Alcohol

2/6/2014

Drinking is and always has been a way of life for most people.  Luckily for the majority, we're talking about responsible drinking: a glass or two of wine, beer and perhaps some of the harder stuff. The problem is that teenagers and young adults don't seem to know when to stop, and then they get in their cars and drive.  Result for a lot of these young people? Accidents, injuries and sometimes death.

Luckily for Jeff and I, our two youngest sons thought a wild Saturday night was some popcorn, diet coke and computer games until the wee hours of the morning.  They were definitely not  part of the in crowd nor did they want to be.  We told the boys that they could call us anytime day or night if they found themselves in a situation that was uncomfortable and we would come and get them immediately, no questions asked.  We were very fortunate to have never received that call.

Statistics say that 1 in 10 teens in high school drink and drive.  Kids ages from 16 to 20 are 17 times more likely to die when their blood alcohol is 0.8%.

In the 60's as a teenager, it was cool to smoke, a habit I never took up.  I lived in a small town and there was, of course, some beer drinking.  I don't remember my school mates hitting the hard stuff (or perhaps I was just naive).

Yesterday, the Maryland Senate passed a bill with a vote of 37-10 that would ban high-proof alcohol from liquor stores. The bill would ban any drink that is 95% alcohol - 190 proof from being sold in Maryland.The Senator said that the measure really targets only one kind of liquor: grain alcohol.

There are many dangers stemming from such high-proof alcohol according to the Senator, who says that leaders at universities in Maryland are asking for the measure. They blame alcohol poisoning for fights, sexual assaults, injuries, and deaths. Some say that the high proof alcohol is tasteless and is an easy way to dump grain alcohol into a punch or any other drink, in order to up the grain alcohol content.

One Senator bought a bottle of Everclear at a liquor store and brought it to the Senate. He disagrees with the characterization that it is odorless.

The Senate was prepared to vote on the bill yesterday, but a one-day delay was granted so skeptical senators could see what restrictions neighboring states such as Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania have on high-proof liquor.  All three states have either prohibited its sale or put severe restrictions on those who can buy it.

Even if the bill becomes law, you know as well as I do, that if a young person wants to drink, they will. Where there is a will, there is a way.

P