This is not a stereotype, although it might. In Europe, alcohol is a natural part of the meal. With there not being pressure, there is less of an urge to just go out and get drunk without having the urge to drink more. If you make it legal, it won't have any effect on the numbers immediately, but will soon show that it would desensitize the population to alcoholic beverage exposure. Loosing the hype of it etc. Sure! There will be mindless drinking still, but I at least think it would not be as bad as it is now.