The alcohol numbers would astound you. Get your hands on the McDowell Report on the Costs of Alcohol in Alaska. This report, which tabulates all these costs should scare the average individual into not consuming the stuff. 

I'm actively advocating an official policy which seeks to shift social use of intoxicants away from alcohol to marijuana. Anybody who has been paying attention knows that, when compared side by side, that pot doesn't have the same horrible outcomes that alcohol does.

People have been changing their mental states since the beginning of time: they aren't going to stop, so no law is going to work. Why not accept the facts and ask people to voluntarily do the smart, safe thing? It only makes sense!