As I listened to the radio on the way to work on a Monday morning, I heard a story about a man pulled over for “drunk” driving. The kicker is he apparently passed all forms of drug testing. His defense claimed he was under the influence of music. He was later thrown in jail.

Intoxicated by music? Music is what is known as a “natural high” because it activates the pleasure center in your brain, which, in turn, releases dopamine.

Back in 2010, a small town in Oklahoma was upset by “i-dosing.” I-dosing is the use of music to achieve a high. The songs are named after various drugs, from Ambien to Cocaine, which are said to mimic the effects of the real deal. Depending on the person, the effects have been described as prominent to virtually non-existent. There are no side effects or withdrawals from these binaural beats.

The natural high music causes is glorious. Without music, life would be much less interesting. Even in hunter gatherer societies, the earliest forms of Homo-sapiens had items which produced music some 200,000 years ago. Music has always been an extremely important cultural ideal for societies starting after speech was developed.

The only explanation for the survival of music is that music induces pleasure; it makes people happy. Something about the way a beautiful harmony is created through a voice and a piano always keeps us coming back for more. Throughout history, if items were not enjoyed, they were either transformed or completely eradicated.

Music helps shapes societies. The world we live in today has a powerful musical component to it. Music is used to express oneself, address issues in society and sell products.

Music brings people together, whether it be in good ways, like “Where Is The Love” by the Black Eyed Peas and “They Don’t Care About Us” by Michael Jackson, or bad ways like the Tupac-Biggie beef in the early nineties and the promotion of a drug and alcohol based lifestyles. Regardless of the how or why, music connects people across all ages, languages, religions and colors.

Music is a form of expression. With all of the available genres of music, music helps you be you. Music allows for the otherwise quiet girl to bang her head to heavy metal and the jock to listen to classical pieces such as those by Beethoven. Music is personal, but also has a private aspect to it. It allows you to be who you want to be without exposing yourself to the world. After all, no one can hear what you are playing in your headphones.

To conclude, music can not make you high, but it can make you feel happy. And, as outlined in the Declaration of Independence, life is about the pursuit of happiness. So, keep on listening even though it cannot technically make you high.