[hugh4]

It's not about portrayal, it's about actual physiology.

The percentage of alcohol users (ie almost everybody) who become alcoholic is quite low. The percentage of heroin or meth users who become heroin or meth addicts is very high indeed.

Alcohol still of course does plenty of damage, unsurprisingly since it's the only such substance which the majority of the population consumes. Maybe the world would be a slightly better place if we hadn't started drinking booze all those thousands of years ago. But I don't buy the idea that because we accept one particular form of stupid behaviour that we should tolerate all the others... any more than I buy the idea that just because I tolerate my unemployed brother living in my apartment that I should open the doors to let everyone else live there too.

[DugFin]

>The percentage of alcohol users (ie almost everybody) who become alcoholic is quite low. The percentage of heroin or meth users who become heroin or meth addicts is very high indeed.

Do you have a source for this? Every study I've seen shows addiction rates among users in the 10-15% range for all three.

[fiatmoney]

It is difficult to look at "% of users who become addicts" in a vacuum, since it's a population selected for willingness to take illegal drugs and hang out with the sorts of people with access to them.

[eggy]

I think it is because society tolerates alcohol abuse more, and the delineator between alcoholic and non-alcoholic is biased.

See my other comments in this thread. People openly admit to their peers being hungover when showing up to work, or bragging about their crazy, drunk weekend. There's a lot of denial about alcohol's impact on society, and what constitutes an alcoholic when it is legal, and widely accepted. Just substitute heroin or meth for some of the things people say about their alcoholic adventures, and you will see this very clearly.

[collyw]

I heard it was around 10% for heroin users. No idea what the numbers for alcohol are. I imagine social circumstances play at least as large a role as the actual drugs.