Archive for July, 2007
A reporter asks, "Despite the efforts of law enforcement, the number [of DUIs] has not significantly dropped....Have we hit a point where we can't further reduce the number of people killed in drunken-driving accidents?"
In researching my book on identifying DUIs before they become tragically obvious ("Get Out of the Way! How to Identify and Avoid a Driver Under the Influence"), I learned of a study proving that for every traffic violator who was under the influence and arrested for DUI, almost four were let back on the road. I realized that cops are no more capable of identifying the highly-functional early-stage alcoholic at a .15 per cent BAL than bartenders are, or anyone else. Such alcoholics just don't appear inebriated.
I ...
Wrong way teen
A journalist asks, perhaps with Lindsay Lohan in mind: "Did you have a friend from childhood who took a wrong turn in high school? How did you cope with it? Also, I seek experts on the subject: What should friends and parents do?"
As is true of most people who took a "wrong" turn, it usually means they've done really stupid or bad things. "Stupid" and "bad" are hallmarks of alcohol or other-drug addiction. "Bad" usually results from a need to wield power stemming from egomania often rooted in alcohol or other-drug addiction.
Don't get me wrong--there are some fundamentally stupid and bad people. Only, without benefit of chemistry this is rare. We need to look where the odds take us.
Alcoholism-driven egomania ...
Drug testing teens–is it ok?
A journalist asks whether it violates trust to test teens for drugs.
In a word, no.
Non-addicts don't lie and addicts lie. Therefore, the only way a parent can be sure they get the truth is to test. A non-addict will understand and will not perceive it as a "violation" of trust; an addict will perceive it as a violation, but that isn't a parent's concern.
Time Magazine’s article on addiction, July 16, 2007
I wrote a letter to the editor of Time:
Dear Editor,
Overall excellent piece on addiction. At the risk of seeming overly critical, however, it perpetuates several destructive myths. The first is Fracella's definition of addiction, which requires "the desire to continue using something you know is bad for you." Due to euphoric recall, the distortion every addict experiences that causes early-stage addicts to view practically everything they do or say through self-favoring lenses, they have great difficulty in seeing that it is "bad" for them. Most early-stage alcoholics are, in fact, utterly incapable of self-diagnosis.
The second includes two myths in one: Volkow's assertion that "everyone will become an addict if sufficiently exposed to drugs or alcohol." First, the correct ...
Unethical behavior–especially in a doctor–is usually an indication of substance addiction
A journalist asks what to do if a doctor, who works in a small practice, learns that his partner or boss is engaging in unethical activities related to the practice. What are the signs that the doctor is engaging in unethical activities? What can a partner doctor do to protect himself, the practice and, if they chose to do so, the other doctor? What are the ramifications of saying nothing? About taking action?
We can either enable or we can whistle blow. I always suggest the latter in order to help both the person who is committing unethical behaviors and to protect ourselves against future misbehaviors.
These behaviors are usually rooted in alcohol or other-drug addiction. Addiction causes egomania; this ...
The biggest challenge facing law enforcers
A journalist asks: What is the biggest challenge facing law enforcement management?
I don't mean to seem flippant, but how about alcoholism within their own ranks as the biggest challenge? July's top story starring L.A. City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo and his wife Michelle, the Review of the Month on the movie "Breach" (FBI agent Robert Hanssen, who sold secrets to the Soviets for 20 years) and the Antic-of-the-Month, another FBI agent doing idiotic things while at a .30 BAL, are just a few examples of why alcoholism is an enormous problem among law enforcers.
In researching my first book (Drunks, Drugs & Debits), every Drug Recognition Officer I spoke with admitted that the rate of active alcoholism on police forces ranges ...
Republican Senator David Vittor of LA frequents brothels. Is he an alcoholic?
Republican Senator David Vitter of Louisiana has been stung with revelations he's been frequenting brothels and paying prostitutes for years.
Politicians patronizing brothels should be no exception to the general rule that misbehaviors indicate alcohol or other-drug addiction ("alcoholism").
Alcoholism damages the frontal lobes of the brain, the seat of reason and logic. When properly functioning, this area reigns in the impulses and survival instincts of the lower brain centers. When not, the lower brain centers impel the afflicted person to engage in pre-civilized and, sometimes, just plain ol' "stupid" behaviors.
Senator Vitter should be no exception to the general rule, following in the footsteps of Florida Representative Mark Foley and Ohio Representative Bob Ney, who have both admitted to alcoholism. ...
What causes financial infidelity?
A journalist asks for statistical information regarding financial infidelity. Why would a spouse hide money and financial information from a loved one? Can money issues make or break a relationship--or is there an underlying cause preceding the money? Is there a connection between this and debt problems?
