Sam Kelly

“Alcohol is a straight-up hard drug. That’s not a moral judgment; it’s a scientific fact. On a biochemical level, alcohol affects the brain in the same way as Valium, Xanax, Ambien, GHB, and Quaaludes. All of them act on the GABA receptors in the brain and thus qualify as a type of drug called a GABAergic. Taking these drugs in small quantities can produce positive feelings and relaxation, but consuming too much can seriously mess you up. In fact, GABAergics can become so physically addictive that, in extreme cases, attempting to quit cold turkey can kill you.

But thanks to the wonders of advertising, people don’t think of alcohol that way. The beverage industry has spent billions of dollars to brainwash people into believing that drinking booze is fun and harmless: it’s how cool people socialize. Drinking makes you more popular and more confident, and if you play your cards right, it might even get you laid. As a result of this industrial-level gaslighting, it’s not uncommon for politicians to publicly proclaim that recreational drug use is morally repugnant and a blight on society—while simultaneously, those same politicians drink alcohol all the damn time.”
― Sam Kelly, Human History on Drugs: An Utterly Scandalous but Entirely Truthful Look at History Under the Influence