Alcohol and other drugs: personal perspectives and opinions
nswers to the following five questions about alcohol and drug policy issues: 1)Many Americans have trouble getting to sleep. As a results they may turn to sleeping pills to help them get some ZZZs. How do you feel about the prescribing of sleeping pills for people to assist them with sleeping? Should our medical industry instead be writing prescriptions for vigorous activity which would also help people sleep better? How about a prescription for caffeine avoidance?
2)Considering the following: 1. Alcohol kills more young people than all illicit drugs combined. (Grunbaum,. 2002)2. Alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes kill someone every 31 minutes and non-fatally injure someone every two minutes (NHTSA 2006). 3. During 2005, 16,885 people in the U.S. died in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes, representing 39% of all traffic-related deaths versus 18% rate for Marijuana and Cocaine (NHTSA 2006). Do you think that alcohol should remain a "legal drug" free of regulation on consumption?
3) Discuss your position on red wine consumption as a protective factor for heart disease. What is it specifically in red wine that is considered cardio protective? Or is this just another excuse for people to regularly drink wine?
4)How do you feel about the wide availability of medical marijuana cards and clinics?
5)Do you feel that "abstaining" from a substance which one is addicted to is crucial for treatment? For example, do you believe that if one is being treated for alcoholism that they must "abstain" from drinking any alcohol in order to be in recovery?