Did We Trade in Our Marijuana for Alcohol?

It seems us hippies, you baby boomers, however you think of yourself as an over 50 person traded in your pot for alcohol. Or maybe you do both but in any case less caution it seems has to be given to the younger generation than my generation.

Research at Duke University done by Dan G. Blazer, MD, PhD, and Li-Tzy Wu, ScD on binge drinking in people over 50 found that 22% of men and 6% of women over 50 reported binge drinking last year. This was posted online in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Data from the 2005 and 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health was used. A huge number (meaning perhaps a scientifically valid study) was conducted with almost 11,000 people over 50 years old. This was done via survey. At that time 66% of men and 55% of women said that they had used alcohol during the previous year. Now far be it for me to say but "used alcohol" is a far cry from binge drinking and what does "binge" mean?

On top of the above the researchers found that people aged 50 to 64 binge drinking the most with 23% of the men and 9% of the women saying that they engaged in binge drinking in the past year. If you are over 65 then only 14% of you men and 3% of you women binge drink.

It didn't matter what race you were if you were a man but interestingly enough if you were an African American women you were 10% more prone to binge drink than the 6% for white

The view of we have of blue collar guys going to the bar and getting drunk seems also to be a stereotype. Perhaps because alcohol is more expensive and people don't have jobs or perhaps because they don't have jobs it seems that the more money you make, if you are over 50 you are more prone to binge drink. The odds are also against you is you are separated from your significant other or if you were a widowed man.

For the over 50 women there was an association of being employed (Going out with the girls? Stress from work?) and using prescription drugs. Also not surprising is the correlation between smoking (cigarettes) and using drugs.

According to Wikipedia the definition of binge drinking is this "Binge drinking is the modern definition of drinking alcoholic beverages with the primary intention of becoming intoxicated by heavy consumption of alcohol over a short period of time. It is a kind of purposeful drinking style that is popular in several countries worldwide, and overlaps somewhat with social drinking since it is often done in groups. However, solitary binge drinking is also done as a method of self medication. The exact degree of intoxication, however, varies between and within various cultures that engage in this practice. There is currently no international consensus on how many drinks constitute a "binge," but the term is often taken to mean consuming 5 or more standard drinks (male), or 4 or more drinks (female), in about two hours for a typical adult."

Sources

Glazer DG, Wu LT "The epidemiology of at-risk and binge drinking among middle-aged and elderly community adults: National survey on drug use and health" Am J Psychiatry 2009; DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09010016

EMax

Wikipedia