We've been conditioned to think legal=safe, which is of course ridiculous. No two drugs cause more destruction that alcohol and tobacco yet its a mindset we grow up with

When I lived in the South, alcohol was and is seen as a drug. There are so many restrictions on where and when you can buy.

Now I live on the West coast. Totally different story. Everybody drinks ALL the time.... morning noon and night. I'm not making excuses for myself but it has totally enabled me to make excuses for my behavior.

Alcohol is as harmful and addictive as many street drugs, just as tobacco is. It has just been a part of so many traditions around the world for so long that it is seen as normal.

Because something is legal it can be taxed, once that happens it becomes a revenue stream and it becomes very hard to outlaw it.

Lots of reasons I think why it's seen in a different light from other substances. Me too, my body was a temple I wouldn't sally it with street drugs or scrip drugs, it was a non issue in my mind until long after it was killing me.

I understand the science a little better today but still I dont neceasarily view it as a drug like others. Just a substance that doesnt agree with me.

P

I was a garbage can as a kid. i'd ingest just about anything to get away from myself. That said, it was alcohol, a legal drug, that brought me to my knees.
The definition makes sense to me:

drug
drg/Submit
noun
1.
a medicine or other substance which has a physiological effect when ingested or otherwise introduced into the body.
"a new drug aimed at sufferers from Parkinson's disease"
synonyms: medicine, medication, medicament, pharmaceutical; More
a substance taken for its narcotic or stimulant effects, often illegally.
"a drug addict"
synonyms: narcotic, stimulant, hallucinogen; More
verb
verb: drug; 3rd person present: drugs; past tense: drugged; past participle: drugged; gerund or present participle: drugging
1.
administer a drug to (someone) in order to induce stupor or insensibility.
"they were drugged to keep them quiet"
synonyms: anesthetize, narcotize; More

I believe it is a drug, just a legal drug, and more devastating than any other drugs.

I'm not sure, but I think it is the only drug that can kill while in withdrawal. The other drugs, maybe very unpleasant withdrawal but doesn't kill a person.

I absolutely agree it is a drug! Just as everyone has said, the fact that it is legal and such a big industry makes it "okay" in our culture. I wonder if we will see the same problems 20-30 years from now after marijuana has become legal and a big business!! I would bet money we will!

Lostnurse, yep, it will be the same with marijuana. Sick world.

I was into drugs and then quit them long before quitting booze...I couldn't see alcohol as a drug....and I could see drugs were bad for me...so I quit them except alcohol and for some time I could not see pot as a drug either...but eventually I did and quit that....that was a good starting for me though....because I went quit hard drugs....quit pot...quit smoking ciggs....quit drinking.....most do it the other way...LOL

Absolutely should be a drug. Great topic. Its accepted is what's sad.I live in Wa, and the weed thing is the next big business. It's crazy. I even work across the street from a "medicinal marijuana"shop and it's always busy. They are still ironing out the details of commercial sale, but a lot of businesses are looking to cash in one way or another. It'll be interesting to see how it works. All about the greed.

If Alcohol and Tobacco where discovered tomorrow they would be Class A drugs because of the amount of deaths they are responsible for. However the money generated from sales outweighs the negative effects they cause.

Although alcohol is a legal drug and others aren't matters little to me.

I was never drawn to any other drug than alcohol. It fixed me, so I believed, different things attract different people.

When I started understanding what my problem really was - the deluded mindset, poor coping skills, emotional over-sensitivity etc., addressing those issues became the focus rather than the actual drug.

Alcohol is a drug that causes addiction, disease and violence. The amount of alcohol consumed determines the type of effects. Alcohol overdose can cause severe effects.