Scrivo, K. (1998). Drinking on campus. In CQ Researcher. CQ Press https://doi.org/10.4135/cqresrre19980320

How Society Celebrates

Society's acceptance of alcohol is one that leads to the U.S. being known for the demand, for example prohibition. It leads to a list of effects ranging from drunk driving accidents to some communities being so exposed that crime itself rises due to constant intoxication. Milner shares this concern in Alcohol: The Most Celebrated Yet Most Harmful Drug in Society. Milner presents data that shows “Alcohol is three times more harmful than cocaine or tobacco, yet it remains just behind caffeine as our culture's most celebrated and tolerated recreational drug” (July 2016). Keeping this in mind, I want to analyze the ones who are affected most by society's connection to drinking. 

Looking back into the entries of Gold & Adamec, they dedicate a section called Native Americans and Alcohol. Explaining that there is a higher percentage in alcohol abuse and dependency, though the reason is debated for various causes. Some say a genetic component is missing, and others believe tribal life on reservations are to blame (Gold & Adamec 2021). As with most cases of alcohol studies, reasons come from many places making accuracy increasingly difficult. Being a Native American myself I have personally experienced how there is a constant access to alcohol, especially in my hometown. 

Another group I would like to analyze is the college & university populations linked to alcohol. Karen Lee Scrivo focuses on this demographic in Drinking On Campus: Can Colleges Get It Under Control? Providing fatal cases of what she calls “Binge-Drinking” that have become more and more common. Scrivo stated that “Just how widespread alcohol abuse is on college campuses depends on whom you ask” (Scrivo 1998). Making this a problem even harder to focus when involving university students, but there is one group that is identified as prominent in these activities. Using data based on Fraternities and Sororities, these groups had a considerably higher rate of binge drinking. The image provided is a chart that shows what campus problems were linked to alcohol.

Other Factors

There have been studies and efforts to try and address and combat this culture of intense drinking habits. The Reagan Administration supported this with $8 million to start centers to fight substance abuse (Scrivo 1998). However, as with many programs, funding is always fluctuating and subject to change. 

 

Another part of the effects of alcohol is that it is a business, there is an industry, which has a goal, profit.  I think that because there is such a constant demand for alcohol in any shape in the U.S., there will always be someone selling it. Which was proven extensively with our history of prohibition. Liquor stores are almost a staple of the U.S. economy, showing in the media of older teens trying to get someone to buy beer for them. I think that these are truthful, we also need to highlight the resources to help addiction. That the narrative that alcoholics have a choice when it comes to the bottle, is not so black and white. The structure of certain genomes and other factors come into play. 

Đuza N. Houston, TX. (August 2020). December 2024. Unsplash

A red neon sign that is on the side of a building photo – Free Houston Image on Unsplash

References 

Gold, M. S., & Adamec, C. (2021). Native Americans and Alcohol Abuse. In Facts On File Library of Health and Living. The Encyclopedia of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (2nd ed., pp. 366-369). Facts on File. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX8346600065/GVRL?u=pima_main&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=8d217b6a

 

Milner, C. (2016, Jul). Alcohol: The most celebrated yet most harmful drug in society. The Epoch Times, Suppl.Epoch Weekend Retrieved from https://go.openathens.net/redirector/pima.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/alcohol-most-celebrated-yet-harmful-drug-society/docview/1804902261/se-2


Scrivo, K. (1998). Drinking on campus. In CQ Researcher. CQ Press https://doi.org/10.4135/cqresrre19980320