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Spice, K2 is sometimes sold as “legal marijuana”

George Filhour — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 19:03:03 +0000

Spice, K2 is sometimes sold as “legal marijuana”
The DEA extended a ban on five chemicals that make some spice mixtures illegal.
Three young people have been hospitalized with kidney failure and a dozen others sickened in Casper, Wyoming, in an outbreak linked to a batch of the designer drug Spice, authorities said on Friday.
The state medical officials said the cause of the outbreak was under investigation but reported that Casper residents who have sought medical treatment for vomiting and back pain had recently smoked or ingested a chemical-laced herbal product packaged as “blueberry spice.”
The illnesses reported by physicians and hospitals in the east central Wyoming city beginning on Sunday had added up to a cluster that alarmed health officials by the end of the week.
“At this point, we are viewing use of this drug as a potentially life-threatening situation,” Tracy Murphy, Wyoming state epidemiologist, said in a statement.
Those who have fallen ill range in age from late teens to early 20s and all used blueberry-flavored spice.
Warnings about the product and a list of symptoms associated with kidney malfunctions have been posted in health departments, clinics and medical facilities across the state even as scientists at the Wyoming State Crime Laboratory scrambled to ferret out the compounds in the batch suspected in the incident.
“Based on our information from the doctors, the three people with kidney failure are in pretty serious shape; they’re very sick,” he said.
Spice is sometimes sold as “legal marijuana” because of the high that users experience from plant material coated with chemicals that claim to mimic THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Drug policy experts said use of spice has been on the rise since the DEA in 2009 tracked skyrocketing numbers of reports about the products from poison control centers, hospitals and local law enforcement agencies.
The DEA extended a ban on Thursday on five chemicals that make some spice mixtures illegal. Yet authorities have struggled to keep pace with changes in the chemical make-up of the designer drugs, which sometimes skirt newly enacted laws.
Bans on spice are in place in several states, including Wyoming. But with manufacturers capable of rapidly adjusting recipes, states like Idaho have made illegal whole groups of compounds rather than specific chemicals.
“Spice is a pretty lucrative business and the marketing is to youth,” said Caitlin Zak, program manager for the Idaho Office of Drug Policy. Summary-K2, or SPICE, is a new illicit drug product that has begun to appear in a limited number of drug markets in the United States. This product is a small package of herbal blends and appears to be treated with differing versions of synthetic Cannabinoids. Effects are reportedly analogous to marijuana but include additional dangers to users such as panic attacks, heart palpitations, hallucinations, delusions, vomiting, increased agitation, dilated pupils, and other symptoms.

Inhalants are breathable chemical vapors that produce psychoactive (mind-altering) effects.

George Filhour — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 18:48:39 +0000

Inhalants are breathable chemical vapors that produce psychoactive (mind-altering) effects. Younger children and teens tend to abuse inhalants in part because they are readily available and inexpensive. Although unintentional inhalation of household products can occur, inhalant abuse, or huffing, is an intention act.
Street Names
Whippets, Poppers, Snappers
What Are Inhalants?
Inhalants are breathable chemical vapors often found in common household products that contain volatile solvents or aerosols. Inhalants fall into four major categories:
• Volatile Solvents
Volatile solvents are industrial, household, art or office supply solvents or solvent-containing products. They include paint thinners or removers, degreasers, dry-cleaning fluids, gasoline, correction fluids, felt-tip-marker fluid, and electronic contact cleaners.
• Aerosols
Aerosols are household aerosol propellants and associated solvents in items such as spray paints, hair or deodorant sprays, fabric protector sprays, aerosol computer cleaning products, and vegetable oil sprays.
• Gases
These are gases used in household or commercial products, including butane lighters and propane tanks, whipping cream aerosols or dispensers (whippets), and refrigerant gases, medical anesthetic gases, such as ether, chloroform, halothane, and nitrous oxide (laughing gas).
• Nitrites
Organic nitrites are volatiles that include cyclohexyl, butyl, and amyl nitrites, commonly known as “poppers.” Amyl nitrite is still used in some medicine procedures. Volatile nitrites are often sold in small brown bottles labeled as “video head cleaner,” “room odorizer,” “leather cleaner” or “liquid aroma.”
How Is It Taken?
Inhalants are sniffed directly from the container, ‘huffed’ from a cloth saturated with the substance and held closely to the face, ‘bagged’ which is sniffing from a bag with the saturated cloth inside it or put on hands, fingernails or clothing enabling the user to inhale the fumes in public without being detected.
Who Uses Inhalants?
Young people may use inhalants as a substitute for alcohol. Because of its addictive nature, many go on to use it as they grow older. Older adults who use inhalants are generally chronic abusers. Research suggests that chronic or long-term inhalant abusers are among the most difficult drug abuse patients to treat.
What Are the Effects of Inhalants?
Most inhalants produce a rapid high that resembles alcohol intoxication. If sufficient amounts are inhaled, nearly all solvents and gases produce anesthesia, a loss of sensation, and even unconsciousness.
What are the Hazards of Using Inhalants?
Short-Term Hazards

