Alcohol use, abuse are high in Nevada

Saturday, Dec. 2, 2000 | 10:26 a.m.

Drinking and the Nevada desert go together like Jack Daniel's and Coke.

The state known for glittering lights and blackjack tables also is home to tens of thousands of drinkers, many drinking free, courtesy of casinos hoping to keep gamblers at the machines and tables.

Most of those in the casinos and bars use alcohol occasionally and might be called social drinkers.

Many, however, abuse the legal and widely available drug to excess, and some are full-blown addicts. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Nevada State Health Division track alcohol use in the state, and find that by most indicators, a relatively high number of people use and abuse the potent drug.

Alcohol abuse in Nevada has prompted some groups to push for tougher standards and punishment for drunken driving, perhaps the most publicly dangerous manifestation of the problem. This year, those groups have a much better chance of getting the blood-alcohol-content level reduced from 0.1 to 0.08 percent.

But even if drinking and driving is reduced, drinking itself is a problem for many.

For example, a sampling of more than 2,000 people around the state, with a margin of error of less than 2 percent, found that more than 12 percent of adult residents drank on more than 20 days during the month, the CDC reports. The national average is just above 8 percent of the population.

That rate of chronic drinking is fourth highest in the country.

It is a problem that cuts across economic, social, ethnic and educational lines, and often is manifested in arrests, violence and vehicle accidents -- as the recent accident and arrest of a ranking Metro Police officer indicates.

"In general, alcohol far outstrips all other drugs in terms of its use, abuse and damage," said Peter Singleton, rehabilitation supervisor for the Nevada Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Abuse. "Hardly anyone in our culture has been untouched by the issue."

Holiday awareness

The problem often comes into focus during the holiday season, when people are more likely to abuse alcohol. The problem of drunken driving, for example, rises during the Thanksgiving to New Year's period.

Ron Lawrence, a counselor for drug and alcohol abusers and executive director of Las Vegas' Community Counseling Center, said several factors contribute to a higher-than-average amount of alcohol abuse in the state -- and in Southern Nevada in particular.

"The fact that it is available 24 hours makes a huge difference," Lawrence said.

The reputation of Las Vegas as a party town also makes a difference, although not necessarily among longtime residents, he said.

"A large proportion of people moving into this city already have substance-abuse problems," Lawrence said.

Singleton agrees, but warns against blaming the problem on people from outside. Locals have a problem with alcohol abuse, even without outside help.

Sandy Heverly, executive director of Stop DUI, a Las Vegas-based organization working to curb drunken driving, agrees.

People in Las Vegas simply are "more accepting of the presence of alcohol, to the availability of it 'round the clock," she said. "I think most people that live here see that as an everyday occurrence."

"Obviously, the fact that it's available more, more often and free is going to lead to a greater degree of drinking and driving," Heverly said.

The availability and abuse of alcohol can create huge costs, individually and for our community, Lawrence said.

Alcohol use contributes to domestic violence, marital breakups, child abuse and other family-destroying behavior, Lawrence said. Alcohol abusers are more likely to miss work, and their performance at work often suffers.

And alcohol abusers, especially long-term abusers, have a variety of medical problems that can include brain and nervous system disorders, psychoses and other physical problems, he said.

Overall, the toll on an individual "can be total." Lawrence said an individual can lose family and friends, income, health and, finally, life itself.

National statistics bear out Lawrence's statement. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism estimated in 1995 that the economic cost of alcohol abuse was $166.5 billion nationwide. The institute did not have a breakdown by state.

One of the most notorious "costs" is drunken driving, and CDC numbers show that Nevadans have a greater problem than most states.

Nearly 9 percent of the adult population reported driving "when perhaps" they've had too much to drink at least once a month in 1999, second only to Oklahoma.

Those figures frustrate anti-drunken driving advocates. Stop DUI has pushed for lower blood-alcohol thresholds for drivers, following a national trend to move the legal limit from 0.10 percent to 0.08 percent blood-alcohol content.

The effort in Nevada has stalled in the face of resistance from alcohol distributors, tavern owners and others who serve or sell alcoholic beverages. But the effort got a major boost nationally and in the state with passage of a federal bill that ties federal highway funding to the 0.08 standard.

The law doesn't require states to implement that level until 2003, but Heverly hopes that the rule will come sooner rather than later in Nevada.

She argues that it will save some of the dozens of lives lost each year -- 99 in 1999, one third of all road deaths in the state -- from alcohol-related crashes. Those in affected industries generally argue that the standard is too low, just a few drinks for many, and will punish social rather than hard-core drinkers who create a menace on the road.

