> I wish we had an alternative that doesn't do as much damage.
I think for a growing number of people that alternative is non-smoking forms of cannabis. I grant you it isn't a 1:1 substitution for everything alcohol, but it's a lot safer to use and still a very social experience. I suspect that at some point there will be a "synthohol" like substance, but who knows when that might come about.
>> at some point there will be a "synthohol" like substance, but who knows when that might come about
Just about when the individual is entirely castrated à la Brave New World, and everyone worships health as part of their commitment to a perfectly harmonious social organism. Luckily, this will never happen - rebellious people in some godforsaken country will always find a way to give each other hangovers, as a simple Darwinian test that involves the ability to hold liquor while saying something interesting. And that country will end up more innovative than the ones that sank their population into some opioid or another as an expedient to having a healthy body and a numbed-out mind.
I think for a growing number of people that alternative is non-smoking forms of cannabis. I grant you it isn't a 1:1 substitution for everything alcohol, but it's a lot safer to use and still a very social experience. I suspect that at some point there will be a "synthohol" like substance, but who knows when that might come about.