Other Dangerous Effects
• Sudden Sniffing Death
Sudden Sniffing Death can result from a single session of inhalant, even in healthy individuals. This is often associated with the abuse of butane, propane, and chemicals in aerosols.
• Inhalants and Suffocation
High concentrations of inhalants also can cause death from suffocation by displacing oxygen in the lungs and then in the central nervous system so that breathing ceases. Deliberately inhaling from a paper or plastic bag or in a closed area greatly increases the chances of suffocation.
Are Inhalants Addictive?
Yes. Heavy users can become addicted to inhalants may suffer cognitive impairment or other neurological dysfunctions which makes quitting difficult. Users develop a tolerance for inhalants over time which means it takes more to experience the ‘high’ that they used to get from smaller amounts.
Cautions
Casual users face the same dangers from using inhalants as heavy users. A British study of 1,000 deaths from inhalant use found that 200 of the deaths were to first-time users.

What are our kids using to get high, you ask?

George Filhour — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 14:07:35 +0000

What are our kids using to get high, you ask? Well, any kid’s drug scene is so in flux it could change before this column even gets printed, but here goes.
In the past, youngsters experimented with drugs like tobacco, marijuana or alcohol. Today, there’s way more choices. That’s thanks to the Internet and sweaty little head shops trying hard to stay one step ahead of the cops.
Around here, pot is still the No. 1 favorite. And that new study that came out? Says pot doesn’t harm lungs? Well, that was for someone smoking one time a week. Who uses pot like that?
So-called fake pot has been available in our local head shop. It’s known as K2 or Spice. This synthetic marijuana mimics the effects of real pot and can show up in urine screens. Strangely, the DEA made five of its ingredients illegal, so distributors are tweaking their product as fast as can be in hopes of remaining legal.
Salvia, also smoked to get marijuana-like effects, is allegedly available at that same head shop. Legislation outlawing it is pending. Gosh, what’s a dealer to do? Risks are similar to other smoked substances treated with pesticides and sprayed with chemicals and inhaled. Young bodies are unpredictable as to effects.
Kids are also attending “pharming parties” that cause anything from an emergency room visit to death.
This horribly dangerous party starts like so: Everyone raids the family medicine chest and liquor cabinet, bringing prescription and over-the-counter drugs, cough syrup, mouthwash, antibiotics, cholesterol meds, little brother’s Ritalin or Adderall and anything else legal or illegal they can find. The dry ingredients go into one bowl, liquids another. Then they take turns grabbing something to swallow then something to wash it down. Makes me faint with fear.
Many kids are turning to opiods to get high. This is the stuff your doctor prescribes for pain. It includes hydrocodone, oxycodone, OxyContin, Tylenol 3 and vicodin. Kids get it from your or a friend’s medicine cabinet, online or the street. Overdosing is common and dangerous. Guard this stuff with your life. News reports indicate prescription drug overdose has risen 430 percent in the past 10 years. It’s a huge problem.
Doda, ground poppy seeds or husks, are steeped in water or tea and drunk. Probably not with the pinky sticking out.
Bath salts, a synthetic stimulant sold as “plant food,” is snorted, smoked or injected. It can cause suicidal ideology, psychosis and just horrible trips.
Strawberry quick is methamphetamine mixed with Kool-Aid. Its marketers know kids prefer a sweet taste, so there you are.
Cheese is black tar heroin crushed with Tylenol PM and snorted. Marketers developed this sales item because kids don’t like needles, which is how heroin’s normally used.
There are even sites on the Internet that sell “music” supposedly able to cause a weed-like high. Many think it just sounds like a droning noise and is a total ripoff.
Household goods that can be used to get high include and who knows what else.
And here comes AeroShot, caffeine you inhale.
Even more problems arise because kids use differently. They don’t wait like adults for drugs to kick in. When the results aren’t immediate, they grab another handful and swallow, often overdosing.