I wrote a book about this sort of thing: "Drunks, Drugs & Debits: How to Recognize Addicts and Avoid Financial Abuse." The book arose out of my experience as an Enrolled Agent tax professional and Certified Financial Planner in observing that financial abuse was almost always perpetrated by an alcohol or other-drug addict. The kind of abuse varies all over the map; the fact of abuse is a behavioral indication of addiction, often ...
What’s behind the trend of grandparents raising grandchildren?
A journalist asks: "A local program called "Kinship Navigator" is for adults raising children who are not their own. It's mostly made of grandparents raising their grandchildren. A U.S. Census stat said: In Butler County, Ohio, 50 percent of all grandparents are raising their grandchildren. What's behind this phenomenon? Local residents attribute drug abuse. Is that the case nationally? How does this affect the children being raised? What toll will this have on society overall?"
Alcohol and other-drug addiction in the parents is usually the reason grandparents raise grandchildren. This is the case in about a dozen situations of which I am personally aware--no exceptions in my admittedly limited database.
The good news is, the grandparents are clean and sober. The ...
Political shenanigans, including Villaraigosa
"When Gary Hart got caught, his political career was over. Have times changed? Do voters see these things differently now? Is Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's career over? Bill Clinton is actually on the campaign trail with Hillary--have we forgotten Lewinsky?Giuliani may or may not be hurt by his marital scandal with Donna Hanover."
Villaraigosa is a child of an alcoholic (who often appear as narcissists), Clinton is an alcoholic (who may be in recovery for the time being) and I don't know about Hart or Giuliani. However, adultery is far more common in the lives of alcoholics than non-alcoholics and 40% of divorces include an alcoholic on one side or the other. We forgive and forget because alcoholics are often ...
What can be done about Rx drugs among the young?
"Are prescription drugs replacing street drugs, especially marijuana, among youngsters? Why? What can society do to stop it?"
To an addict--and most of these youngsters have a predisposition to addiction--a drug is a drug is a drug. Yes, they seem to be replacing street drugs because they are so easily obtainable, but keeping the addict from his drug is as difficult as keeping flies off of horse dung. It ain't gonna happen. At least using legal drugs takes the gun battles out of the equation.
The question is what to do about addiction, which I have written on for almost a decade. We'll never stamp it out because almost everyone alive will experiment with at least one drug (alcohol) and those ...
Kids moving to Rx drugs; what can we do to stop it?
A journalist asks: "Are prescription drugs replacing street drugs, especially marijuana, among youngsters? Why? What can society do to stop it?"
To an addict--and most of these youngsters have a predisposition to addiction--a drug is a drug is a drug. Yes, they seem to be replacing street drugs because they are so easily obtainable, but keeping the addict from his drug is as difficult as keeping flies off of horse dung. It ain't gonna happen. At least using legal drugs takes the gun battles out of the equation.
The question is what to do about addiction, which I have written on for almost a decade. We'll never stamp it out because almost everyone alive will experiment with at least one drug ...
Elder abuse, financial style
A person concerned about the possibility of elder abuse writes: "I have good friends, neighbors, who are being taken advantage of by their adult children. I wouldn't be so concerned if grandma was only expected to baby-sit often and for free. Nor would I be concerned if grandpa only ran what is essentially a taxi service to and from kids' sporting events and after-school activities while the parents work. My concern is that my neighbors' children are actually expecting and getting the parents to pay for clothing and activities over and above what they can afford on their fixed income. How can I help these grandparents draw the line?"
At the risk of seeming flippant and all-too-blunt, the grandparents are often ...
Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo and his wife, Michelle.
Rocky and Michelle Delgadillo: If they were celebrities, the press would fill us in on any drinking. But he's a city attorney and she's his wife.
I have long bemoaned the fact that the press discloses the drinking and using foibles of celebrities and sports figures while generally failing to report any evidence of use in law enforcers, politicians, CEOs, attorneys and doctors. In my files of likely and confirmed alcoholics, for every one celebrity suspected strictly on behavioral clues four or five are confirmed addicts; of every four or five law enforcers suspected, I have only one in whom I can prove alcoholism. Yet, the behaviors are similar in all those under suspicion, celebrities and non-celebrities alike.
Los Angeles City Attorney ...
