I firmly believe that alcohol in any but minute amounts is very bad for our bodies. It has so many negative effects on the physiology and mental outlook. I do believe that ethanol used as a means of extracting active plant constituents is delivered in such minute amounts that it is non harmful. For instance, when I need to take some of my Devil's claw extract for aches and pains, 12 drops, diluted in 2 oz of water suffices. The extract that I made is 85% alcohol. I do not feel the effects of the alcohol, but I definitely feel better due to the constituents present in that small amount of alcohol.
http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh294/245-255.pdf