Far too much attention is devoted to alcohol. From purely medical and health perspectives, prohibition was and is correct. The health evaluation of alcohol intake has changed (again) in the past few years. Were it not a multi-billion dollar industry and/or if alcohol was discovered in the past few decades it would be illegal.

Alcohol’s effects on individuals and society are far more deleterious than any other drug, debatably even cigarettes. Alcohol withdrawal is potentially fatal while most other drug withdrawals, albeit highly uncomfortable, painful and/or distressing, are not nearly as potentially fatal. We used to think that moderate alcohol intake was healthiest, more recent data suggests that zero alcohol is healthiest. It’s sad that during COVID-19 shutdowns, (paraphrasing) Liquor stores were deemed essential businesses in almost every state in the US while other stores were forced to shut down partly because of how dangerous it would have been for alcohol-dependent people to undergo alcohol withdrawal, especially at a time when hospitals were stretched thin due to COVID-19.

Harvard Health Publishing Health Blog September 2018: “Alcohol and your health: Is none better than a little?”
The Lancet study April 2018: “Risk thresholds for alcohol consumption: …”
The Lancet study August 2018: “Alcohol use and burden for 195 countries and territories, 1990–2016: …”
Businessinsider.com April 2020: “The dark reason liquor stores are considered essential businesses.”