Liquor is Quicker. And Hemp is a Gimp.

Alcohol is the magic elixer of the western world. It helps build $trong $ociety in many way$. It is the popular form of recreation and is strongly encouraged. Drink up and relax.

In Time magazines 30 August, 2010 article, Why Do Heavy Drinkers Outlive Nondrinkers? they rationalize that alcohol is the happy and social drug for many occasions because " alcohol lubricates so many social interactions." -

,,,heavy drinkers are less likely to die than people who don't drink, even if they never had a problem with alcohol. One important reason is that alcohol lubricates so many social interactions, and social interactions are vital for maintaining mental and physical health.

They conclude with more encouragement to drink to your health and well-being, in fact to double-up with it.

...the new study provides the strongest evidence yet that moderate drinking is not only fun but good for you. So make mine a double.

Read more: www.time.com...

No doubt that alcohol is sewn into the American tapestry. It is in our vernacular - Happy hour, Miller time, This bud's for you, One for the road, A nitecap, Candy is dandy but liquor is quicker, all these statements not only saying it is OK but that, really, it is expected of you to share in the merriment. The gateway is being held wide-open with the barkers and shills and the Sirens beckoning you through.

The Gateway Drug? Alcohol is THE Gateway drug, not pot. It is through ads and promotions and just plain American tradition that we are encouraged to accept recreational drug use as a normal, American way of life. Pot did not open that door.

Pot would be virtually free if not for the black market contruct of Prohibition. A free buzz goes against the grain of American society. Where is the profit? That is why we have a black market, it creates a market where one would otherwise not exist.

Drug use is part of life. The gateway is wide open. Cheers!.

I never heard of alcohol as a gateway drug? I totally agree. Thanks! I tell people bars are drug pushers that are legal, selling liqued heroin!

I am one of those fortunate people that have a negative reaction to alcohol. My body will simply shut down with it and the older I have become the harder it is to recover, so even though my younger years I could slam a few down I wouldn't dare touch the stuff unless it is a harmless glass of wine (once or twice a year).

I agree with the OP; black market is good market, ask the CIA on that one!

We are a nation that has been conditioned to accept recreational drug use as a way of life. The liquor industry is pushing its products at almost every public and private event. Almost EVERY sporting event, many academic events, family events such as state and county fairs, alcoholic beverages are being sold. Many social gatherings alcohol is often the main event, along with holiday get-togethers, and almost any cause for celebration.

It is put into the public eye for our children to see, and so that they are reminded of the restriction on its use, being able to drink is the sign of being grown up. Our kids see it being consummed and want a taste of what Daddy is drinking. They're told they'll have to wait until they are twenty-one, but how many do? They want to be gown-ups as soon as they can. Alcohol is their reward.

There is a whole industry of entertainment and nightspots centered around alcohol consumption. If you want to be "In", you drink. You are pressured to feel like an outsider if you turn it down. If you are insistent about refusing to drink the pressure continues for so long, then stops. The "pusher" suddenly takes a look of concern, "Ohhhh... I understand now. You have a drinking problem. Don't worry, we won't make you drink anymore." That is the kind of reaction you would likely receive if you don't happen to like the alcohol "high."

I have known a number of people with severe alcoholism, it is not a rare "disease." They had eventually become less than happy, fun-loving folks though in their drinking career they had started out as such. Their family relationships became ruined along with a number of vehicles they've owned, they've lost their license to drive and also lost most other good things in their lives including their health. They had lost just about everything except their desire to drink. Cheers!

Personally, I am not opposed to having a drink on occasion. The Mexican springtime goes wonderful with a michelada, cervesa, or margarita. It is just that I cannot get into a daily habit with alcohol. A moderate drinker, is defined in the Times article of the OP, "Moderate drinking, which is defined as one to three drinks per day,.." Sorry, I can't do it daily, perhaps a few days back to back in hot weather, but I doubt I even fit the criteria for a "light drinker", whatever that might be, because I just don't drink with any regularity.

Despite its "downside" drinking gives one a social edge. And in that world pot is a handicap.