This is how I would loosely define a "hard drug":
- Can you acutely OD and die?

- Can it kill you or others by causing dangerous behavior?

- Can it induce psychosis?

- Does it cause brain damage?

- Is it toxic to your other organs?

- Is it highly addictive?

- Can the withdrawal kill you?

- Does it cause respiratory depression?

- Can it harm a growing fetus?

- Can it induce rage or other extreme emotional states?
.... and alcohol is the only drug that checks all those boxes. No other commonly used drug does.
Also, something like 60% of homicides in the US involve one or more people with alcohol in their system. Not a lot of people know that.
And not to mention alcohol is also a class 1 carcinogen associated with a myriad of different cancers.
It's a nasty shit.