Is alcohol a drug? Of course it is...
To a pharmacologist, that question is a little bit like “Is water a liquid?” Alcohol is not just a drug, but the archetypal drug: the drug most widely used and the drug that causes the most addiction, disease, and violence. That linguistic distinction is both an effect and a cause of the fact that “drug” (meaning intoxicant) has been given a strongly negative connotation. A drinker (alcoholic) told that he is a “drug user” (drug addict) may be offended as well as puzzled.
Alcohol is a depressant and included in the same class of drugs as barbiturates and benzodiazepines. So...anyone who asserts that alcohol is a food solely because it is derived from fruits, vegetables or grains is ignorant of the fact that there are over 100 chemical substances that are derived from plants for use as drugs or medicine.
Alcohol, also known as ethyl alcohol, is the second most widely used psychoactive drugs in the world (caffeine is number one). While alcohol is a legal drug, it also has a high potential for abuse. One survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found that nearly 70 million over the age of 12 reported participating in binge drinking or heavy drinking (2002). Alcohol use and abuse also has high social costs. According to the American Psychiatric Association, approximately 50 percent of all assaults, homicides, and highway deaths involve alcohol (2000).
I believe that the problem that some AA's have with accepting alcohol as being a drug or of being "grouped with addicts" is related to culture and lack of education. The stereotypes of the addicts on "street drugs" are fading due to the increased number of people becoming addicted to prescription drugs and the ends being the same for all addicted persons: jails, institutions or death.
G