alcohol abuse news stories on Newser

LSD Helps Alcoholics Quit Booze

Rob Quinn — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 01:52:25 CST

LSD's value as a treatment for alcoholism has been overlooked for decades, according to researchers revisiting old studies. A team that analyzed six separate studies from the '60s found that a single dose of the psychedelic drug had a "significant beneficial effect" on alcoholics that lasted for months, the BBC...

Sioux Tribe Sues Beer Makers for $500M

Rob Quinn — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:20:00 CST

The town of Whiteclay, Nebraska, has only 14 residents, but four beer stores which sell nearly 5 million cans a year. If you think those numbers sound strange, you're paying more attention than beer makers, a lawsuit from the Oglala Sioux Tribe charges. The Pine Ridge reservation—where alcohol is...

Seniors Binge Drink the Most

Mark Russell — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:08:05 CST

More revelations from the new report by the CDC on binge drinking in America: Universities may be home to the biggest binge drinkers in America, but it turns out the most frequent bingers live in retirement homes, reports Discovery . The report defines a "binge" as five drinks in one short...

1 in 6 Americans Is a Binge Drinker

Rob Quinn — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 06:40:00 CST

Federal health officials have released their most detailed study yet of America's binge drinkers—and if you're a college-educated, high-earning young white man from Wisconsin, you may already be drunk by the time you read this. Researchers found that 38 million Americans, roughly a sixth of the adult population, are...

Post-Holiday Detox Does 'More Harm Than Good'

Neal Colgrass — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:56:31 CST

Planning to go cold turkey after some heavy holiday boozing? British doctors warn it may do more harm than good, the Daily Mail reports. The so-called "Janopause"—a month of forced sobriety after New Year's—often leads to excessive drinking from February onward. "You’re better off making a resolution to...

Booze and Writing: the Ideal Combo?

Neal Colgrass — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 17:32:00 CST

Christopher Hitchens defended his prolific smoking and drinking habits even though they probably killed him. "Whatever enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument and conversation," he once wrote, "is worth it to me." But does boozing really aid the creative process? Slate takes a look, perusing anecdotal evidence...

Blago Seeks Prison Rehab

Rob Quinn — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 02:23:45 CST

Rod Blagojevich is seeking to join a substance abuse program in federal prison, but some suspect the disgraced former Illinois governor is trying to shave time off his sentence rather than deal with a genuine drug or alcohol problem. Under federal guidelines, Blagojevich is likely to serve just under 12...

Bad Hooch Kills 102 in Calcutta

Rob Quinn — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 01:19:31 CST

A bad batch of illegal liquor has killed at least 102 people in villages that fringe Calcutta. Dozens more are critically ill with alcohol poisoning. Traces of highly toxic methanol were found in the victims, who were mostly poor day laborers and rickshaw-pullers who bought the hooch in pouches for...

DWI Among Women Jumps 29%

Polly Davis Doig — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 08:36:12 CST

The career of ex-FAA chief Randy Babbitt might be the latest casualty of a drunken-driving arrest, but a new report shows that DWI has an increasingly female face . The number of women arrested on suspicion of DWI shot up 29% between 1998 and 2007—up from making up only 9%...