I am an alcoholic. It is not something I am proud of or ashamed of. It is simply part of who I am and something I will have to deal with for the rest of my life. I have struggled with my addiction for a long time with ups and downs. It has been almost a year since my last drink, and I have no intention of having one again. I am finally happy with the concept of permanent sobriety. I am also aware that I will still have to be forever vigilant to ensure that I don’t fall down the hole again..Over the years I have been a member of Alcoholics Anonymous. While I had challenges with the spiritual aspect of the program, the support from fellow alcoholics at meetings has been of immeasurable value to me. When I worked on the road, going to regular meetings provided me with a safe and healthy outlet while I remained sober. If there is a community with more than a few dozen people, rest assured that there will be a local chapter of AA in the area. This also demonstrates just how widespread alcoholism is in our society..Last week, Prince Edward Island witlessly and with little warning announced that they would be closing their liquor stores. There was of course a panicked rush and massive lineups as people scrambled to stock up on booze while they could..The Chief Medical Officer was shocked by the response and responded by scolding citizens..“I’m disappointed in Islanders’ response in the last three hours,” Heather Morrison said at a news conference. “Perhaps we underestimated that alcohol is considered essential for some people.”.Morrison’s tone sounded condescending and dismissive of the seriousness with which people take access to alcohol. As a Chief Medical Officer, I would have thought she would be aware of just how widespread alcoholism is and how dangerous it is to suddenly cut off an alcoholic. It makes me question her competency. What did she think was going to happen?.According to Statistics Canada, roughly 2.6 percent of Canadians are physically dependent upon alcohol. We are not talking about binge drinkers or folks who tend to respond poorly to being drunk. This is an actual physical dependency and adication..Alcohol withdrawal is a very serious thing. It can kill a person if it is not done in a controlled environment. When new and heavily addicted members would show up to our meetings with AA, the first thing we recommend that they do is to consult a medical professional before drying out. I envy those who have never dealt with serious withdrawal in their lives, but if they haven’t done so it can be damn near impossible to make them understand how serious it is. It varies from alcoholic to alcoholic, but it is never pleasant. It can range from irritability, sweats and shakes to sickness, hallucinations, seizures, and death..We accept that drug addicts can’t control themselves and support mitigation measures such as safe consumption sites. We also need to accept that nearly a million alcoholics are in the same boat..There are going to be all sorts of unforeseen consequences from state-imposed shutdowns due to the Coronavirus pandemic. One that I fear will be overlooked will be the sudden mass of alcohol-dependent citizens who will be left out to hang..No, most won’t die from the withdrawals alone. Some may die from trying to drink an unsafe substance as a substitute for liquor. Some may get killed while trying to rob neighbors or businesses while seeking liquor. Some may even get killed by a family member as a situation gets out of control while in quarantine. Desperate alcoholics will put others at risk as well..Not every alcoholic has the means to stockpile liquor in case of a protracted shutdown. Not every alcoholic even realizes just how dependent they are and they will be in for a very rude awakening when the supply suddenly dries up. With plentiful access, they drank daily and never realized the dependency that it created..People are overlooking all sorts of consequences whether economic or social as they unrealistically demand a protracted shutdown of society in reaction to the Coronavirus pandemic. The disorder is likely to become rampant if we are to shut down for any more than a couple of weeks. I can understand how people wouldn’t consider alcohol provision to be an essential service but if we want to mitigate the damage from shutdowns as much as possible, we will want to ensure that people have access to liquor somehow..I do hope that every alcoholic finds sobriety before the addiction kills them. I know though that forcing them to go cold turkey during a pandemic won’t help the alcoholics or anybody around them. It would be very dangerous as a matter of fact..Cory Morgan is a columnist for the Western Standard
I am an alcoholic. It is not something I am proud of or ashamed of. It is simply part of who I am and something I will have to deal with for the rest of my life. I have struggled with my addiction for a long time with ups and downs. It has been almost a year since my last drink, and I have no intention of having one again. I am finally happy with the concept of permanent sobriety. I am also aware that I will still have to be forever vigilant to ensure that I don’t fall down the hole again..Over the years I have been a member of Alcoholics Anonymous. While I had challenges with the spiritual aspect of the program, the support from fellow alcoholics at meetings has been of immeasurable value to me. When I worked on the road, going to regular meetings provided me with a safe and healthy outlet while I remained sober. If there is a community with more than a few dozen people, rest assured that there will be a local chapter of AA in the area. This also demonstrates just how widespread alcoholism is in our society..Last week, Prince Edward Island witlessly and with little warning announced that they would be closing their liquor stores. There was of course a panicked rush and massive lineups as people scrambled to stock up on booze while they could..The Chief Medical Officer was shocked by the response and responded by scolding citizens..“I’m disappointed in Islanders’ response in the last three hours,” Heather Morrison said at a news conference. “Perhaps we underestimated that alcohol is considered essential for some people.”.Morrison’s tone sounded condescending and dismissive of the seriousness with which people take access to alcohol. As a Chief Medical Officer, I would have thought she would be aware of just how widespread alcoholism is and how dangerous it is to suddenly cut off an alcoholic. It makes me question her competency. What did she think was going to happen?.According to Statistics Canada, roughly 2.6 percent of Canadians are physically dependent upon alcohol. We are not talking about binge drinkers or folks who tend to respond poorly to being drunk. This is an actual physical dependency and adication..Alcohol withdrawal is a very serious thing. It can kill a person if it is not done in a controlled environment. When new and heavily addicted members would show up to our meetings with AA, the first thing we recommend that they do is to consult a medical professional before drying out. I envy those who have never dealt with serious withdrawal in their lives, but if they haven’t done so it can be damn near impossible to make them understand how serious it is. It varies from alcoholic to alcoholic, but it is never pleasant. It can range from irritability, sweats and shakes to sickness, hallucinations, seizures, and death..We accept that drug addicts can’t control themselves and support mitigation measures such as safe consumption sites. We also need to accept that nearly a million alcoholics are in the same boat..There are going to be all sorts of unforeseen consequences from state-imposed shutdowns due to the Coronavirus pandemic. One that I fear will be overlooked will be the sudden mass of alcohol-dependent citizens who will be left out to hang..No, most won’t die from the withdrawals alone. Some may die from trying to drink an unsafe substance as a substitute for liquor. Some may get killed while trying to rob neighbors or businesses while seeking liquor. Some may even get killed by a family member as a situation gets out of control while in quarantine. Desperate alcoholics will put others at risk as well..Not every alcoholic has the means to stockpile liquor in case of a protracted shutdown. Not every alcoholic even realizes just how dependent they are and they will be in for a very rude awakening when the supply suddenly dries up. With plentiful access, they drank daily and never realized the dependency that it created..People are overlooking all sorts of consequences whether economic or social as they unrealistically demand a protracted shutdown of society in reaction to the Coronavirus pandemic. The disorder is likely to become rampant if we are to shut down for any more than a couple of weeks. I can understand how people wouldn’t consider alcohol provision to be an essential service but if we want to mitigate the damage from shutdowns as much as possible, we will want to ensure that people have access to liquor somehow..I do hope that every alcoholic finds sobriety before the addiction kills them. I know though that forcing them to go cold turkey during a pandemic won’t help the alcoholics or anybody around them. It would be very dangerous as a matter of fact..Cory Morgan is a columnist for the Western Standard
