I voted for alcohol because it's so prevalent. Meth is the 2nd best choice but I'd wager that alcohol ruins a metric shit-ton more lives than meth.

I voted alcohol too. It's so pervasive and so damn damaging. I mean, who doesn't know someone whose life has been rather strongly scarred by alcohol (assuming that someone isn't yourself?) I mean, there is about one or two degrees of separation between most of us and alcholism.

I'm very surprised that meth is running 2nd right now. That's got to be media hype. I've known, um, i dunno, umpteen alcoholics in my life and seen quite a bit of the personal damage caused by alcohol. I'm not aware of that degree of ubiquitous damage related to meth. It may exist in some portion of the population, but alcohol cuts a swath across all cultures, economic classes, and age groups. It's an equal-opportunity damager.

Tobacco would be my second.

Is there any danger in responsible drinking? (versus any kind of smoking).
Not trying to troll, just an honest question.

Meth is alarmingly widespread in some areas I know. I haven't come across entire towns where the kids are all on heroin but meth wastelands? I know a few, sadly.

Still, I think it should be behind tobacco. The cost to healthcare of tobacco use is huge. Notice it's the first question an insurer asks? They know their stats.

I voted for marijuana because it smells like dogshit and goddamn people are annoying when they're stoned.