09 Oct A quick pop quiz on alcohol
Quick! Pop Quiz:
What is the difference between drugs and alcohol?
Answer: No difference exists between drugs and alcohol.
What? Wait a minute, every body always says, “drugs and alcohol” though. There has to be a difference, right?
Well, our culture makes a distinction, but that distinction is actually very fuzzy and, in many people’s opinion, very misleading. A drug is basically anything that alters the functioning of your brain.
According to dictionary.com a drug is:
any article, other than food, intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of humans or other animals.
Alcohol does just that.
Thus, alcohol is a drug, in liquid form. It alters your brain function. So really, the only difference between drugs and alcohol is one is legal for adults and one is not. We’re not going to debate the legality of alcohol with you here, but understanding that alcohol is a type of drug is something you might want to keep in mind when thinking about your beliefs and attitude about alcohol throughout these alcohol sub-posts.
DID YOU KNOW? Each year, approximately 5,000 young people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking; this includes about 1,900 deaths from motor vehicle crashes, 1,600 as a result of homicides, 300 from suicide, as well as hundreds from other injuries such as falls, burns, and drownings.
(Source: https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/AA67/AA67.htm)
As a drug, alcohol alters how you think, perceive and behave when you consume it. That means, among other things, that people are more likely to make poor decisions when under its influence. These posts are meant to help you make solid decisions surrounding alcohol—which is a drug—use.
Bailey Nikont
Posted at 17:07h, 26 Marchno