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It should be obvious to everyone that alcoholic beverages have been
around forever. It's not surprising that prohibition of alcohol in the
20th Century didn't work since people have been addicted to the poison
since the Stone Age.
A lot of very intelligent people use the legal and regulated state of
alcohol as a model for the legalization and regulation of other currently
illegal drugs such as heroin and cocaine. Of course, there are so many
drugs around, it's hard to imagine where the legalization would stop.
Legalization certainly would bring the cost of say heroin down from a
$200 a day habit to a $5 dollar a day expenditure. Just think of all the
productive time the addict could spend killing him or herself instead of
stealing everyone blind.
There would be another benefit. If all drugs were legal, just think of all
the choices that would be available to replace alcohol as the number one
stress reliever. No…on second thought, that wouldn't work. If you're
already an alcoholic, you'd just use the added availability of other drugs
to enhance your destruction.
Of all the drugs in existence, alcohol is the most insidious. Many people
can drink alcoholic beverages in moderation and suffer no ill effects.
However, moderation is such a relative word; it means anything anyone
wants it to mean. Ask any falling down drunk, and he'll tell you he's
only had two beers. A female drunk may substitute wine for beer, but
the number two is almost universal.
As a police officer, you're going to deal with drunks frequently. Did I
say frequently?—just a little sarcasm for emphasis. The very first thing
you must understand is that you cannot reason with a drunk—it can't
be done. Well…conflict resolution can't work all the time.
Back to stress. If you're a person who drinks alcohol on an infrequent
basis, you know that a drink really does provide a calming effect after a
particularly stressful experience. It should since it's a depressant drug,
but like any other drug, frequent and prolonged use will diminish the
effect of a single dose.
Unfortunately, you'll work with some police officers who are far beyond
the single dose. They may stay sober during their tour of duty, or at
least they'll appear sober. When they're really in the bag, they'll spend
most of their time avoiding supervisors. The age, sex, and police
experience of the alcoholic police officer isn't really relevant. The more
experienced officer has just been a drunk longer than the others.
When, or if, it becomes necessary for the alcoholic police officer to
confront his or her addiction, the stress of police work will be the first,
and most obvious, excuse. The truth is that most brought the problem
with them when they came on the job. The stress of police work just
makes their own personal acceptance of their addiction more justifiable.
The thing to remember is that if you need a drink to function, you've
got a problem. If the stress of police work really is your reason for
drinking more than you normally would, policing probably isn't the
career for you. It may not be all your fault. Today, medical studies are
being cited which claim an alcoholic drink a day is actually good for you.
Studies of the past claimed a drink a day was the making of an
alcoholic. Any study about anything is the product of data beneficial to
the researchers' preconceived ideas of the proper conclusions. So, when
it comes to alcohol, the words little and infrequent should be your
definition for moderation.
The saddest thing about alcoholism is that it's incurable. The few
alcoholics who have successfully beat their addiction will tell you that
it's a constant struggle every hour of every day. If you're smart, you
won't set yourself up for that struggle.
around forever. It's not surprising that prohibition of alcohol in the
20th Century didn't work since people have been addicted to the poison
since the Stone Age.
A lot of very intelligent people use the legal and regulated state of
alcohol as a model for the legalization and regulation of other currently
illegal drugs such as heroin and cocaine. Of course, there are so many
drugs around, it's hard to imagine where the legalization would stop.
Legalization certainly would bring the cost of say heroin down from a
$200 a day habit to a $5 dollar a day expenditure. Just think of all the
productive time the addict could spend killing him or herself instead of
stealing everyone blind.
There would be another benefit. If all drugs were legal, just think of all
the choices that would be available to replace alcohol as the number one
stress reliever. No…on second thought, that wouldn't work. If you're
already an alcoholic, you'd just use the added availability of other drugs
to enhance your destruction.
Of all the drugs in existence, alcohol is the most insidious. Many people
can drink alcoholic beverages in moderation and suffer no ill effects.
However, moderation is such a relative word; it means anything anyone
wants it to mean. Ask any falling down drunk, and he'll tell you he's
only had two beers. A female drunk may substitute wine for beer, but
the number two is almost universal.
