Leo Rodriguez Peer Review (Alcohol Schedule 1)

Leo Rodriguez

CUNYFirst ID 13132232

CRT 100-057W

Professor Ewa Barnes

March 31, 2022

            Alcohol is a dangerous and poisonous substance that should be a schedule 1 substance. Alcohol has always been a huge factor in deaths, health issues, mental issues, assaults, criminal offenses, and so many more issues that are negative. People know how harmful alcohol is but many do not truly understand the true harm alcohol can bring. Increasing taxes on alcohol will NOT stop or reduce its consumption of it. I believe educating children and adults alike to truly grasp the effects of alcohol may help reduce how it affects society. The fact that a plant like cannabis can be a schedule 1 substance while alcohol is not seems like a sick joke. According to the DEA website: “Schedule I drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Some examples of Schedule I drugs are: heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), marijuana (cannabis), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy), methaqualone, and peyote.” (DEA)

            “Excessive drinking kills 80,000 Americans each year and drains more than $220 billion from the economy, according to the CDC. About 4,700 young Americans die each year because of underage drinking. But heavy drinkers hurt more than themselves. Excessive drinking killed 10,228 people on American roads in 2010, a number that’s been on a fairly steady decline since 1982, when 26,173 died in alcohol-related crashes.” (Price)  Alcohol has caused a lot of death and harm, not only to the user but also to others around them. Alcohol impedes one’s cognitive thinking and bodily functions. Someone who consumes alcohol becomes a danger to society if they are out in public, especially if they try to operate a vehicle. An individual who is drunk loses the ability to think clearly and tends to wrongfully assume they are sober enough to drive, or at least will themselves to. Over 10,000 lives a year are lost due to the poison that alcohol is not only to society but to one’s ability to think clearly. It is a sad reality to think you, your loved ones, and so many innocent sober people may die due to someone else that decided to consume more alcohol than they should have. My hope is to help people realize that alcohol is not a fun liquid you consume that makes you “feel good” and life can go on happily ever after. It seems to be one of those things where over time, it seems normal because it is part of society. Alcohol being advertised, promoted by artists, and seen firsthand in society brings a false sense of innocence to this poison. One can go many years drinking without any consequences but, one is playing with fire. I find it very difficult to think of anytime alcohol is beneficial and actually makes one think of an amazing and useful idea.

            “Native American youths under 18 are 17 times as likely to die from abuse related to alcohol as other young people, and they enter the criminal justice system at more than twice the rate of white youths.” (Karaim) In America, alcohol is seen as a fun, party, and social drug. In reality, the harm it causes is massive. Our youth, who of course have not yet developed fully mentally, physically, or emotionally, see the example from adults. In music videos, movies, artists, family members, etc. Why is marijuana a schedule 1 drug when alcohol causes thousands of deaths a year and also billions in our health system? How many people do you know go to the hospital with life-threatening levels of marijuana or marijuana “poisoning”? So, where is the logic in this thinking? Since I enjoy critical thinking and some common sense, I tend to wonder why others, being the government, civilians, or anyone not see the discrepancy in these systems. Native American youth for example have been destroyed by this poison. It has caused them to have a higher amount of youth incarceration, abuse, suicide, and poverty. People “prescribe” themselves alcohol in order to deal with many issues, especially mental and emotional issues. That being said, Native Americans have suffered greatly due to much loss in the culture, land, generational abuse, and feeling segregated. Alcohol offers no health, mental or physical benefits. It is sad to see a government act like this poison is ok because it is not considered as illegal as other harmful drugs.

            The health damages from alcohol are immense. Not only can it cause death from alcohol poisoning but long term can also cause other ailments. “Alcohol can contribute to deaths or long-term illnesses in several ways. It can affect any organ in the body and has been linked to at least seven types of cancer and many acute and chronic maladies, including heart disease, diabetes, dementia, and stroke.” (Lyons). Long-term alcohol abuse can lead to organ damage. Cirrhosis is one example of what alcohol abuse can do to an organ. This is an irreversible condition where the liver develops scarring and cannot function properly. The estimated mean cost of a liver replacement in America is about $150,000. This is money that could have gone to good use if people did not abuse alcohol. Another example of the damage alcohol does to the human organs is brain damage. Long term it can cause strokes, and dementia and damages brain cells. Someone with dementia will most likely be put in a care facility with nurses, doctors, and many other health providers. For stroke victims, it may also require physical therapy, nursing, and medications and it is a long process that may last years. As you know this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many more diseases caused by long-term alcohol abuse. Excessive drinking costs the health industry about $249 billion a year.  

            Some may argue that because 100 years ago, prohibition did not work, then it will never work. “Moreover, the criminalization of alcohol created a market for even more dangerous substitutes. Consumption of substances such as cocaine and opioids increased; while these substances had been rendered virtually illegal by the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act of 1914 (which required non-prescribed possession of subject to taxation and licensure), they were not terribly difficult to obtain.” (Brown). I have read countless articles, papers and documents that parrot the same reasoning. It all comes down to, prohibition did not work, therefore, alcohol should be legal. To that I say, making murder illegal does not work so we have to just allow it. I find this to be a slippery slope fallacy. When arguing why prohibition should never occur, many say it will increase the crime rate, bribery, and people will make their own alcohol, etc. I find these to be weak points because no matter what the substance is, legal or not, people will find a way to profit from it. Again, does that mean we allow murder because murder cannot be completely eradicated? I find it disturbing that alcohol can be top 3 causes of death in America and be seen as a “normal” part of society.

            In conclusion, alcohol is a very dangerous and poisonous substance. The damage it causes to society as a whole seems to be a true plague. If a plant called cannabis is considered harmful and dangerous then alcohol should be a lot more dangerous. Having no real health benefit and high potential for abuse, easily should be considered as a scheduled 1 substance. As a society we have to open our eyes to see past the propaganda and use common sense. Just because the government says it is legal does not mean it is right! Critical thinking is an important part of life and should be used accordingly.

Work Cited

Price, Tom, et al. “Can underage drinking be curbed?” Volume 1, Issue 21, June 2012. https://library-cqpress-com.bmcc.ezproxy.cuny.edu/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2012060800#

            This article had a vast amount of information on alcohol, its effects, and its history. It did a great job of giving facts along with visual charts and many different ways governments have tried to curb the damage alcohol brings to society.

Karaim, Reed, et al. “Can new federal programs improve their lives?” Volume 25, Issue 16, April 2015. https://library-cqpress-com.bmcc.ezproxy.cuny.edu/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2015042400&type=hitlist&num=23

The author collected a lot of information about what has greatly affected Native Americans. Alcohol and drugs were a large factor besides many others. It has great sources on how many tribes, crime stats, government interventions, and effects of drugs and alcohol abuse.

https://www.dea.gov/drug-information/drug-scheduling

Lyons, Christina, et al. “Should taxes and regulations on alcoholic beverages be increased?” Volume 30, Issue 19, May 2020. https://library-cqpress-com.bmcc.ezproxy.cuny.edu/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2020051500

This article had a vast array of alcoholic related issues. It has examples of history, medical issues, charts, and lots of research examples. It was a very informative piece.

Brown, Tarnell, et al. “A brief look at why prohibition laws don’t work” August, 2020

A Brief Look at Why Prohibition Laws Don’t Work

            This article gave a lot of perspective in why alcohol prohibition did not work before. It used some facts of prohibition and how things changed during that time. Trying to show how before, during and after prohibiton about 100 years ago occurred.