Ron, I just wanted to say that I appreciated the thoughtfulness of your post on "the CNS-effects similarities between alcohol and illicit drugs". It treated this subject with the kind of balanced and logical approach needed today. As you so eloquently pointed out, making a comparison between alcohol and drugs like heroine is a path fraught with peril. There is a moral difficulty when individuals measure the deleterious effects of alcohol against that of heroin and other drugs which are abused. The damage that alcohol and drug abuse cause to individuals, families and friends as well as the burden this places on society takes place long before the physical damage is done to the abuser. Therefore simply measuring somatic injury as a comparison seems hollow. I have not pursued this but there would seem to be abundant statistical evidence to demonstrate that the percent of alcohol users vs. alcohol abusers is small (10% or less?) compared to heroin users vs. abusers, (95+%?)! From that standpoint, comparing the deleterious effects of the use of alcohol with the abuse of drugs (legal and illegal) can not be logically made any more than can the legal medical use of drugs be compared with the abuse of alcohol. These are separate categories and they should be treated as such. In the case of alcohol, abuse is what causes the damage whereas appropriate moderate use produces no ill effects beyond those who have a physical or medical predisposition to such problems. I have never heard of anyone regretting that they had a glass of wine with dinner however I have heard many who have regretted having a bottle. John