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Alcohol is a mind-altering drug. It is considered a “depressant”. Depressants are substances that depress the central nervous system; they slow down the thinking process and affect behaviour, as well as breathing and heart rate.
Depressants also include drugs such as opioids like heroin, morphine, Percocet and OxyContin, to name a few. Alcohol is the most popular and most accepted mind-altering substance in the world. It has been around in various cultures as far back as 8000 BC.
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Alcohol is absorbed through small blood vessels in the walls of the stomach (about 20%) and small intestine (80%) and carried in the bloodstream through the body. From there the liver metabolizes alcohol and eliminates its toxicity but can only process a certain amount the rest of the alcohol will remain in the bloodstream and have its effect on the body. The liver eliminates one standard drink (13.6 grams of alcohol) from the body in about 1.5 hours.
The effect felt from alcohol is determined by the following factors:
Alcohol poisoning may occur when the blood alcohol content (BAC) exceeds a certain level.
Binge drinking is a consumption of large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time. According to the Canadian Medical Association binge drinking is considered to be 5 or more drink for men and 4 or more drinks for women in one sitting.
A person that has been drinking for a long period of time, or drinks frequently, or drinks heavily when drinking (binge drinking), may experience some form of withdrawal when they stop drinking.
They may feel or experience:
Alcohol withdrawal symptoms can begin as early as two hours after the last drink and persist for weeks.
Alcohol withdrawal can be potentially life-threatening when severe complications, such as seizures and delirium tremens (DTs), set in.
More about alcohol withdrawal and delirium tremens here.
As reported by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health most Canadian adults drink alcohol responsibly. But drinking alcohol in any amount has its own risks as it is a mind altering drug.
Statistics in 2005;
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