Drugs of the Mind

Alcohol produces a range of central-nervous-system-related biological effects, including anxiety reduction, euphoria, sedation, disinhibition, aggression, blackouts, tolerance, addiction, and withdrawal. The Chinese have used alcoholic drinks since 5000 B.C. Presumably, man ventured to drink the liquid from fermented grain, liked the intoxicating effect, and started to make it on purpose. Alcohol has been used as an anesthetic for millennia (see chapter 7). Alcohol is indispensable in medicine as a solvent. Laudanum, a staple of the medicine chest in the nineteenth century, was simply an alcoholic solution of opium. NyQuil, a cough syrup, and Listerine, an oral antiseptic, all contain copious amounts of ethanol. Alcohol has beneficial effects when consumed in moderate amounts. Research strongly suggests that moderate consumption of alcohol, especially red wine and dark beer, seems to have protective effects on the heart. The hallmarks of the Mediterranean diet are olive oil and red wine, and people from such countries have fewer cardiovascular events. Flavonoids, the active principle in red wine, are thought to exert beneficial cardiovascular effects. According to the Bible (Genesis 9:20–21), Noah was the first man who discovered wine: “Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent.” The New Testament gives an account of Jesus performing his first miracle—turning water into wine. Despite the beneficial effects of moderate alcohol consumption, excessive use of alcohol damages the brain, heart, and liver. Even mild drunkenness can cause temporary loss of memory. The liver metabolizes alcohol with an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase, which turns alcohol into acetaldehyde. Because acetaldehyde is acutely toxic, people—including many Asians—who lack alcohol dehydrogenase cannot tolerate much alcohol. This is the reason that their faces become flush when they drink alcohol and that there are fewer incidents of alcoholism in Asians. Alcoholism is known to cause psychosis and alcoholic dementia. To fight the “demon rum,” on January 16, 1919, the U.S. Congress passed the Eighteenth Amendment, prohibiting “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors.” It was repealed 14 years later, the only amendment to the U.S. Constitution that has been repealed.