Alcohol is one of the most destructive narcotics. Read ANY scientific paper on this.
And yet it’s the most common and socially accepted drug other than maybe caffiene?
Alcohol is very normal
That’s the problem – it is popular and considered “normal” because of historical reasons. Science says completely otherwise. Sometimes common sense is wrong. Science is wrong very rarely and if so, corrects itself after some time. Read abstract of any article about alkcohol, e.g., from The Lancet journal.
Science says completely otherwise
The only science relevant to if something is “normal” in this context are the social sciences, which would very much not say otherwise
Human consumption of alcohol is older than society, it’s very normal and natural for humans to drink. We’re not even the only animal aware of alcohol and it’s effects
