When I was younger I was with my dad at his friend's house, and the friend was showing my dad a bottle of alcohol he had bought on a trip. My dad then had a glass while talking before we left. At this time I was uninformed that there was a safe legal limit on how much you could drink before driving and I thought that any amount was too much. The entire drive home I felt that my life was in danger because the biggest thing I knew about alcohol was the deaths caused by drinking and driving. Ignoring the aspect of driving there should be a socially recognised limit on how much you should be able to drink before calling it quits, and excessive solo drinking should be taboo. I do believe that alcohol is a useful social tool, but from my experiences the side effects of over doing it can be disastrous.

The benefits of drinking in a social scenario shouldnt be ignored, but people need to better recognise when someone has had too much. A study led by the University of Pittsburgh shows that moderate alcohol consumption increases positive emotions and the odds that you will connect with peers. While that's nice, there's a difference between being loosened up a bit and not being able to walk. Just because someone drinks a lot doesn't necessarily mean they’re an alcoholic. It's all based on their dependency on alcohol. Someone who has a strong desire to drink or is experiencing withdrawal symptoms are showing signs of alcoholism. When used in a controlled senario with peers the positives can outweigh the negatives in some people's opinions. When alone there aren't people to help control the amount you drink leading to over doing it in some cases.

Many people drink wine at diner, or drink alcohol based on age or origin. These are some examples of drinking for taste or for a hobby rather than to get drunk. According to the article “Moderate Drinker or Alcoholic” by Allison Aubrey from npr.org, the limit for drinks before being considered an excessive drinker are 15 drinks per week for men and only 8 per week for women. With them considering a drink as 5 ounces of wine, 12 ounces of beer or 1.5 ounces of spirits many fall under the category of “excessive drinker”. In America the drinking age is 21 being one of the highest in the world. In many countries it is 16, though not permitting people to purchase alcohol until 18. This leads to some things Americans would consider weird, like parents drinking wine at diner with their kids, or parents drinking with their kids in general. Many would think this leads to more early alcoholism, and accidents caused by alcohol with minors, but in fact many of these countries have less problems with alcohol then america. 

Some believe it is because the kids don't see it as rebellious and are often better taught about how to handle alcohol. Rather than sneaking it into a party or pouring out a shot and replacing it with water, these kids are allowed to experiment with it. Based on the benefits some would consider there to be a “healthy” amount. Parents don’t allow their kids to drink excessively in the home by any means meaning the only time they drink is socially and often way under the limitations of being called an excessive drinker. Sometimes leading to a long healthy relationship with alcohol.

Personally I hope to stay away from alcohol, or at least only drinking in social scenarios. From my own experiences alcohol can have very destructive tendencies to people's relationships and lives. Don't get me wrong, I dont think I'll be perfect. My beliefs with everything from alcohol and tobacco to drugs is that alcohol is much worse than natural drugs (marijuanna, magic mushrooms etc) and hard drugs are out of the picture for me completely. Especially with cannabis being legalized in many states and magic mushrooms being close behind, I think I'll be able to partake as a legal adult. My own family was split up and through that process alcohol was there every step of the way making it worse. Family members going to treatment, not seeing them for months, and being passed around staying with different people. Both my parents found new people in the coming months but they turned out to both be awful people, and guess what, they were both alcoholics. And when bad people and alcohol get mixed together it can be terrible for everyone involved. It doesn't make sense to me that someone can't go out in most states and by marijuana and relax with some friends in their own home. Yet people can walk into a bar, get absolutely hammered, and people don’t care.

Alcohol can be a useful tool when with people, but there needs to be a limit. Sometimes people don't drink in social situations, rather at home. The reason some of these people are fine is because they drink for the age/origin of the alcohol or because the craft of it is good. They drink for a hobby not to get drunk. I just think the risks outweigh the positives, and I'd rather damage my health with other things. There should be a socially recognized limit on how much someone can drink before it's too much, and drinking alone for the purpose of getting drunk should be frowned upon. Within legal limits what people do to their bodies and the people around them are their own business, but I think that alcohol is much worse then what people play it off as. Thinking back to that car ride with my dad I realize we were completely safe, but it still affected me and my perception of alcohol. Rather than risk everything that comes with alcohol I think I'll just wait for Minnesota to legalize pot.