Alcohol Is a Drug, Too

I recently finished a stint in the Emergency Room at Cambridge City Hospital. It is not uncommon for Harvard students to come into the E.R., and frequently when they do come in, they are intoxicated.

One weekend night a Harvard undergraduate came into the E.R. after having a few too many beers. He was forthright in admitting that he had drunk "several" beers. I asked him--and it is standard to do so--if he used any other drugs, such as cocaine.

He replied, almost indignantly, "No way. I've never used any drugs."

No drugs, I thought. Then what the hell are you doing here? Isn't alcohol a drug? Hasn't it wrecked more families in more ways than any other drug? Doesn't it kill more Americans every year than all of the illicit drugs combined?

I called this student on his "slip," but I could not really blame him for his attitude. In our culture there is widespread hypocrisy regarding alcohol vis-a-vis other drugs. This hypocrisy allows parents to talk about ridding neighborhoods of drugs while enjoying a cold brew and the White House to preach 'Just Say No' while serving wines and champagnes at state dinners.

I am not arguing for prohibition. Instead, I am arguing for consistency, because only when we have consistency will we be able to begin looking at alcohol earnestly. And we need to do that before we can do much of anything else in this arena. J. Wesley Boyd, M.D.,Ph.D   Clinical Fellow, Harvard Medical School