National Survey Shows Rise in Illicit Drug Use

George Filhour — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 20:15:05 +0000

National Survey Shows Rise in Illicit Drug Use

The use of illicit drugs among Americans increased between 2008 and 2010 according to SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). According to the annual survey, 22.6 million Americans 12 and older (8.9 percent of the population) were current illicit drug users. The rate of use in 2010 was similar to the rate in 2009 (8.7 percent), but remained above the 2008 rate (8 percent).

An increased rate in the current use of marijuana seems to be one of the prime factors in the overall rise in illicit drug use. In 2010, 17.4 million Americans were current users of marijuana, compared to 14.4 million in 2007. This represents an increase in the rate of current marijuana use in the population 12 and older from 5.8 percent in 2007 to 6.9 percent in 2010.

Another disturbing trend is the continuing rise in the rate of current illicit drug use among young adults aged 18 to 25 — from 19.6 percent in 2008 to 21.2 percent in 2009 and 21.5 percent in 2010. This increase was also driven in large part by a rise in the rate of current marijuana use among this population.

The survey, released by at the kickoff of the 22nd annual National Recovery Month observance, also shows that use rates for nonmedical use of prescription drugs, hallucinogens and inhalants have remained at approximately the same levels as 2009, and are also similar to rates in 2002.

“We stand at a crossroads in our Nation’s efforts to prevent substance abuse and addiction,” said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, J.D. “These statistics represent real lives that are at risk from the harmful and sometimes devastating effects of illicit drug use. This Nation cannot afford to risk losing more individuals, families and communities to illicit drugs or from other types of substance abuse — instead, we must do everything we can to effectively promote prevention, treatment and recovery programs across our country.”

Among the survey’s other noteworthy findings is that the majority (55 percent) of persons aged 12 and older who had used prescription pain relievers nonmedically in the past 12 months received them from a friend or relative for free. Only 4.4 percent of those misusing pain relievers in the past year reported getting their supply from a drug dealer and 0.4 percent bought it on the Internet.

Despite some troubling trends, the 2010 NSDUH showed areas of improvement in terms of lower use levels for certain substances. The number of current methamphetamine users decreased by roughly half from 2006 to 2010 — from 731,000 people age 12 and older (0.3 percent) to 353,000 (0.1 percent). Cocaine use has also declined, from 2.4 million current users in 2006 to 1.5 million in 2010. In addition, among 12- to 17-year-olds there were decreases between 2009 and 2010 in current drinking rates (from 14.7 percent to 13.6 percent) and current tobacco use rates (from 11.6 percent to 10.7 percent).

As in previous years, the 2010 NSDUH shows a vast disparity between the number of people needing specialized treatment for a substance abuse problem and the number who actually receive it. According to the survey, 23.1 million Americans aged 12 and older (9.1 percent) needed specialized treatment for a substance abuse problem, but only 2.6 million (or roughly 11.2 percent of them) received it.

For more information on the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, visit https://nsduhweb.rti.org/

Underage drinking has become increasingly popular among high school and college students, and so have the costs of care for underage drinkers who go too far.

George Filhour — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:17:50 +0000

by Nicole Leonard
Boston University
February 22, 2012
Underage drinking has become increasingly popular among high school and college students, and so have the costs of care for underage drinkers who go too far.

