Several years ago, my wife and I attended a talk by some addiction counselors regarding how to deal with a family member who is an addict. Although there are numerous types of addiction, the focus of the meeting was on the population addicted to drugs and/or alcohol. One of the counselors, Danielo, gave a short spiel about the neurological effects of drugs on the brains of young persons. He focused on what drugs do to the prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain that develops during the teen years and the early twenties. It is the portion of the brain that allows for decision making and predicting the consequences of future actions. He kind of dumbed it down for us, but the gist of his lecture was that drugs/alcohol physically change the structure of the prefrontal cortex. Heavy use of drugs changes the wiring, and the cortex operates in a very different way.
Now, let’s take a hypothetical situation. Let’s say that a young woman who is an addict has a traffic accident. She is sober at the time and is in no way at fault. Somebody else ran a stop sign and t-boned her car. The young woman’s car is totaled. This is a problem. She needs transportation, and a car is the best choice for that. Unfortunately, she has no money to buy one.
Now, the woman’s father, realizing that she needs to go places, and not wanting to be her chauffeur, decides to purchase a used car for her. He takes her to a dealer, and several thousand dollars later, the young woman is the proud owner of a vehicle with 130,000 miles on it. Legally, she is supposed to only drive a car with a breathalyzer installed in it. The newly purchased vehicle obviously does not have one. She tells her dad that it will be okay for her to drive it straight home, since that is only a few miles away. This is in the father’s interest since he has to drive his own car there. It seems like a simple solution for getting two cars to where they need to go.
The young woman does not drive straight home.
The father waits impatiently for over an hour for the young woman to arrive at their home. During that time, he both calls and texts her. Her response consistently is, “I’m on my way!” When she tells her dad that she is stopping at a grocery store to buy some chips, he is a bit uneasy. That isn’t all she is buying.
Upon her arrival, she is friendly and helpful, and obviously a little tipsy. She decided to have some drinks on the way home from the dealership. The father has been scared while waiting for her to come. Now, he’s more than a little pissed off.
Let’s take a brief look at the young woman’s history. She has four, count ’em, four drunk driving convictions. Now, even in Wisconsin, the drunkest state in the Union, that’s a serious matter. In this state, the first three convictions are misdemeanors. The fourth drunk driving bust is a felony with prison time.
By slamming a few shots on the way home from the car dealer, the woman is risking being busted for a fifth time. A fifth drunk driving conviction really gets the attention of a judge. At that point, the idea of rehabilitation is moot, and the judge’s main concern is getting the person off the road for a long time. Time in prison ensures the public safety.
I haven’t even mentioned the fact that the young woman is endangering the lives of other drivers. The decision to drink is bad on a number of levels.
Why would a person do this? Why take enormous risks for a quick buzz?
To most people that behavior makes no sense. To an addict it is completely logical. The desire for the drug trumps any and all other possible considerations. Go back to my first paragraph about the prefrontal cortex. The wiring is all messed up.
The young woman makes it home safe. She avoids the most severe consequences of her act. However, there are still consequences, some subtle and hidden. Some are quite obvious, even to the young woman.
Frank (Francis) Pauc is a graduate of West Point, Class of 1980. He completed the Military Intelligence Basic Course at Fort Huachuca and then went to Flight School at Fort Rucker. Frank was stationed with the 3rd Armor Division in West Germany at Fliegerhorst Airfield from December 1981 to January 1985. He flew Hueys and Black Hawks and was next assigned to the 7th Infantry Division at Fort Ord, CA. He got the hell out of the Army in August 1986.
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