I've had plenty of experiences with drugs and alcohol, and personally, I think alcohol (and tobacco for that matter) is a lot worse than some drugs (eg psychedelics).
Hell, I've seen alcohol destroy a lot more people than your average recreational drug user.. and that's even including people who touch RCs.
It amazes me we still practically live in an age of propaganda (think reefer madness) and prohibition despite plenty of psychiatrists, neuroscientists (see the MAPS project, Sam Harris, etc) and so forth demystifying a lot of the garbage 'information' out there and attempting to conduct serious research only to be shut down.
Not to mention the plethora of writers, artists, businessmen (think Steve Jobs and Bill Gates for starters). As cliche as it sounds, it's all about moderation. If we prohibit things because some people have had bad experiences, we should already most definitely be banning alcohol, tobacco, anti-depressants and a lot of other psychoactive medications. (And yes, there are plenty who have had bad experiences taking medications under the supervision of a doctor). Let's also ban peanuts too, seeing as though some people have an allergy (often unknown about).
But, that's a whole other topic, and probably a no-go zone on this forum.
Back on topic, my main concern these days, especially in regards to the night life, are tweaked out and drunk 'lads'.
I think one of the most eye opening insights is that most violence is perpetrated by.. men.