved.