3.5 Alcohol

'Good Lord, if our civilisation would sober up for a couple of days, it would die on the third day from remorse. " Malcolm Lowry,

'Under the vulcano', 1947.

Alcohol is derived from the fermentation of grains or fruit sugar, (among others grapes), and is processed into three categories: beers (ca. 5% alcohol), wines (ca. 11 % alcohol), and spirits (ca. 35% alcohol). Sherry and port have an extrahigh alcohol percentage (ca. 20%) but fall under the category 'wines'. In spite of the
differences in alcohol percentage, the ingested amount of alcohol per glass is still the same. Wineand beer glasses wi I I always be larger than whisky glasses.

How does alcohol work?

One or two glasses of alcohol make you loose, euphoric and alert. Continue to drink, and you will become careless and make mistakes in the most normal daily routines, such as driving. Drink even more, and you might become depressed or aggressive. With increasing amounts of alcohol, the sedative effects will take over. Walking in a straight line becomes impossible and you will talk with a 'thick tongue'. If drinking continues, sleep or confusion sets in, which with more alcohol still, might lead to unconsciousness or coma.

How can you tell alcohol use in prison?

Alcohol users get drunk. They have problems standing on their legs and fall easily. Wounds and other injuries do not seem to bother the alcohol drinker. When drunk, alcohol users are easily annoyed and quick to react aggressively. Others, on the other hand, are overcome by an irresistible urge to sleep.

Boozing and soaps