Girl, 8, asks cops for help with drunken mom

"Help me. My mother is drunk, and she crashed her car," said an 8-year old Tampa FL girl to troopers last week who were checking on a car wreck.

With the girl inside, the mother had sideswiped two other vehicles before hitting a parked car head-on and coming to a stop. The girl got out of the wreck, unhurt, and approached the first officer on the scene.

"Ever time she drinks she gets like this," said the girl. The mother was booked for drunk driving, child abuse, and related charges. Source.

Alcoholocaust

If you have illusions about the role of alcohol in creativity, read "Day of the Dead" by D.T. Max on p. 76 of the Dec. 17th issue of the New Yorker. It's a thumbnail bio of Malcom Lowry, author of "Under the Volcano" (1947), hailed as one of the top twelve English novels of all time; he was considered the heir of James Joyce. He died ten years afterward, after passing out from massive quantities of alcohol and barbiturates. He was 47.

The chronicle of his marriage and collaboration with Margerie Bonner is a tortuous, gruesome story of love, hate, help, hurt, rescue and revenge. Bonner, who edited and rewrote Lowry's texts daily, almost certainly contributed the discipline and warmth that raised "Under the Volcano" above the rambling, two-dimensional symbolism that was Lowry's best unassisted effort. He was consumed with rage at everything and everyone; his violent tirades drove all their friends away.

She tried for years to get him to cut down or stop his drinking, but ended up matching him bottle for bottle, and when he finally found a doctor who got him to take a break (using aversion therapy), she refused to stop, and dragged him down again.

Much of the article deals with the theory that she murdered him, for which many women acquaintances and critics applauded her. It's a thin case. British local authorities, who conducted the inquest, pinpointed asphyxiation by aspiration of vomit as the cause of death. That's not murder. But it hardly matters. Lowry was bent on death by alcohol sooner or later. During one of his few lucid moments, he described his own life as an "alcoholocaust."

If a movie is ever made of this marriage, it should be on a double bill with "Pollock," and made required viewing for young artists considering careers in alcoholism and addiction: don't go there.

Gender-specific response even in rats

As if to illustrate again what Women for Sobriety founder Jean Kirkpatrick preached decades ago about people, a recent study found different responses to alcohol in female v. male rats. A group of rats selectively bred to be heavy drinkers were exposed to changes in their lights-on v. lights-off schedule, like employees who work rotating shifts, to test the effect of this stress on their drinking. The male rats subjected to the shifting schedule decreased their alcohol intake; the female rats slightly increased theirs. Details.

Girl sets drunk woman on fire

Saskatchewan, Canada: A 12-year old girl, part of a group of kids of similar age, set fire to a woman who had passed out drunk outside a bar. The victim required several weeks of treatment in a burn unit. The girl was found guilty of aggravated assault. At sentencing, she expressed regret. Source

New Mexico tries talking urinals

RIO RANCHO, New Mexico (AP) - New Mexico is hoping to keep drunks off the road by lecturing them at the last place they usually stop before getting behind the wheel: the urinal.

The state recently paid US$21 each for about 500 talking urinal-deodorizer cakes and put them in men's rooms in bars and restaurants. When a man steps up, the motion-sensitive plastic device says, in a woman's voice that is flirty, then stern: "Hey, big guy. Having a few drinks? Think you had one too many? Then it's time to call a cab or call a sobre friend for a ride home."

The recorded message ends: "Remember, your future is in your hand."

The talking urinal is the latest effort to fight drunken driving in New Mexico, which has long had one of the highest rates of alcohol-related traffic deaths in the United States. (Men account for 78 per cent of all drunk-driving-related convictions in the state.)

Half of sexual assault victims had been drinking

According to national statistics, about 50 percent of all women were under the influence of alcohol when they were victims of a sexual assault. Source.

Charity says spike in abortions due to drink binges

London: The family planning service Marie Stopes International said today that it performed a record number of UK abortions last month.

The charity carried out nearly 6,000 abortions at its nine centres across the UK in January, the highest number in its 32-year history. This was a rise of 13% on January last year.

The charity's UK director, Liz Davies, blamed the surge in abortions on excess drinking over the Christmas season. Source.

(Thanks, Owen P., for this item.)

Colorado lecturer dies drunk in snow

A University of Northern Colorado sociology lecturer who was found dead in a snow bank at the Foothills Unitarian Church in Fort Collins died of hypothermia due to acute alcohol intoxication, the Larimer County Coroner’s Office ruled today.

She was reported missing on Jan. 2 by her husband after having last been seen New Year’s Eve.

Four children playing at the church before services almost a month later saw her body partially covered by snow. They called a parent, who notified police.

Family members said Wilkins-Wells was believed to have been headed to church the day she went missing. The family belongs to Foothills Unitarian, which is about two miles from their home.

Wilkins-Wells had been a sociology lecturer at UNC since August 1992, specializing in minority relations and community planning.

Katie Wilkins-Wells said that her mother had started having problems with alcoholism two years ago and had joined Alcoholics Anonymous. Source.

UK: Labour MP Fiona Jones dead of alcoholism

London: Fiona Jones, until recently a rising star in the Labour Party mentioned as a possible cabinet minister, died from liver disease due to alcoholism last week. She was 49. Her husband, a local radio DJ, was quick to point to a culture of heavy drinking at the House of Commons and an extraordinary court battle over her election expenses as being to blame. Details.

Study: Meth use in U.S. declining

Methamphetamine use in the U.S. declined between 2002 and 2005, the most recent year for which data are available, says a study published by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Agency (SAMHSA).

In 2005, methamphetamine accounted for 8 per cent of admissions to treatment facilities. Forty-five per cent of these treatment admissions were women. Details. Original.