As a police officer, you're going to deal with drunks frequently. Did I
say frequently?—just a little sarcasm for emphasis. The very first thing
you must understand is that you cannot reason with a drunk—it can't
be done. Well…conflict resolution can't work all the time.
Back to stress. If you're a person who drinks alcohol on an infrequent
basis, you know that a drink really does provide a calming effect after a
particularly stressful experience. It should since it's a depressant drug,
but like any other drug, frequent and prolonged use will diminish the
effect of a single dose.
Unfortunately, you'll work with some police officers who are far beyond
the single dose. They may stay sober during their tour of duty, or at
least they'll appear sober. When they're really in the bag, they'll spend
most of their time avoiding supervisors. The age, sex, and police
experience of the alcoholic police officer isn't really relevant. The more
experienced officer has just been a drunk longer than the others.
When, or if, it becomes necessary for the alcoholic police officer to
confront his or her addiction, the stress of police work will be the first,
and most obvious, excuse. The truth is that most brought the problem
with them when they came on the job. The stress of police work just
makes their own personal acceptance of their addiction more justifiable.
The thing to remember is that if you need a drink to function, you've
got a problem. If the stress of police work really is your reason for
drinking more than you normally would, policing probably isn't the
career for you. It may not be all your fault. Today, medical studies are
being cited which claim an alcoholic drink a day is actually good for you.
Studies of the past claimed a drink a day was the making of an
alcoholic. Any study about anything is the product of data beneficial to
the researchers' preconceived ideas of the proper conclusions. So, when
it comes to alcohol, the words little and infrequent should be your
definition for moderation.
The saddest thing about alcoholism is that it's incurable. The few
alcoholics who have successfully beat their addiction will tell you that
it's a constant struggle every hour of every day. If you're smart, you
won't set yourself up for that struggle.
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
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Alcohol
and Stress
and Stress
While no one knows when beverage alcohol was first
used, it was presumably the result of a fortuitous
accident that occurred at least tens of thousands of
years ago. However, the discovery of late Stone Age
beer jugs has established the fact that intentionally
fermented beverages existed at least as early as the
Neolithic period (cir. 10,000 B.C.) (Patrick, 1952, pp.
12-13), and it has been suggested that beer may have
preceded bread as a staple (Braidwood et al, 1953;
Katz and Voigt, 1987); wine clearly appeared as a
finished product in Egyptian pictographs around
4,000 B.C. (Lucia, 1963a, p. 216).
The earliest alcoholic beverages may have been
made from berries or honey (Blum et al, 1969, p. 25;
Rouech6, 1960, p. 8; French, 1890, p. 3) and
winemaking may have originated in the wild grape
regions of the Middle East. Oral tradition recorded in
the Old Testament (Genesis 9:20) asserts that Noah
planted a vineyard on Mt. Arafat. In Sumeria, beer
and wine were used for medicinal purposes as early
as 2,000 B.C. (Babor, 1986, p. 1).
(source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_alcohol )
used, it was presumably the result of a fortuitous
accident that occurred at least tens of thousands of
years ago. However, the discovery of late Stone Age
beer jugs has established the fact that intentionally
fermented beverages existed at least as early as the
Neolithic period (cir. 10,000 B.C.) (Patrick, 1952, pp.
12-13), and it has been suggested that beer may have
preceded bread as a staple (Braidwood et al, 1953;
Katz and Voigt, 1987); wine clearly appeared as a
finished product in Egyptian pictographs around
4,000 B.C. (Lucia, 1963a, p. 216).
The earliest alcoholic beverages may have been
made from berries or honey (Blum et al, 1969, p. 25;
Rouech6, 1960, p. 8; French, 1890, p. 3) and
winemaking may have originated in the wild grape
regions of the Middle East. Oral tradition recorded in
the Old Testament (Genesis 9:20) asserts that Noah
planted a vineyard on Mt. Arafat. In Sumeria, beer
and wine were used for medicinal purposes as early
as 2,000 B.C. (Babor, 1986, p. 1).
(source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_alcohol )
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