Alcohol & Drugs Awareness

You might think you know a lot about drugs and alcohol. Let's face it, alcohol is legal to buy and some doctors even recommend it as therapy for heart conditions or blood pressure problems. But just because you are familiar with something doesn't mean a little extra awareness won't help you.

Drinking or drug use alone is one thing. Some drink excessively or use drugs in the privacy of their own home, and no one is the wiser. Some, however, take it to the street by getting behind the wheel of a car. When you do this, suddenly your private alcohol or drug use becomes everyone's business―because you are now a danger to others.

Most people who drink or do drugs and then drive probably don't think what they are doing is so bad (if they thought it was that bad, they wouldn't do it). But that demonstrates a lack of awareness of the effect of alcohol and drugs on the body. Perhaps knowing more about how these substances work will help people understand just why it's so dangerous to mix these activities with driving a car.

Basic History of Alcohol and Drugs

Long ago, people began drinking alcohol because it was tasty, made them feel better, and was prescribed for good health. Hippocrates, the ancient Greek doctor, was said to believe in the medicinal qualities of wine.

Beer was a daily drink for many Egyptian workers. Bhuzza cake was a yeast cake that could be dissolved in water to create a thick, protein-rich drink to share among many people. Distilled spirits, fermented wines, and liquors grew region by region like treasured recipes.

However, history also recognized the dark side of alcohol. Plato and Aristotle both wrote about public drunkenness and disgrace. Even the United States took a stand on alcohol in the 1920s with prohibition laws.

The history of drugs other than alcohol usually begins with plants and trees. For example, marijuana has been around for a very long time and used traditionally by some cultures in ceremonies. Today some drugs, such as methamphetamine, are manufactured. You can't say that naturally occurring drugs are any better for you than man-made drugs, but the production process for drugs like meth can be extremely dangerous.

Personality and Alcohol or Drug Use

It probably makes sense that different personalities use drugs or alcohol differently. Well, the social scientists have spent decades studying personality type and alcohol use.

In one study by Nolan, Johnson, and Pincus titled Personality and Drunk Driving: Identification of DUI Types Using the Hogan Personality Inventory (1994, Psychological Assessment), personality tests were used to compare five major personality types to DUI behavior:

• Extraversion

• Agreeableness

• Conscientiousness

• Emotional stability

• Openness

One idea the study looked at was how people with personalities low in emotional stability and agreeableness may be more likely to have problems with DUI arrests. If this all sounds like psychobabble to you, don't worry―you are not alone.

We can't all be social scientists. But we do all have personalities and we can compare our personality and individual alcohol use with other people we know. Don't get carried away with your analysis; what you really need to understand is that personality will affect how you use drugs and alcohol.

Physical Affects of Alcohol

If you understand the three basic steps of drinking alcohol, you'll appreciate the total influence it can have on your body. The steps are absorption, transporting, and changing.

During the absorption stage, your body absorbs the alcohol into your bloodstream. The transporting step is intuitively labeled because this is where the bloodstream transports the alcohol to your body organs. The last step, changing, is what your body tries to do to the alcohol to transform it into a nonharmful substance. Your body works hard, especially your liver, to break down the alcohol so it can be eliminated.

If your system gets overwhelmed and the changing step backs up, you can go toxic. Bad things begin to happen with alcohol poisoning, including death. Don't let that happen to you or anyone you care about. This bleak picture is extreme, but if you are aware of the alcohol steps, you can avoid the danger of alcohol use.

Alcohol could be good for your cardiovascular system and your heart. There is some research that indicates red wine can lower your cholesterol. And some studies have concluded that moderate alcohol use can decrease your chance of a heart attack and cardiovascular-related death.

There is a lot of debate about the benefits of regular alcohol use. There is, however, much less debate about the health damage of alcohol use. When you use alcohol heavily for a long time, you increase your risk of disease.

You will certainly damage your liver and other internal organs if you drink heavily for years. And the restorative functions of good sleep can be diluted by your alcohol use. If you aren't sleeping well, you might just look at when and how much alcohol you are drinking.

Driving and Drug or Alcohol Use

So maybe your personality and even your genetics put you at high risk for DUI. What can you do about it? Just because you might be predisposed to having problems with alcohol doesn't mean your destiny is certain.

Being aware of how alcohol or drugs affect you personally can help you make good choices about alcohol, drugs, and driving. You will learn about DUI in your driver's education courses. Consider important facts like the increased likelihood of an accident if you use both drugs and alcohol at the same time.

Using common sense can keep you out of trouble too. Planning ahead and making decisions about drinking and driving will help you maintain good judgment before you are confused by drugs or alcohol.

You need to be aware of the consequences of DUI:

• Drinking and driving is the leading cause of death for Americans 17-24 years old.

• The cost of an average DUI is $3,000.

• 70 people die each day in America in drunk driving accidents.

Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)

The amount of alcohol in your blood can be measured. Your awareness of alcohol should include an understanding of how your blood alcohol concentration affects you and what affects your BAC.

The BAC is a measurement of the alcohol in your blood. Your body absorbs the alcohol you drink, moving it through the stomach and into your blood just 30 minutes after you started to imbibe.

Sometimes this happens at a slower rate, taking more than 30 minutes, because of what you recently ate, how many drinks you had, and how quickly you drank. Gender makes a difference too. Women keep more alcohol in their blood because they naturally have more fat and alcohol doesn't absorb into fat; alcohol prefers to stay in the bloodstream.

There is some disagreement about BAC measurement and legal limits. Some people feel that the maximum legal BAC for driving, usually up to 0.08%, are arbitrary and not meaningful for many drivers. Others believe that levels of 0.08% are extremely dangerous because you could have reduced reaction time, impaired motor skills, and foggy thinking.

You'll want to learn the laws in your state regarding drugs, alcohol, and driving. In most states you will be convicted of DUI with a BAC of 0.08%; however, some states are more stringent depending on your age. And again, depending on your body that particular day, choosing to have a drink and then drive could put you over the legal limit. You don't want to lose your license, because then you have to pay penalties and fees, and you won't be able to drive to work or school.

Additional Reading and Resources

Any educational system is a good resource for drug and alcohol awareness, particularly universities and colleges. If you are a student, check out your school's Web site for information on alcohol and drugs. The Harvard School of Public Health offers some information about alcohol.

The government spends a lot of money researching alcohol and drug abuse. You might want to read about Drug Enforcement Administration educational programs on drug and alcohol use. There is always the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which has information about driving and alcohol.

Just for fun or personal enlightenment, you might want to read more about personality types after taking a brief online personality test.