Montana Gaming Group

'Synthetic alcohol' with an antidote

    It's probably a good thing we generally mellow as we mature and grow older. Radicalism is easy and fun when youthful but has much less appeal as the accumulation of real world experience comes to effect.
    Back in the mid and late 1980s I was far more radical than I am today, and that was reflected in my editorial writings and personal columns then. (Believe me, though, I was far more radical in the 1970s than in the 1980s!)
    Back in about 1987 I believe, when I was an associate publisher of a group of weeklies in the Mission and Flathead Valleys, I wrote an editorial that postulated we would never win the "war on drugs," and that we should quite wasting the billions we were spending to fight it.
    Unbelievably, as a result of that editorial, I was subpoenaed to testify as a defense witness in a local drug trial. With the aid of the First Amendment, we got the subpoena quashed, though I did ultimately have to testify on matters related to our circulation, reach and readership, which was fine.
    I later talked to the defense attorney who had issued the subpoena and asked him what in the world he had hoped I would testify to, and how that could possibly help his client. He said he wanted me to address the futility of the state's effort to suppress drug use, and the harms that futile policy worked on its citizens.
    Of course none of this had any real bearing on a trial to determine the innocence or guilt of a person charged with drug possession, not to mention that I was hardly an expert who might have credibility enough to sway a jury. Hell, it was just my 31-year-old newspaperman's opinion. He was desperately fishing, was basically it.
    But I did talk to him privately about my belief that society – or maybe government – would be far better off investing even just a small percentage of the billions spent on drug interdiction to fund research on a safer recreational intoxicant.
    I mentioned to him the fictional drug called "soma" that was discussed in Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World," a drug developed, controlled and even administered by the state to its citizens whenever social stresses caused problematic or even uncomfortable anxiety. Soma was said to be benign in terms of after-, or long term-, effects and yielded a very mellow and pleasant high that was in fact rejuvenating.
    It seemed to me, I told the lawyer, that innately, somewhere deeply rooted in the human psyche, most people wanted – maybe even needed – the opportunity to occasionally escape from the rigors and stresses of a constant, unrelenting interface with reality.
    I told him I believed that the first time Org The Caveman found some fruit rotting in a small pool of water that had become contaminated by yeast (yup, beverage alcohol), and tasted this elixir enough to experience the effects of it, that he wanted to learn to make the stuff and use it occasionally to alter his mood and state of consciousness – to take a brief break or even vacation from his otherwise dull or awful existence.
    I also suppose the first time Org used a bunch of cannabis sativa – hemp or marijuana – as fuel for his campfire, and happened to inhale a sufficient quantity of the smoke (maybe he ate it?) to experience the effects of the psychoactive THC chemical compound in it, he took note and kept some handy for when he needed that little mental hiatus.
    But in our culture, and in many others, it is generally deemed wrong, immoral, harmful to get high. Millions disagree and imbibe in one chemical or another daily, some to the point of damaging abuse and other social carnage, but others with little effect at all.
    A recent article in the press is what set off my musing of 22 years ago.
    It seems some UK scientists are at work on exactly what I had proposed, perhaps naively, to that attorney better than two decades back. The idea was referred to in the article as "synthetic alcohol" and is a chemical substance added to pleasant tasting beverage that would deliver the intoxicating effects of alcohol without the hangover (lost productivity) or potential organ damage or even addiction that results from abuse.
    But here's the kicker: it was claimed an antidote had also been developed which reversed the effects, inducing nearly immediate sobriety for that drive home.
    The article claimed, "Modern science can now provide a safer way for us to have fun." The article also acknowledged plenty of social, legal and economic impediments to actual development of the "synthetic alcohol."
    Yes, perhaps the stuff of science fiction, just as Huxley's "soma" has been regarded.
    But perhaps not really so farfetched. With the requisite resources committed and cutting edge science applied, I wouldn't doubt that a safer, and reversible, chemical high could be developed. It would take a new social will to see it through.
    And we have the ideal public/private manufacturing, distribution, retailing, control and taxation apparatus in place right now.
    Personally, I think it would be great to stop at your favorite tavern on the way home, knock back a few synthetic alcohol beers, cocktails or shots, get a good buzz going, and enjoy the company of your friends in an atmosphere of reduced inhibitions.
    Then, when its time to leave to have a good dinner, then get enough sleep to be productive the next day, simply have a toast with a shot of antidote, sobering up, saying good night and driving 0.00 safely home.
    They say reality is stranger than fiction.

    I'm sometimes a bit of a bah-humbugger when it comes to "the holidays." But some things crack that crusty shell. Things like gifts from Santa Rupert (or is it Del Clause? Makes no difference).
    Yes, Old Pulteney 12-year-old single malt scotch: Appearance – Deep amber red golden (with a slight pink hue); Aroma – Medium to high intensity and complexity, dry with a hint of sea-air; Tasting notes – Dry, medium bodied and smooth with a clean finish, faintly salty with a slight sherry note.
    Mmmmm ... scotch.
    My scotch connoisseur brother Libby volunteered to help me sample it.
    But Rupertclaus (whatever) also threw in a bottle of Paul Masson VSOP Grande Amber Brandy. I guess that's to keep spouse Marilyn quiet while Lib and I drink the scotch.
    Happy holidays, happy holidays ....