Booze-fuelled violence on the rise

[rahli]

International alcohol experts say Australia has one of the strongest correlations in the world between violence and drinking.

Melbourne hosted an international conference this week, with experts exploring the relationship between drinking and violence.

The director of the AER Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, Professor Robin Room, will present the main findings from the conference today.

He says on a world-scale, Australia's alcohol-fuelled violence problem is quite serious.

"If you get enough people in one place, particularly in Australia on a Friday or Saturday night, and with a few drinks in them there's a fair amount of violence," he said.

He says there are clear signs drunken violence is increasing.

"Some of the indicators are in fact going up. In the last 10 years the amount of drinking overall doesn't seem to have changed very much," he said.

"But the trouble is that [the level of drinking] seems to be going up and that may well be that there's a kind of increase in the extreme - people that are really getting smacked out of their minds."

Link

[Teotzlcoatl]

Wow. Alcohol causes violence... what a surprise!

[mr me]

Good news for the government though - brings in tax dollars and provides more jobs for the police and health system.

[tripsis]

Yep, alcohol is a pretty shit drug in my opinion.

[bℓσωηG]

Instant idiot , just add alcohol

[FancyPants]

I turn into instant arrogant fuckwit, just add (enough) alcohol. Hence I rarely drink anymore. Why should I force others to put up with me in that state when I hate it when others get like that?

[Teotzlcoatl]

Our culture seems so ingrained with the booze-juice tho... it's really horrible.

[ThunderIdeal]

i always really enjoy it when i have (literally) a few drinks these days but even with such a small amount, when i've sobered up my energy feels haywire. i think it's detrimental stuff, quite the poison.

[C_T]

i'm the opposite... i'm never arrogant and never have any problems on alcohol.

of course, if your an asshole, alcohol will turn you into a bigger asshole... perhaps thats saying something about yourself, not the alcohol.

[ThunderIdeal]

nobody is suggesting alcohol has any specific outcomes for all people.

[bℓσωηG]

some people are alcohol sensitive for sure, me i just cant stop if i start... not till im spewing out the car door doing 90, hate the stuff , but its a love /hate relationship

[mutant]

!!!!!!!!multiple psychedelic theists alerts!!!!!!!

Alcohol is a wonderful drug. It has literally changed my life to the better. I drink it recreationally [read socially] [very seldom alone though] for over 15 years and when I drink I drink lots of it. I don't drink much quantity per time unit, I rather fall in the category "if I begin drinking I forget to stop" cause it's always so fun to keep it going as long as you are among people you are having nice times... It's always exciting to see the dawn and still be drunk with people you have spent the last few hours, laughing, drinking, talking etc. Some times, we drive to the hill to see the view and dawn and the see

IME if people behave like arrogant fuckwits on booze, it's because they're were -at least in part- like that to begin with. Sorry fancypants, drugs don't change people's characters like that. Not even psychedelics do this so easily. Anyways, it's totally not so simple as all of you put it...

Alcohol doesn't cause violence. Violent people do. So the point is finding out what creates violent people. And this is surely NOT alcohol.

[tripsis]

Alcohol doesn't cause violence.

The stats are not on your side there.

[C_T]

can't agree enough with you mutant! Really hit the nail on the head!

[Teotzlcoatl]

I disagree. I think drugs like alcohol actually do CAUSE violence.

In many cases I believe violence would not have occurred... if the person hadn't been drunk... therefore alcohol causes violence, even if the person performs the act and the alcohol only brings it out.

[-YT-]

whats the drinking culture like there mutant?

There is a direct correlation with alcohol consumption and psychical violence, although to state the obvious violence is not always the outcome when someone has a drink many variants to factor in. but anyway there is plenty of studys/statistics related binge drinking and alcoholism , spousal/family abuse, physical assaults & abuse etc

as we have so wonderfully concluded in the MJ thread all things in moderation but we all know this.

shit loads of money is spent on alcohol related programs every year and a lot of people in the community have problems with it but as a socially ingrained acceptable past time it has been down regulated in our minds as less harmful but the social impact and tax payers money states otherwise.

According to the 2001 National Drug Household Survey about one-third (34.4%) of Australians

aged 14 years and over put themselves at risk of alcohol-related harm in the short term on at

least one drinking occasion during the 12 months prior to the survey.

The Survey also found that:

• one in eight people admitted to driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of

alcohol. Men (18.0%) were almost twice as likely as women (7.7%) to drive while under

the influence.

• people in the 20-29 years age group were the most likely to consume alcohol in a way that

put them at risk for long-term (chronic) alcohol-related harm. This age group was also the

least likely to abstain from consuming alcohol.

