I note that your essay treats a soft drug more harshly and misleadingly than it does hard drugs. All in all, a very good ad for the hard drug alcohol industry.
The only drug softer than alcohol in my experience is pot. What other softer than alcohol drugs are you referring to?
Please be more original than "caffine or nicotine"! Neither of those are intoxicants unless consumed in near lethal dosage which is very unlikely...in the short run.