"If we could sniff or swallow something that would, for five or six hours each day, abolish our solitude as individuals, atone us with our fellows in a glowing exaltation of affection and make life in all its aspects seem not only worth living, but divinely beautiful and significant, and if this heavenly, world-transfiguring drug were of such a kind that we could wake up next morning with a clear head and an undamaged constitution-then, it seems to me, all our problems (and not merely the one small problem of discovering a novel pleasure) would be wholly solved and earth would become paradise." - Aldous huxley
Now Alchohol is not this preferred drug, and even Huxley himself warned of the dangers associated with drugs - if they aren't the right ones(see "brave new world" and soma). But with alcohol I can only hope more people realize where some drug users are coming from. Now some people use drugs for the wrong reasons; while others, me, and a few friends are aware of the mind and its potential.
I just gets me down when I hear others (mainly christians or sheltered individuals) view marijuana users as 'dope fiends'. As inhuman addicts who would harm/kill for something or some drug. But marijuana and other naturally occuring drugs are here for us to consume and contemplate. Whether they are 'right' is up to the individual.
You may laugh at this as being preachy, but I hope alchohol allows some to view the world in a new light. While it is harmful to the body and can potentially be mentally harmful for some (over others, family history/gentics/etc. considered), it can still allow a legal path towards inward reflection and a holistic view of us all. A common and altruistic concept of humanity.
Now i've read into this thread too much...and my post is slightly off topic..