• there were over four million victims of alcohol-related verbal abuse and a further two million

Australians aged 14 years or over were ‘put in fear’ by people under the influence of

alcohol in the 12 months prior to the survey. More than half a million Australians were

physically abused by people under the influence of alcohol.

source

Traditionally, the major components of brain development were believed to occur before birth and in early childhood. Consequently, there has always been a strong view that exposure to alcohol and other substances that are toxic to brain cells should be minimized during these periods. The most recent NHMRC guidelines (2009) have recently significantly reinforced this perspective.

With the onset of puberty, most cultures have recognized that individuals move rapidly towards sexual maturity and associated adult responsibilities.Consistent with that major change in social roles, and its associated rites of passage, consumption of alcohol and other substances is encouraged or at least widely tolerated. Following the discovery of new highly sensitive brain imaging techniques in the 1990s, as well as key findings about the ways in which nerve cell connections are radically reshaped in the post-pubertal period, these traditional views are now undergoing significant re-evaluation. At this time,

it is rapidly becoming clearer that alcohol and the teenage brain don’t mix and that exposure to alcohol should be postponed and preferably avoided at least until the late adolescent or early adult years.

Much of the clinical, neuroimaging and neuropsychological literature demonstrating the adverse effects of alcohol on the brain is based on adult rather than teenage subjects. The inferences concerning the likely toxic effects of alcohol on the adolescent brain also rely strongly on findings in developing animals rather direct observations in human studies. Those animal studies have tended to emphasise the long-term adverse cognitive and behavioural effects of alcohol and other drug exposures during the relevant “adolescent” periods of brain development.

Traditionally, the more conservative academic position has highlighted the lack of a large number of long-term human studies and, hence, concluded that the potential adverse effects of early exposure to alcohol amongst teenagers and young adults should not be overstated. While this perspective is understandable, it needs to be balanced first by the emerging findings in human neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies. On balance, the available studies suggest that the adolescent brain is particularly sensitive to the negative effects of excessive or prolonged alcohol exposure, including the adverse effects of binge drinking.

ALCOHOL AND THE TEENAGE BRAIN

Additionally, one needs to consider the large body of evidence of the degree of direct harm due to injury (including significant head injuries) that results from excessive risk-taking in young people who consume alcohol. This degree of risk-taking while intoxicated is likely to reflect the combination of the disinhibitory effects of alcohol (which are present at all

ages due to dampening down of frontal lobe function) and the relative lack of development of the frontal lobes in adolescents. From this perspective, the risk of accidental injury due to excessive risk-taking and poor impulse control is particularly likely to be evident in younger teenagers who use alcohol.

If one weighs up the available evidence concerning direct risks to brain development, short and long-term effects on cognitive and emotional development and risks of associated injury due to poor judgement and lack of inhibition, on balance, two conclusions now appear to be justified:

1. Alcohol should not be consumed by teenagers

under the age of 18 years;

And,

2. Alcohol use is best postponed for as long as

possible in the late teenage and early adult years.

The key emerging scientific issues that support this view are:

The frontal lobes of the brain underpin those major adult functions related to complex thought and decision and inhibition of more childlike or impulsive behaviours. These parts of the brain undergo their final critical phase of development throughout adolescence and the early adult period. While there is considerable individual variation in this process, it appears to continue well into the third decade of life(age 22-25 years) and may be particularly prolonged in young men; Key parts of the temporal lobe, including the amygdala and hippocampus, continue to undergo development during the adolescent period. The amygdala underpins the normal fear response while the hippocampus is an essential part of normal memory function;

ALCOHOL AND THE TEENAGE BRAIN

The final phase of frontal lobe development occurs at the same time as the onset of all of the common and serious mental health problems. Seventy-five per cent of adult-type anxiety, depressive, psychotic and substance abuse related disorders commence before

the age of 25 years;

Alcohol has significant toxic effects on the cells of the central nervous system, and depending on dose and duration of exposure, is likely to result in serious short-term and long-term harm. Those harmful effects are most likely to be evident in areas in which the brain is still undergoing rapid development (i.e. frontal and temporal lobe structures);

Alcohol, even in small doses, is associated with reduction in activity of the normal inhibitory brain processes. Given that such processes are less developed in teenagers and young adults, alcohol use is likely to be associated with greater levels of risk-taking behaviour than that seen in adults;

Alcohol normally results in sedative effects as the level of consumption rises. It appears that teenagers and young adults are less sensitive to these sedating effects (due to higher levels of arousal) and are, therefore, likely to continue with risk-taking behaviours. As they also experience loss of control of fine motor skills, the chances of sustaining serious injuries (including head injuries) are increased;

Exposure to significant levels of alcohol during the early and midadolescent period appears to be associated with increased rates of alcohol-related problems as an adult as well as a higher rate of common mental health problems such as anxiety and depression; Young people with first lifetime episodes of anxiety, depression or psychotic disorders who also consume significant amounts of alcohol are at increased risk of self-harm, attempted suicide, accidental injury as well as persistence or recurrence of their primary mental health

problem.

source

edited coz i spelt sauce instead of source

Edited March 22, 2010 by -YT-

[incognito]

International alcohol experts say Australia has one of the strongest correlations in the world between violence and drinking

i truly dont believe drinking causes violence.

