The holodeck as a hightech crack pipe
It may be surprising to hear the holodeck labeled as a "drug"; the holodeck is a place where crewmembers go to see images and play-act in stories, it's certainly not a drug. Well, perhaps not in a chemical sense, but the holodeck is shown to be every bit as potentially addictive as alcohol or drugs and something that must be used carefully and in moderation.
In "Hollow Pursuits" we meet Reg Barkley, a crewmember who is addicted to the holodeck. He spends most of his free time on the holodeck running fantasy simulations. He is distracted from his work and consistently rated a low-performing crewmember, just like a person on drugs. And at one point Geordi, in revealing that most of his girlfriends have originated on the holodeck, implies that Barkley is addicted to the holodeck. In other words, the holodeck is a drug, just like marijuana or cocaine.
Well, perhaps not precisely like cocaine. After all, we've already learned that the Federation has a zero tolerance for drug use in Star Fleet. Perhaps the holodeck is more like a "soft" drug, like alcohol, which, taken in moderation, is acceptable, and only acquires the dangers of "hard" drug, like pot or cocaine, if done to excess.
After all, most everyone, even Captain Picard, uses the holodeck on occasion. Picard uses the holodeck to run his "Dixon Hill" detective mysteries, but he doesn't do so frequently and usually invites friends. What Star Trek is saying here is that alcohol consumption, if done on an occasional basis with friends, is socially acceptable, but heavy, long term drinking done in private is something that should be frowned upon.
As an additional note on the subject of alcohol, it seems that the ship's bar, Ten Forward, doesn't serve alcohol, at least, not real alcohol. Instead it serves something called "synthahol" which reputedly tastes like alcohol but doesn't have the inhibition numbing effects. Do you think, then, that Star Trek might be going to far as to endorse the widely maligned alcohol-free beers on the market?
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