ABSTRACT
This chapter examines psychoactive substances whose status as a drug sometimes goes unnoticed, and whose use can be seen as more common. Many are legal in places, including caffeine, alcohol and cannabis. Some are consumed as stimulants, and others to relax and relieve stress. By focusing in this chapter on often socially acceptable, often unremarkable consumption of drugs, we encourage the reader to think broadly and critically about drugs and their relationship with social acceptability. While these substances clearly have pragmatic value in various contexts (from recreation to work), they have also accumulated often intricate and varied cultures of consumption, from the khat parties of Yemen to tea ceremonies of Japan, and have come to structure life for many by marking off work time from leisure time.
