I have been in treatment for drug use in a facility that treated people with substance and alcohol dependency. the patients that came in looking the worse were the alcoholics. the patients that had the hardest time staying clean were the alcoholics. on our walks to the rehab center every morning we'd walk by 20 bars. the diner we were forced to meet at prior to the start of every day served alcohol. every single friend I made during my time in the facility that had an alcohol problem has now died from an booze related issue.
alcohol is the most readily available drug in america. imo it's to the opinion that if you abstain it makes it difficult to socialize. every run club I know of in la starts their route and ends it at a bar. which is crazy to me but it's true. my dad is an alcoholic and so is my mom. they're in their seventies and no one in their community has ever suggested to them that they might have a problem.
i am a musician that has toured a lot and alcohol requirements are the first question asked by management on an artist's rider. I currently work at venue in LA doing sound and many acts are more concerned with their drink tokens than they are the quality of the sound on/off stage.
I agree that booze not just in america but throughout the world is the biggest drug offender. it's so entrenched in our daily lives that it's impossible for me to envision a world where it doesn't exist.
Thanks Adam for your thoughts and observations. I can't imagine what it must be like to work in the music industry when you're trying to avoid alcohol. Keep up the good work!
From reader Catherine Denison Grotenhuis: GREAT article. I can totally relate, although as a female in our culture, people were probably more willing to just pass me off as quirkily charming when I didn't want to drink. When my son started college he didn't drink (lol he did drink but not alcohol) and he called me the first weekend to share that he couldn't find a single sober person on campus to hang out with...not even in the dorm that was presumably a "non alcohol" dorm. But what about the resident advisor in the non alcohol dorm, I asked him. "She's totally wasted," he replied. "I don't mind being with people who are drinking," he added. "I just want to find people who want to be doing something fun...like playing music, or frisbee together or...." Like you, I am similarly drawn to the sayings on all those towels and sweatshirts in so many gift shops. I feel like I don't live in the same world. Perhaps adults rationalize their drinking by glamorizing it. Perhaps our nation will begin wearing cheery sweatshirts and using cute tea towels that affirm: By popular vote, our nation has elected as our President, a man who enjoys assaulting, dehumanizing and degrading women!"
I have been in treatment for drug use in a facility that treated people with substance and alcohol dependency. the patients that came in looking the worse were the alcoholics. the patients that had the hardest time staying clean were the alcoholics. on our walks to the rehab center every morning we'd walk by 20 bars. the diner we were forced to meet at prior to the start of every day served alcohol. every single friend I made during my time in the facility that had an alcohol problem has now died from an booze related issue.
alcohol is the most readily available drug in america. imo it's to the opinion that if you abstain it makes it difficult to socialize. every run club I know of in la starts their route and ends it at a bar. which is crazy to me but it's true. my dad is an alcoholic and so is my mom. they're in their seventies and no one in their community has ever suggested to them that they might have a problem.
i am a musician that has toured a lot and alcohol requirements are the first question asked by management on an artist's rider. I currently work at venue in LA doing sound and many acts are more concerned with their drink tokens than they are the quality of the sound on/off stage.
I agree that booze not just in america but throughout the world is the biggest drug offender. it's so entrenched in our daily lives that it's impossible for me to envision a world where it doesn't exist.
Thanks Adam for your thoughts and observations. I can't imagine what it must be like to work in the music industry when you're trying to avoid alcohol. Keep up the good work!
From reader Catherine Denison Grotenhuis: GREAT article. I can totally relate, although as a female in our culture, people were probably more willing to just pass me off as quirkily charming when I didn't want to drink. When my son started college he didn't drink (lol he did drink but not alcohol) and he called me the first weekend to share that he couldn't find a single sober person on campus to hang out with...not even in the dorm that was presumably a "non alcohol" dorm. But what about the resident advisor in the non alcohol dorm, I asked him. "She's totally wasted," he replied. "I don't mind being with people who are drinking," he added. "I just want to find people who want to be doing something fun...like playing music, or frisbee together or...." Like you, I am similarly drawn to the sayings on all those towels and sweatshirts in so many gift shops. I feel like I don't live in the same world. Perhaps adults rationalize their drinking by glamorizing it. Perhaps our nation will begin wearing cheery sweatshirts and using cute tea towels that affirm: By popular vote, our nation has elected as our President, a man who enjoys assaulting, dehumanizing and degrading women!"