Timely alcohol detoxification saves the lives of drunk drivers and their accident victims

If you think drinking alcohol is a normal and acceptable social activity, you’ve got plenty of company. The vast majority of Americans never think about the potential disaster they could cause if they drive home after a few drinks, let alone the risk of alcohol addiction. That’s something that happens to movie stars and rock musicians who end up in the alcohol detox centers of trendy country clubs.

So let me ask you a few questions: Why is it okay to get drunk at every party since high school? Getting pregnant every weekend in college and continuing to get drunk at party after party as life goes on? And what’s worse, why is it okay to drive home drunk? Why are people laughing at that instead of getting into alcohol detox where it should be?

And here’s another: Why is drinking at a party any different than going to a friend’s barbecue where everyone shoots heroin? Or lie on yoga mats smoking straight opium? Because the only real differences between alcohol and street drugs have nothing to do with addiction or danger, but with social mores and the fact that alcohol is legal and cheap.

For some 25 million Americans, alcohol has proven to be just as addictive, and far more physically debilitating, than most other addictive drugs. Not only that, although heroin and opium can be difficult and extremely uncomfortable to come off without a drug detox, withdrawal rarely kills someone. Alcohol withdrawal, on the other hand, can actually kill someone unless experienced alcohol detox professionals are on the case.

Every day we read about someone getting arrested for DUI, alcohol related injuries, crimes and tragic deaths, things we rarely consider when looking for another drink at a party. If they’re famous, the reporter might add that the person is “going into alcohol detox” or something like that, which is commendable and no joke, by the way.

But when was the last time you heard on the news that someone driving under the influence of opium or heroin crashed through a partition and killed someone? I can’t remember such a story, and maybe it could happen. But millions more people drive under the influence of alcohol than narcotics, and it affects drivers much more seriously.

And while most people would react negatively to any suggestion that they try heroin or opium at a neighborhood barbecue or anywhere else, many keep drinking until they reel and then grab their car keys and head out the door. . They should take a taxi, probably to the nearest alcohol detox center.

I’m not sure of any scientific surveys, but I think people with real alcohol problems are regular drinkers and drivers, not occasional drinkers. These people should have their keys taken away and go into alcohol detox and rehab to deal with their problems.

Here is a case in point. A 32-year-old man from West Virginia was recently convicted of felony driving under the influence of alcohol, causing death. Police said Brian Stone of Gans, PA, killed five people from two different families while driving drunk on Interstate 68 in West Virginia last year. Prosecutors said Stone’s car was loaded with beer and his blood alcohol content was three times the legal limit.

Police say Stone killed 31-year-old Courtney Evans and 12-year-old Sawyer Evans and wounded 29-year-old Sheena Evans and her youngest son, 3-year-old John. Stone also killed Donnell Perry, 52, and their daughters Jacquesha Perry, 13, and Jentil Perry, 15, and wounded family members Marcia Perry, Justine Perry, 18, Cory Perry, 10 Aynna, 8 years old. Perry and Mia Barnes, 18 months.

Now here’s the kicker: This was the seventh time Stone was arrested for DUI, five times in the last five years alone. This is a person who needed alcohol detox and rehab a long time ago. An alcohol detox could have paved the way for a comprehensive alcohol rehab program that actually saved the lives of five adults and children, and rescued the life of a young man now facing possibly decades in prison.

The total cost to society of alcohol abuse dwarfs the costs of all other drugs. If someone you know and care for has a problem with alcohol, talk to an alcohol detox counselor as soon as possible. It’s never too early to take someone on an alcohol detox that can open the door to full rehabilitation and sober living.