A certain debate

As it has during past sessions of the Nevada Legislature, the issue is certain to be debated in Carson City when the session begins in late January. Given the federal law, the outlook for 0.08 advocates is brighter than in past years.

It still isn't clear how hard opponents will fight the proposed standard.

"In the past, we felt that this was a level that was not needed in the state," said Harvey Whittemore, a lobbyist for the Nevada Beer Wholesalers Association. "We still feel that's the case, but obviously circumstances have changed in the light of the federal legislation."

He said the beer wholesalers will meet in January and decide their legislative agenda.

Bill Bible, Nevada Resort Association president, said his organization will not oppose the 0.08 standard during the session next year.

There is virtually no chance that the state will risk loss of the more than $200 million it receives annually from the federal government for highway funding.

Heverly said that has given her group a huge boost.

"It's unfortunate that it took federal legislation to make that happen, but after you've fought for 10 years, through five sessions ... You don't care where it comes from," she said.

The group has two other goals. One is to change the law so that a death resulting from drunken driving is no longer classified as felony DUI, but second-degree murder.

The other goal is to confiscate the vehicle from any drunken driver, Heverly said.

"It's removing the weapon," Heverly said. "If a police officer saw somebody walking down the street randomly firing a gun, they would take away the weapon.

"That's what we want to do with the cars of drunk drivers," she said.

Along with the 0.08 standard, "those three things would have a tremendous impact on the death and injury rate," Heverly said.

One problem professionals see is that by the time a person is arrested and charged with drunken driving, he or she may have had an alcohol problem for a long time.

Alcoholism -- addiction to the drug that is alcohol --"creeps up on people," Lawrence said.

Many turn to alcohol for fun, in response to peer pressures, to help manage their emotional states, he said.

Lawrence said he has particularly seen problems among some of the thousands of construction workers in Las Vegas.

Some have a hard time shedding the image of hard-drinking tough guys, especially when they're asked to go out for beers at the end of the day, he said.

But for some -- not all -- drinking a beer, a shot of whiskey, a mixed drink or a glass of wine on an occasional basis can become a habit. Lawrence said the slide toward tolerance of larger doses, dependency and withdrawal can be gradual, but when a person is in the grips of the addiction, it leads to catastrophe for many.

Lawrence said his clinic sees about 1,700 people a month with substance abuse problems. Many have multiple substance-abuse problems.

While not every alcohol abuser is a drug addict, just about every abuser of, for example, methamphetamine also drinks, Lawrence said.

Those patterns of behavior -- "co-morbidity" in the parlance of those who study substance abuse -- can be a lethal cocktail for those who don't get treatment, Lawrence said.

Observers and advocates who work on the issue of alcohol abuse say there is no easy way to fix the problem. Most agree that education is a key weapon to discourage abuse.

Lawrence said he doesn't favor some sort of blanket restriction. Availability of alcohol plays a role in abuse, but it doesn't account for the hundreds of patients he sees. Controlling availability won't eliminate alcohol abuse or alcoholism, he said.

"It means far more to educate people than to try to limit availability," Lawrence said.

Education needed

"Remember, prohibition didn't work," he said. "What really has to be changed is the minds and hearts of the people. We need to do more education nationally to teach people what the consequences of substance abuse are."

The educational approach has advocates on all sides of the issue. Whittemore said the beer wholesalers he represents aren't advocates of alcohol abuse.

"The answer (to the issue of abuse) is to continue to do what all of our members have pledged to do: to encourage people to use alcohol and beer responsibly, not to drink and drive and to provide programs to give them (alcohol abusers) help," Whittemore said.

Singleton said it is easier now than in the past to find counselors to help problem drinkers. But there exists "a huge social stigma" for many, which discourages people from seeking help, he said.

"There is still a significant stigma for people who are in recovery ... publicly, in the business sector and even in their personal lives," Singleton said. "People look down on it. It can be a significant impediment to people seeking treatment."

But there is help for people who have trouble managing alcohol. Nevada helps fund dozens of treatment centers statewide.

And most large businesses offer confidential programs to help employees, in large part because of the potential costs if they don't, Singleton said.

Professional associations, such as those for medical fields, also are increasingly offering intervention programs, he said.

But all of that only addresses part of the problem. The problem, Singleton said, is bigger than the services now available.

"There is not enough time, money, bodies, professionals to cope with it yet," he said.

Launce Rake

covers growth issues for the Sun. He can be reached at (702) 259-4127 or by e-mail at lrake@lasvegassun.com.

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