Runners-up: Tank Johnson and Chris Benoit
Runners-up for top story of the month:
Chicago Bears defensive lineman Tank Johnson, terminated by the Bears after his fourth arrest in two years, this time for DUI. After his third arrest last December, sports journalists won the "Enabler of the Month" award in the January '07 issue of TAR, where I wrote:
"Journalists have euphemized Johnson's 'problems' with words and phrases such as a 'history of questionable decisions,' 'poor decisions,' 'his latest display of questionable decision-making,' 'latest indiscretion,' 'a pattern of off-the-field mistakes,' the Bears' reputations 'could be sullied by Johnson's actions,' and the Bears request that Johnson 'provide them with a list of lifestyle alterations he needs to make.' How about ...[admitting] that his serial poor judgment is most likely ...
Runners-Up–Rep. William Jefferson and D.A. Mike Nifong, likely alcoholics.
Under watch:
Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.), indicted on charges that he used his congressional office to enrich himself and his family through a pervasive pattern of fraud, bribery and corruption. The 94-page indictment follows a two-year investigation following a sting operation in which Jefferson (allegedly) told an investor that he would need a half million dollars to bribe a Nigerian government official to help a digital technology firm, iGate Inc. of Louisville, KY, to gain a foothold in Africa. The investor delivered $100,000 to Jefferson in marked bills, $90,000 of which were found tucked away in Jefferson's freezer, "wrapped in aluminum foil, and concealed inside various food containers." Jefferson could qualify as one of the great functional alcoholics of all ...
“Breach”–this is the reason we need to ID alcoholics.
The Quiet Egomaniac
The greatest portrayal ever of why we need to identify alcoholism
"Breach," the movie about FBI Agent Robert Hanssen (now out on DVD), who for two decades sold U.S. secrets to the Soviets and, later, Russia, is great storytelling with acting to match. It's also the best explanation ever on the big screen with the poignant answer to the question, why should we bother identifying someone as a likely alcoholic?
Reviewers uniformly praised director and co-writer Billy Ray for avoiding psychobabble to explain Hanssen, played by Chris Cooper in what should be an Oscar-winning role. Yet Ray presents not only behavioral clues of alcoholism in the form of a nasty, haughty, egocentric Hanssen at work who charmed his way into ...
Mother from hell is a likely alcoholic.
Dear Doug: Mommie Dearest goes to school
Dear Doug:
My 10-year-old daughter, Laurie, is being bullied by one of her classmate's mothers. She elbowed my daughter once and purposely slammed a door in her face. Her daughter does the same sort of things. The school principal reluctantly agreed to separate the girls, despite the fact that school staff thinks this woman is wonderful. I know that she is a lying, manipulative, power abusing woman who seems to know exactly who she needs to charm. Is there anything I can do?
Signed,
Abused
. . . .
Dear Codependent,
Some people know exactly who they need to charm to get what they want, and who they can abuse without fear of repercussions, all with the goal of ...
“Money is at the root of the problems for too many young celebrities.”
"Most people say money is the root of troubles for most young celebrities, citing too much of it as the major reason for stars' problems."
So reported a USA Today/Gallup Poll of 1,007 adults, which reported 79% saying too much money was a big problem for stars whose lives are filled with drugs, clubs, DUIs and rehab. The "pressures of fame" was considered a concern by 68%, "negative influences of Hollywood" by 65% and "parents doing a poor job" of raising the young stars by 63%. Alcoholism didn't make the list.
Karen Thomas, in the cover story for USA Today, wrote "Million-dollar paychecks and suites at tony hotels come with pressures--and the means to self-medicate." Addiction counselor Clare Waismann explains that young ...
Robert Clymer, FBI agent, alcoholic.
y from "True Stella Awards" by Randy Cassingham, with his "tagline:"
In the spirit of this month's top story and movie review on possibly alcoholic law enforcers, Randy's 2006 # 3 runner-up for The TRUE Stella Awards (http://www.stellaawards.com/) is fitting. The Awards mock wild, outrageous, ridiculous and abusive lawsuits, from which there are plenty to choose. This particularly abusive suit was brought by FBI agent Robert Clymer.
Unfortunately, even if we'd like to think otherwise, many law enforcers are practicing alcoholics. While working a high profile case in Las Vegas, Clymer crashed his pickup--with a Blood Alcohol Level over .30 per cent, almost four times the .08 per cent limit. He had no doubt consumed the empty 25 ounce bottle of Captain ...
Abusive partners and their red flags
A reader asks what red flags signal an abusive partner and why people stay in abusive relationships?
The first question can be rephrased as, what red flags signal an abusive partner, or tenant, or employer, or employee or "friend?" All the same clues: abusers often start out charming, because charm is a terrific way by which to control others. It later turns to abuse only after the person has sucked in the victim, or "mark," as it did in the Robert De Niro movie based on the Tobias Wolff story, "This Boys Life" and countless other stories of psychological, physical and financial abuse.
Other red flags include belittling remarks about someone else (including "friends," family or employer--or a class of people), ...