valich said:
In the beginning, there were no drugs or alcohol: humans survived. There is no need for them today unless meds are used to cure a disease.
Well if you put it that way, 'in the beginning' there was nothing! But, a little bit after 'the beginning', humanity began to discover and produce whatever was needed by them and this included mind altering as well as medicinal drugs in the first instance, because they grew wild. Alcohol probably came a litle while later, but not by much; fermentation of fruits and grains is a natural process and it wouldn't take a massive leap of the imagination to suspect that, especially in times of food shortages, people began to eat the fermented fruit and drink the juice that accumalated in the bottom of the barrel and bingo, they had alcohol.
It's not the use of drugs and alcohol, which is so bad, it's the abuse and abuse of anything is potentially a killer. Too much food makes you obese and that kills you; too much physical exertion wears out your body and your heart and that kills you; too much inactivity weakens your body and your heart and that kills you; too much stress and worry fucks up your mind and body and that kills you; too much sugar, too much coffee, too much orange juice, vitamins, minerals... even too much water could kill you!
Proper use of drugs and alcohol can stimulate both, mind and body and can enhance the enjoyment of simple pleasures; they can be used as aids to spiritual awakening and can open doors of perception and windows of creativity, not to mention avenues of original thought.
Having said all that, drugs and/or alcohol are an individual's choice and they are not for everyone, you certainly don't need them to survive on an individual level, but the world would have been a much poorer place without their influence throughout history.