In the debate about Walnut Creek’s downtown bar scene, remember that alcohol is a drug

Yes, that’s right, alcohol is a drug, the most widely used in the United States. 

Whether it’s dressed up as glass of fine red wine, a boutique brew or an artistically designed cocktail, drinks containing alcohol alter mind and mood and play with some of the same pleasure-producing neurotransmitters affected by opioid pain killers, heroin, cocaine and marijuana. 

That means that downtown establishments serving alcohol are dispensing a drug.  

I know, I know. I'm spoiling everyone's fun. People don’t like to equate alcohol with drugs because, well, alcohol is different, right? Alcohol isn’t dirty – not like street drugs. It is associated with consumers who are sophisticated, educated and affluent, with people who are good, responsible citizens. 

A glass of wine with a meal? A martini before dinner? Is there anything wrong with that?
No. Indeed, the production and consumption of alcoholic beverages has a rich tradition in cultures around the world, going back to the world’s early civilizations. It plays a central role in religious and social rituals, and in the appreciation of good food and of life itself.  Scientific research also presents strong evidence that moderate consumption of alcohol provides of range of health benefits.

A lot of things I’ve just written about alcohol are true. But that doesn’t change the fact that alcohol is a drug. 

As for alcohol not being dirty? Alcohol actually causes more harm to individuals, families and societies worldwide than crack cocaine, heroin and other legal and illegal drugs, according to a 2010 study published by the British medical journal The Lancet. 

About two-thirds of American adults reporting drinking alcohol to various degrees. Anywhere from 15 to 17 million of those are alcoholics or have drinking problems. Thirty-four percent of people over the age of 12 are alcoholics or engage in what public health officials call risky drinking. Excessive alcohol use increases people’s risk for cancer and liver and brain damage. 

Abuse and addiction to alcohol has devastating consequences for people around the drinker. A new study says 7.1 million children under 18 live with parents with "an alcohol use disorder." America's "drinking problem," as one publication put it, costs about $225 billion a year in medical expenses, crime and lost productivity.


Where Walnut Creek’s downtown night life is concerned, alcohol-impaired drivers were involved in 1 in 3 traffic related deaths in 2009, resulting in 11,000 deaths. About 40 percent of violent crimes committed in the United States involved alcohol. Two-thirds of victims who suffered violence by “intimate” partners reported that alcohol had been a factor. 

The city is drafting an ordinance that would tie regulation of alcohol-serving establishments to public health and safety, rather than to land use. Treating the regulation of downtown's alcohol serving establishment as a health and safety issue is a good step. By the way, the statistics cited above come from agencies involved in public health and safety: the U.S. Department of Justice, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Mental Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental Services Administration.

The city wants more authority to deal with problem bars, Mayor Bob Simmons told the Contra Costa Times. The owners of downtown’s drug dispensaries – er,  bars – worry that additional laws would cut into their hours for alcohol service and cost them money and possibly their businesses.
In a letter to the city, the 15 members of the newly formed  Walnut Creek Hospitality Group said they are ready to go to court to fight against any new regulations that would hurt their livelihoods, according to the Times. 

Some residents would respond to bar owners’ concerns: “Cry me a river.” In an astute op-ed column for the Times, City Council member Kristina Lawson said that“Walnut Creek is a successful, thriving, family-focused community. But with success brings great responsibility.”

So yes, Walnut Creek has a thriving nightlife. A lot of that has to do with the more than 100 businesses in the downtown core area that are licensed to serve alcohol. Between midnight and 2 a.m., as many as 1500 people are at bars still open downtown, according to a May 2009 city staff report. 

I am no prohibitionist who wants the city to close up at 10 p.m  I understand people wanting to get together with friends for drinks.  I’ve been known to enjoy that pastime myself.  I appreciate the way a drink can be relaxing and intoxicating.  Of course, one might get a similar sedative effect from taking a Valium or Xanax, but a glass of nice wine tastes better and goes better with dinner.

Alcohol is the drug of choice of all the people coming into downtown to drink. Having lots of people downtown on weekend nights, hanging out in bars or moving from one to another, all getting buzzed or drunk, increases the likelihood of trouble  -- as we’ve seen in a series of brawls breaking out on weekend nights over the past few months. 

I can understand that some city leaders have concerns about fairness when it comes to deciding how late a bar can stay open. They don’t want to hurt the livelihood of a small business owner who says he is just providing a venue for people to relax and enjoy themselves.

But as Lawson said, the laws in this city “need to be firmly on the side of our residents, visitors and public safety officers -- not on the side of a small minority of businesses who cannot properly regulate and restrain their behavior and the behavior of their patrons.” 

These business owners  need to recognize that they are peddling a product that carries consequences for public health and safety.  With its new ordinance and with increasing police patrols on weekend nights, the city is showing that it finally is recognizing this reality as well.

Some numbers behind recent drug, alcohol, and weapons possession cases at Walnut Creek Intermediate

Two Walnut Creek Intermediate students were suspended this past week for possession of alcohol and marijuana, according to a e-mail sent out by Principal Kevin Collins:

The first case involved a student who was in possession of a small bottle of cognac. Our disciplinary code calls for a five day suspension for any alcohol possession or use at school.

The second involved a student who was in possession of a lighter, pipe, and small amount of marijuana. Our disciplinary code also calls for a five day suspension for
any drug or paraphernalia possession or use, and also calls for police contact. The Walnut Creek Police Department typically places a student who is caught with drugs on a school campus into custody and transports them to the police station, as was done today.

Collins suggested that parents continue to have conversations with their children regarding drug and alcohol use. He added that these two cases happened on the same day, which is unusual. He added that these situations are "rare occurrences" for the school.

It is true that suspensions for drug and alcohol possession are "rare." During the 2008-09 school year, a total of 100 students were suspended, but only one was caught in possession or was involved in sales of alcohol or drugs, according to reports to the state Department of Education.

However, a somewhat larger number of WCI students are using or experimenting. According to a 2007 Healthy Kids Survey of 335 WCI 7th graders (86 percent of the class), 13 percent said they had tried alcohol at least once in their lives, while 3 percent said they had tried marijuana. Eight percent said they had consumed alcohol in the previous 30 days, while 2 percent said they had used pot.

As for what kids are getting into trouble for at Walnut Creek Intermediate?

The majority of those 100 suspended in the 2008-09 year were punished for violent, rude, and disruptive behavior. Forty-one were suspended for use of "force or violence"; 26 for disrupting school activities or "willful defiance"; and 15 for committing an "obscene act" or "habitual profanity or vulgarity." Of some concern--in light of the recent rape case at the El Cerrito middle school, in which the victim claimed she had been previously sexually harassed by her rapist--is the fact that five WCI students were suspended in 2008-09 for sexual harassment.

No WCI students were expelled in 2008-09. But so far this year, there has been one student in the Walnut Creek school district expelled, according to a summary of the district's December 7 board meeting. The summary of that meeting did not indicate whether the student was a middle or elementary school student.

Last month, WCI dealt with two separate incidents in one week of two students being caught with knives. In one case, a student was packing a "locking blade knife," was released to the custody of his parents, and school officials say the student is no longer enrolled at WCI.

Again, it's rare for students to be caught with weapons at WCI. In the 2008-09, three students were suspended for being caught with weapons, including knives. It should be noted that none of those weapons involved firearms.

In fact, in perusing data for expulsions and suspensions for Walnut Creek four public middle and high schools, going back to the 2004-05 year, I found that no student had been caught with a gun.