What a Mayo Clinic study published on Feb. 15 found interesting were the costs stemming from incidents involving alcohol abuse. Based on the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database, the study found that the hospitalization costs from annual incidences of alcohol use disorder (AUD) between the ages of 15 and 20 was estimated at $755 million in 2008.
The CDC names alcohol as the “most commonly used and abused drug among youth in the United States.”
The results from the 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey given to high school students showed that during the past 30 days:
• 42% drank some amount of alcohol
• 24% binge drank
• 10% drove after drinking alcohol
• 28% rode with a driver that had been drinking alcohol
The numbers and data not only reflect the high school population of mostly minors but also show statistics on students in colleges or universities.
The Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality released an article on Feb. 7 that focused more specifically on underage adult cases. Polled data from the SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) gave insight into information collected on approximately 374,000 cases of substance abuse treatments in 2009 in people aged 18 to 24. According to TEDS, about 12,00 of those admitted for treatment were college or postsecondary school students.
In the case of alcohol abuse, the data showed that people admitted between the ages mentioned above were more likely to be college students than non-students. College students accounted for 46.6 percent of alcohol abuse cases for people aged 18 to 24 while non-students accounted for 30.6 percent.
As studies continue to release statistics and data about underage drinking, researchers still look for the reasons why high school and college students continue to drink heavily although underage.
Amanda Luccarelli, a sophomore at Marist College, said college students especially drink to relive stress that comes from keeping up good grades and attaining degrees that would help get secure jobs in a now difficult job market.
“That factor placed on all of the stresses of grades and the reality of leaving college with a degree and a debt they had never fully calculated causes many college students to over drink and get themselves in trouble,” Luccarelli said.
Shannon Casey, a sophomore at Ohio State University, said the increase in underage drinking in the current generation of college students is unsettling.
“I think it says that we are a little less responsible than previous generations,” Casey said.
Casey said that while she recognizes the faults in her colleagues and fellow students, some parents or legal drinkers can be responsible for providing alcohol to minors.
“It is against the law to obtain alcohol,” she said. “The underage drinker cannot be solely blamed for this since someone older provided help.”
Boston University sophomore James Curtis said that students are irresponsible in their drinking habits and use it to escape the stresses of everyday life.
“This is also the first time that students have real freedom from their parents and they feel like they can do whatever they like,” Curtis said.
Curtis also said that, while it is wrong for parents to become enablers of underage drinking, “Almost all kids will drink when they are underage, and if parents don’t allow that or pretend it isn’t happening, it doesn’t help the situation.”

Prescription drug abuse remains a big problem in the midsouth

George Filhour — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:45:12 +0000

Prescription drug abuse remains a big problem in the midsouth and now it's nationally known. Forbes Magazine named Tennessee the second most mediciated state in the country, only West Virginia performed more poorly.

Star’s Death Places Spotlight on Xanax

George Filhour — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:47:12 +0000

Star’s Death Places Spotlight on Xanax

What is Xanax?

Xanax is a prescription medication for anxiety disorders (some outlets have incorrectly reported that it is an anti-depressant). It works by acting on GABA receptors, the “brakes” of the brain. It is part of the benzodiazepine class of medications and is in a larger group of medications commonly referred to as “downers” or “sedatives.”

While many people with anxiety disorders benefit from treatment with them, benzodiazepines have the potential to become addictive and can be abused. Drugs that people feel the effects of quickly and that leave the system quickly are more likely to be abused. Of the benzodiazepines, Xanax is one of the fastest acting and most potent.

Are all anxiety medications potentially addictive?

No. There are other kinds of medication for anxiety that affect the brain differently than Xanax and the other benzodiazepines.

Are drugs like Xanax dangerous?

All drugs have risks, which increase when they are not used as they should be. For example, overdoses of the commonly used over-the-counter drug Tylenol are the leading cause of acute liver failure in the U.S. Benzodiazepines like Xanax can put the brakes on the brain too much, particularly the part that controls breathing. When too high a dose of these medications is used, especially if they are combined with other substances that affect breathing – such as alcohol – breathing can become too slow or shallow or even stop completely. Per SAMHSA (Substance Abuseand Mental Health Services Administration), over three quarters of benzodiazepine-related ER visits in 2002 involved at least two substances. Alcohol was by far the most common second substance. Doctors who prescribe these medications routinely warn patients not to drink alcohol while taking them. Medications like Xanax can often be used safely as long as they are used as prescribed.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/02/20/4277014/stars-death-places-spotlight-on.html#storylink=cpy

Drug abuse begins young

George Filhour — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:26:22 +0000

Drug abuse begins young, officials say

Middle school parents warned about dangers

Today’s most viewed articles

By Aaron Sanborn

asanborn@seacoastonline.com

February 17, 2012 2:00 AM

STRATHAM — Alcohol, marijuana and tobacco are the most abused substances among middle schoolers.

This was one statistic Student Assistance Counselor Margot Walker and School Resource Officer Michael Oliveira shared with Cooperative Middle School parents Wednesday night during a community forum at the school titled “Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Teen Drug and Alcohol Use In Our Community But Were Afraid To Ask.”