Improving the image of the alcoholic

Reigning Miss USA Tara Conner (photo) has emerged from a 31-day stint in rehab and declared "I am an alcoholic." Source.

This means:

• Little girls who want to be beauty queens should become alcoholics
• If she's an alcoholic, how bad can alcoholism be?
• She did something really rotten and needs an excuse
• Alcoholism strikes without regard to age, gender, or physical appearance

(Pick all that apply).

Research: Effects of prenatal exposure to cocaine

A study on rabbits has found that prenatal exposure to low doses of cocaine causes an unusual, long-lasting change in the functioning of dopamine (D1) receptors in the brain, resulting in developmental and behavioral consequences. The study is published in the current Journal of Neuroscience. Abstract. Lead author Greg Stanwood says that the results are significant because they concern the relatively low levels of cocaine typical of recreational users. Children of these mothers appear to be normal at birth, but Stanwood suggests that they will have cognitive and behavioral deficits later on. Press release.

Motivational Interviewing helps with bingeing, unsafe sex

As few as four sessions of the Motivational Interviewing (MI) technique have proved effective in substantially reducing binge drinking and unsafe sex in high-risk women, according to a study by Karen Ingersoll Ph.D. (photo) of the University of Virginia, and colleagues. Source.

Counselors using MI are trained to express empathy with the individuals who come for counseling, manage resistance without confrontation, and support the self-confidence of the individual. For parallels between MI and basic tenets of LifeRing, see this book review.

Study: Mothers who drink have babies who stress

Mothers who were drinking before they knew they were pregnant tend to have babies with damaged responses to stress, according to a study published in the December issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. The study suggests that mothers stop drinking before there is a possibility they may become pregnant; by the time they know they are pregnant, the damage is done. Abstract. Discussion from the Amazing Pregnancy Secrets blog.

Baby gets cocaine, drugs in breast milk

BATON ROUGE, La. -- A lawyer has been accused of breast-feeding her month-old son while using cocaine and two prescription drugs, which showed up in the baby's system.

Marcie Swaze Koch, 36, was arrested Thursday after her newborn tested positive for cocaine after he was taken to a hospital with reported fever, seizures and difficulty breathing, an arrest warrant said. A pediatric emergency room nurse contacted the sheriff's deputies with the drug test results.

Koch admitted to snorting cocaine last weekend, Monday and Tuesday, the warrant says. She also told investigators that she takes Oxycontin, an opiate used as a painkiller, three times a day, and Xanax, or benzodiazepine, which is a sedative. Along with cocaine, barbiturates, opiates and benzodiazepine were found in the baby's system, the warrant says. Details from KATC.com.

More women in jail, their children in foster homes

Between 1977 and 2001, figures from the Women's Prison Association show a 592 percent increase in the number of women jailed, from 12,279 to 85,031. According to the WPA, the growth "corresponds directly to the mandatory minimum sentencing laws in effect since the early 1970s. Since more women are convicted for nonviolent, drug-related crimes than for any other, these sentencing policies have had a particularly profound effect on women."

Though men still far outnumber women in arrests for drug-related crimes, women now represent the fastest-growing prison population nationwide for drug offenses. In 1996, the number of female state and federal inmates in jail for drug crimes grew at nearly double the rate of males. In New York State, whose Rockefeller Drug Laws are among the harshest sentencing laws in the country, nearly half of all women in prisons are serving time for drug-related offenses.

Seventy percent of women in jails and 65 percent of women in state prisons are mothers of minor children, according to the National Institute of Corrections. Not surprisingly, 80 percent of children in the foster care system are the offspring of incarcerated parents. Details.

UK: Binge drinking among women doubles

UK: The number of girls and young women drinking to excess has risen dramatically in a decade, National Health Service (NHS) statistics released yesterday confirm.

The figures chart the rise of the "ladette" culture, which emerged in the 1990s. In 1993 only nine per cent of women aged 16 to 24 drank more than 21 units of alcohol a week, according to the Health Survey for England trend tables from the NHS Information Centre. By 2002, this had leapt to 21 per cent.

Prof Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians and chairman of the college's alcohol committee, said: "This situation will become worse rather than better unless we find ways of reversing the 'ladette' culture." Source.

Crack cocaine: So easy to get, she thought it must be legal

Palatka, FL: A 50-year-old North Carolina woman complained to police that the crack cocaine she had just purchased wasn't very good.

Police arrested Eloise D. Reaves (photo) after she approached the Putnam County sheriff's deputy at a convenience store Friday, complaining to him that a man had sold her "bad crack" that contained wax and cocaine.

Reaves reportedly pulled an alleged crack rock out of her mouth and placed it on the deputy's car for inspection.

Reaves was informed by the police that she could be arrested if the crack tested positive for cocaine.

The woman was charged with possession of cocaine and bonded out for $1,504. Source.

Boy, 12, refuses to ride with drunk mom

Phoenix: A 12-year old boy refused to get in the car with his drunk mom. When she tried to force him into the car, he put up a struggle. A passer-by called police. The boy's successful resistance was reported on CNN. See the video.

-- Thanks, Robin!

Scotland: Women becoming more violent

Edinburgh: ONE in ten people have been physically attacked by a drunk woman, according to new statistics that link the growing trend for binge drinking to increasing violence on the streets.

The poll of more than 1,000 people also revealed that more than 40 per cent of Britons have witnessed a woman who appears drunk attack someone else.

Experts blame the rise on increased availability and lower prices of alcoholic beverages.

People in Scotland today drink twice as much as during the 1950s.

Among twenty-something women, 60 per cent of the alcohol they consume is during bouts of heavy drinking.

In Scotland, double the number of women are brought into casualty wards with alcohol-related problems than in the 1970s. Meanwhile, violent crime committed by women has increased by 50 per cent in the past year. More.