Alcohol is a neurotoxin, with direct effects on nerve cells. This statement is a fact, most people know it and still want the effects. Every drop of alcohol you consume degrades your neurotransmitters even so slightly.

The main effect you get from alcohol is myopia (short-sightedness). It narrows mental and emotional field of vision while longer term considerations fade away. Alcohol nullies everything except the current environment and immediate experiences. This is why people both "drink to forget" and "drink to have fun".

Myopia is why a sad person left to his thoughts and drinks just gets more anxious, while the same person at a football game might get more enjoyment.

Alcohol doesn't reduce social barriers or cause violence itself. Mexican gang culture involves a lot of drunken fighting, but they help each other out afterwards. They follow these rules even when heavily drunk.

Structured, predictable and rule driven drinking is usually accepted. Smooth music. Bonding with friends through shared experiences.

Alcohol makes you to be at the mercy of your environment. Drinking in a hypersexual environment involving dancing and touching can go south very fast.

Misuse of alcohol means consuming it too much or consuming it in the wrong context. Hippocampus stops recording memories after a heavy drinking but will come back online after some time. You can't tell if someone is in already in the blackout mode.

Never drink to an empty stomach. 30% less alcohol peak if food in stomach.

Sources

• Talking to Strangers, Malcolm Gladwell