Statistics

Use of Ecstasy has risen among Grade 8 and 10 students. From 2009 to 2010, lifetime use of ecstasy among eighth-graders increased from 2.2 percent to 3.3 percent

Among youth, the use of alcohol and other drugs has been linked to unintentional injuries, physical fights, academic and occupational problems, and illegal behavior

40 percent of those who started drinking at age 13 or younger developed alcohol dependence later in life.

Teenagers whose parents talk to them on a regular basis about the dangers of drug use are 42 percent less likely to use drugs than those whose parents don’t.

20 percent of eighth-graders report that they have tried marijuana.

More than 60 percent of teens said that drugs were sold, used, or kept at their school.

*National statistics from Teen Help LLC

“Does it happen here? Not usually. But every year we usually have one or two of these incidents (with substances),” Walker said.

“For the most part it happens at home or someone else’s home,” Walker said. “Kids who steal alcohol at this age steal from their parents or other parents. They even steal marijuana from their parents.”

Oliveira said he gets concerned when he finds out middle school students are using these substances. Most addicts he’s encountered in his career start abusing drugs when they’re 14 years old, he said.

“Those two things are always generally linked at an early age,” he said.

Walker said alcohol is the biggest concern because it kills more youths then most drugs combined. Youth are getting it at a younger age, as early as 13, and don’t understand it. As a result, alcohol overdose deaths have increased.

Drinking and driving deaths also remain a problem, according to Walker.

In addition to talking to their kids about the risks of drinking, Walker said, parents need to talk to them about what to do if they find themselves in a situation where they drank too much and are in trouble or have a friend that is in trouble.

Walker said marijuana use is another major concern for her because most kids feel that it isn’t a big deal but many will move on to a stronger drug when the high no longer satisfies them.

Parents were warned that a major risk period for starting drug use is the summer between eighth grade and freshman year of high school because the anxiety associated with the transition.

While they may not currently be a major problem in the SAU 16 school district, a lot of the forum was spent on educating parents about the harder drugs, such as ecstasy, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines, synthetic drugs and prescription drugs.

Oliveira said these drugs do concern him because they are available in the Seacoast area, particularly concerning are some recent methamphetamine busts on the Seacoast, including one in Seabrook a couple weeks ago.

He said methamphetamines are a major issue in the western states and it causes people to hallucinate and sometimes harm themselves.

“If what comes here is the stuff on the West Coast, we’re in big trouble because methamphetamine is nuts,” Oliveira said.

Oliveira said recent crime trends on the Seacoast also alarm him. He cited a recent mugging in Portsmouth as an example.

“To me that reeks of drug use,” he said.

Both Walker and Oliveira told parents the drugs out there today are not the same drugs that were out there when they were in school. Many of the drugs nowadays are mixed with different chemicals, he said.

They stressed early intervention and education as the best way to prevent a problem.

Walker said parents can’t ignore that these drugs are out there and must talk to their children about them.

Wednesday’s forum on substances was one of a series of forums the school has hosted on teenage risk factors.

Statistics

Use of Ecstasy has risen among Grade 8 and 10 students. From 2009 to 2010, lifetime use of ecstasy among eighth-graders increased from 2.2 percent to 3.3 percent

Among youth, the use of alcohol and other drugs has been linked to unintentional injuries, physical fights, academic and occupational problems, and illegal behavior

40 percent of those who started drinking at age 13 or younger developed alcohol dependence later in life.

Teenagers whose parents talk to them on a regular basis about the dangers of drug use are 42 percent less likely to use drugs than those whose parents don’t.

20 percent of eighth-graders report that they have tried marijuana.

More than 60 percent of teens said that drugs were sold, used, or kept at their school.

* Statistics from Teen Help LLC

Canadian songstress Celine Dion tells “Good Morning America” Monday that drug abuse killed legendary singer Whitney Houston.

George Filhour — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:28:59 +0000

By RITA SHERROW World Television EditorPublished: 2/14/2012 9:59 AM Last Modified: 2/14/2012 9:59 AM

Canadian songstress Celine Dion tells “Good Morning America” Monday that drug abuse killed legendary singer Whitney Houston.

