I have a friend who distills. He's got clean, safe equipment, he knows the chemistry of it, his control is good, and he throws away the first cut. In addition, he makes a damn good sour mash whiskey, and this is coming from a guy who normally shies away from hard liquor*. I believe it when I hear responsible distilling is safe. And as additional protection, this guy drinks about a hundred times more of his liquor than I do, so if it's going to hurt someone, I'll know before it's me.
*I do better on natural booze - beer, wine, cider, anything that happens through natural biological processes. When it takes a science experiment to make something? I can appreciate the craftsmanship, but damn my body doesn't like me to pour much of it down my throat.