I think the (potential) behaviour is there to begin with.

Loss of inhibitions whilst drunk may trigger the behaviour, plus the set and setting of alot of aussie pubs and clubs may not be conducive to alot of violent people with lowered inhibitions.

What really shits me is people blaming their behaviours on the substance.

[Teljkon]

asdasd

Edited December 19, 2021 by Teljkon

[SunChaser]

What really shits me is people blaming their behaviours on the substance.

 

No ones saying it's an excuse! It's like how it's well known that people who were sexually abused as kids are more likely to end up doing it themselves as adults, than people who weren't sexually abused. But that doesn't mean that everyone who's been sexually abused will do it themselves or that it's any kind of excuse. It's just an observed fact.

Just like how it is far more likely that violence of some sort will occur if the people involved are drunk than if they are not. It's just an observed fact that everyones seen with there own eyes. There for alcohol does 'cause' violence.

What they need to do is ban all alcohol advertising, tax the shit out of it (especially premixed alcoholic drinks) and ban the sale of alcohol from between 12.00 am and 8.00 am.

Fuck em! If they want to kill there brain cells off with such a filthy drug and run around acting like idiots, that's fine with me. But they can work out how much alcohol they need before they get blind and do it in a private home where there only putting themselves and there 'own' family at risk! If you don't like the idea of it being more expensive, then give your brain a bit if a rest for a while and learn how to brew your own!

As a general rule I'd rather be around a full blown smack head than an alcoholic, they seem to possess far more respect and self control!

Edited March 23, 2010 by jabez

[reshroomED]

As a general rule I'd rather be around a full blown smack head than an alcoholic, they seem to possess far more respect and self control!

 

You've got to be kidding.

I grew up with alcaholics, was one myself (and still am I suppose, just drink little due to health issues - perhaps I'm biased), and had an amphetamine addiction for nigh on ten years.

Never have I seen anyone sink so low as your average horse-fiend, when they're hanging-out for a belt.

Whilst mild drugs relieve social inhibitions (hence the idea that they only exascerbate an underlying condition) some hard drugs re-model the brain for a while. Apples and oranges.

ed

[ballzac]

Anyone who thinks they can get hammered and not act like a tool, probably just hasn't had it brought to their attention. Some people are worse than others when drunk, granted, but everyone acts like a dickhead after enough drinks. So I would have to conclude that:

A. We are all a bunch of tools deep down and alcohol brings it out

OR

B. Alcohol causes us to be tools.

I guess whether you pick A or B is really a philosophical matter, as one way or the other the results are the same. I just personally prefer B, because it's a more optimistic view of humanity.

[SunChaser]

Never have I seen anyone sink so low as your average horse-fiend, when they're hanging-out for a belt

 

Yeah, but that's the fault of bad government policy. If they could get there heroin with a healthcare card, what would your issue be then?

Can't say I've ever heard of a heroin addict who's hurt or raped someone and claimed it was because they shot up to much.

Edited March 23, 2010 by jabez

[reshroomED]

Yeah, but that's the fault of bad government policy. If they could get there heroin with a healthcare card, what would your issue be then?

Can't say I've ever heard of a heroin addict who's hurt or raped someone and claimed it was because they shot up to much.

 

Mate, wasn't speaking of government policies, only replying to your statement.

Not propounding alcohol at all, but would definitely prefer a child of mine to have an alcohol habit rather than smack.

Obviously 'no habit' would be the goal.

ed

[incognito]

id really like to see health warnings on alcohol bottles.

And advertising banned. IMO alcohol IS the worst drug. How ganja could ever be illegal and alcohol legal is an absolute disgrace.

I feel very uncomfortable around drunk people, and could never dream of heading out on the piss these days.

But each to their own.

[ballzac]

Mate, wasn't speaking of government policies, only replying to your statement.

Not propounding alcohol at all, but would definitely prefer a child of mine to have an alcohol habit rather than smack.

Obviously 'no habit' would be the goal.

ed

 

I think, within our current political climate, that the two are much of a muchness. The difference is, that alcohol is inherently worse on the health of the individual and on society than smack. Heroin addicts can actually lead quite long, healthy, productive lives if they have a reliable supply of unadulterated heroin. On the other hand, alcohol has many inherent dangers, that do not depend on the legal and political climate in which it exists. So, while you are possibly right that you'd be better off being an alcoholic than a smack addict, this is inseparably linked to, and dependent on, government policy.

FWIW, I would rather a child of mine was a heroin addict than an 'serious' alcoholic. I use the word 'serious', because I think alcoholism has many more degrees than heroin addiction.