Dion told the talk show’s Robin Roberts that Houston’s sudden death Saturday was the result of drugs even though the official determination of death isn’t expected for several weeks.
The iconic singer, 48, was found unconscious and unresponsive in her hotel room bathtub Saturday hours before she was to attend a pre-Grammy party in the hotel.
“Whitney has been an amazing inspiration for me …,” Dion told “GMA’s” Roberts. “It’s just really unfortunate that drugs and I don’t know … bad people or bad influence took over,” she said. “It took over her dreams. It took over her love and motherhood.
“When you think about Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe and Michael Jackson and Amy Winehouse, to get into drugs like that, for whatever reason,” continued the Grammy-winning artist. “Is it because of the stress and bad influence?
“What happens when you have everything? … There’s something that happens that I don’t understand, and that’s why I’m so scared,” she said. “I’m scared of show business, I’m scared of drugs, I’m scared of hanging out, and that’s why I don’t do parties and hanging out, and that’s why I’m not part of show business. We have to be afraid.
“Time after time, we lose people … taking pills to go perform, taking pills to wake up and taking pills to go to bed, she continued, according to the Web site. “It’s so unfortunate. I’ve always said, you have to have fun, and do music, and never be part of show business, because you don’t know what it’s going to get you into.
“How come it’s stronger than all that, stronger than family and motherhood and love itself?”
Several Web sites have reported the prescription drugs Xanax, Lorazepam, and Valium were found in the iconic singer’s hotel room.
This morning, radaronline,com is reporting that a preliminary autopsy has found “sedatives, specifically benzodiazepines,” present in Houston’s system. All three drugs found in her room are considered benzodiazepines, the Web site reported.

The Dry Drunk Syndrome is a term that should not be used as a catch-all when one has a bad day or a bump in life throws us for a while. Those are ups and downs that everyone experiences and shouldn’t be labeled to be anything more than what they truly are. The Dry Drunk is a condition far more serious than the highs and lows of our day-to-day existence.

George Filhour — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:30:12 +0000

Dry Drunk Syndrome

Sobriety will necessarily have its ups and downs, its good times and its bad times, if only because we live in a world which we are inseparably joined. One doesn’t always sustain sobriety at the same level. There are fluctuations, shocks and setbacks which, when addressed within the context of the A.A. program, so not in themselves imperil the totality of one’s sobriety. The Dry Drunk Syndrome is a term that should not be used as a catch-all when one has a bad day or a bump in life throws us for a while. Those are ups and downs that everyone experiences and shouldn’t be labeled to be anything more than what they truly are. The Dry Drunk is a condition far more serious than the highs and lows of our day-to-day existence.The phrase “dry drunk” has two significant words for the alcoholic. “Dry” refers to the abstinence from drinking, whereas “drunk” signifies a deeply pathological condition resulting from the use of alcohol in the past. Taken together these words suggest intoxication without alcohol. Since intoxication comes from the Greek word for poison, “dry drunk” implies a state of mind and a mode of behavior that are poisonous to the alcoholic’s well being.

OBVIOUS TRAITS Persons experiencing a full-blown DRY DRUNK are, for that period, removed from the world of sobriety; they fail, for whatever reason, to accept the necessary conditions for sober living. Their mental and emotional homes are chaotic, their approach to everyday living is unrealistic, and their behavior, both verbal and physical, is unacceptable.

This lack of sober realism manifests itself in many ways.

1. Grandiosity, put very simply, is an exaggeration of one’s own importance. This can be demonstrated either in terms of one’s strengths or weaknesses. In either case it is blatantly self- seeking or self-serving, putting oneself at the center of attention, from the “big me” who has ask the answers to the “poor me” whose cup of self-pity runneth over and wants all of our attention.

2. Judgmentalism is mutually related to grandiosity. It means that the alcoholic is prone to make value judgments – strikingly inappropriate evaluations – usually in terms of “goodness” or “badness”.

3. Intolerance leaves no room for delaying the gratification of personal desires. This is accomplished by gross confusion of priorities with the result that a mere whim or passing fancy is mistakenly given more importance than genuine personal needs.

4. Impulsivity is the result of intolerance or the lack of ability to delay gratification of personal desires. Impulsivity describes behavior which is heedless of the ultimate consequence for self or others.

5. Indecisiveness is related to impulsitivity in the sense that while the latter takes no realistic account of the consequences of the actions, the former precludes effective action altogether. Indecisiveness stems from an unrealistic exaggeration of the negative possibilities of the action ; so one wavers between two or more possible courses of action, more times than not- nothing gets done.

These conditions, grandiosity, judgmentalism, intolerance ,impulsivity, and indecisiveness taken separately or together can lead to the following: a) Mood swings, which are unrelated to the circumstances to which one tries to link them. Alcoholics zero in on what they want others to think is the cause of the mood swing, when it isn’t that at all. More often than not it is something much deeper than the reason given. Inversely it can also be something totally insignificant with no substance at all (e.g. the sugar is too sweet or the donut is too round). Any excuse will do. b) Unable to demonstrate emotions freely, naturally and without constraint. No emotional spontaneity, no genuine spark. c) Introspection. A very healthy thing to do is difficult if not impossible for the “dry drunk”. It means to look inward to one’s examining each thought and desire, which is linked directly to one’s attitude. d) Detachment. Become aloof, display indifference, don’t care one way or the other, no special likes or dislikes, they withdraw. e) Self-absorption- with a tendency to call attention to whatever they have attained. Narcissism which is quite simply self-love. They become pompous asses. f) The inability to appreciate or enjoy themselves – nothing satisfies. g) Evidence of disorganization, is easily distracted, complains of boredom, and nothing seems to fit. h) A nostalgia sets in, a kind of wistful yearning for something of the past, such as freedom from care associated (falsely) with drinking, bars, drinking associates, and friends; the music, blue lights, and tinkle of the ice cubes in a glass in the neighborhood saloon. i) There can be a kind of romanticism, which includes unrealistic valuations of lifestyles and character traits which can be and usually are objectively dangerous to one’s sobriety. j) Escapism. Fantasizing, daydreaming, and wishful thinking are very much in evidence in the dry drunk syndrome as the individual slips farther and farther from reality.

Since the abnormality of the alcoholic’s attitudes and behavior during the drinking career is generally recognized, the persistence or these character traits after stopping drinking (or the reappearance after an interlude of sobriety) is equally abnormal.

The term “dry drunk” therefore denotes the absences of favorable change in the attitudes and behavior of the alcoholic who is not drinking, or the reversion of these by the alcoholic who has experienced a period of successful sobriety. From these conditions, it is to be inferred that the alcoholic is experiencing discomfort in life.

The self-destructive attitudes and behavior of the dry drunk alcoholic are different in degree but not in kind. The alcoholic, when drinking, has learned to rely on a deeply inadequate, radically immature approach to solving life’s problems. And this is exactly what one sees in the dry drunk.

ANALYSIS OF DRY DRUNK BEHAVIOR The alcoholic who rationalizes their own irresponsible behavior are also likely to find fault in the attitudes and behavior of others. Although not denying their own shortcomings, they attempt to escape notice by cataloging in great detail the transgressions of others.

The classic maneuver of the dry drunk is over-reaction. The alcoholic may attach a seemingly disproportionate intensity of feeling to an ordinary insignificant event or mishap.

Some alcoholics who experience the dry drunk seem to know all the answers, are seldom at a loss for words when it comes to self-diagnosis. Their knowledge is quite impressive, their apparent insight, as opposed to genuine insight, is convincing.

CORRECTIVE MEASURES: Those undergoing a dry drunk lead impoverished lives. They experience severe limitations to grow,, to mature, and benefit from the possibilities that life offers. They lack the freshness and spontaneity that genuinely sober alcoholics manifest. Their life is a closed system, attitudes and behaviors are stereotyped, repetitive, and consequently predictable.

Alcoholics learn early that humility and a power greater than them- selves are the bedrock for a genuine and productive sobriety. An unusual measure of self-discipline must accompany the ego deflation process. Needed is self-discipline in honesty, patience and responsibility towards the recovery process [and acceptance of their disease]. [To improve long term goals of sobriety be aware of mental stressors, get more involved in the recovery program, get active in the 12 steps, get and use a sponsor, talk things out.] Hopefully. they will begin to appreciate the ironic folly of those alcoholics who think life has suddenly become manageable again; whose sanity is beyond question; who see no need of turning their lives over to a power greater then them- selves; who find personal inventories unnecessary since they are seldom in the wrong and are no longer subject to the embarrassing need of repairing the wrongs they have done.

When dry drunk alcoholics awaken to this irony that they, still unmanageable, still powerless, are the ones who have made this remarkable “recovery,” they may feel sufficiently mortified to want to change.