The Drug and Alcohol Factor

1. Comprehension Check

1. What is the essence of Sue Berman’s suggestion and how does O’Reilly treat it?

2. Why is there so much drug and alcohol abuse in America today?

3. What sanitizes the drug issue for kids?

4. Why will public policy never put an end to drug addiction?

5. When was O’Reilly first exposed to full-blown intoxication?

6. What were the effects of alcohol intoxication on his friends?

7. What were the results of alcohol abuse in O’Reilly’s neighborhood?

8. How much of the illegal drugs coming to the USA was seized last year?

9. Why did the author find the arrest of Mexico’s top general paradoxical?

10. What were the consequences of drugs legalization in Switzerland?

11. Do you really believe that a new drug program in Alabama points the way to a saner future?

12. Why do opponents think that forced drug rehab is of racist origin?

13. How does the author picture life without drugs?

2. Discriminate between true and false statements. Justify your choice by relevant information from the section.

1. Only if you are after success should you try to experiment with drugs.

2. Advertisers do not distort the truth concerning drugs and alcohol: they do not require any effort from the consumer. Getting drunk or high is easy.

3. The majority of the pathetic homeless people living miserably on the streets cannot keep themselves sober . But high school dropouts do not have such a high rate of substance abuse.

4. The legalization would be even worse for at least two reasons: the sheer numbers of potential users in the growing population and the simple fact that users do not like to do drugs alone.

5. Whether the addicts want it or not they should be sent to rehab centers.

6. Sound rehab program includes psychiatric drug counseling, educational classes, job training, and job placement.

7. If the released addict commits another crime he is returned to rehab center to go through exactly the same procedure.

8. Washington’s rich and powerful care a lot about the drug problem because it impacts their privileged lives on a day-to-day basis.

9. Both alcoholism and drug abuse are diseases and should be treated likewise.

3. Fill in the gaps.

1. The media --------- on the income from beer and liquor ads, and ------------ in dough from you with CDs, movies, books, and TV programs that ---------- the lives of “social drinkers”.

2. Just think how many mistakes you can make when you are cold ---------. When you are inebriated or -------- , your mistake -------- flies to the moon.

3. Something like 75 percent of all physical abuse against helpless kids is committed by ---------- adults.

4. Americans who speak out against drugs are --------- morality police, bluenoses, or religious ---------.

5. When the ----------- Rand Corporation organized a massive study of drug rehab, the results were ---------.

6. More than 90 percent of all convicted criminals ----------- for rehab.

7. The close ------------ after release provides a strong -------- to keep clean. If you test positive for drugs, you are --------- back to prison rehab.

8. To support this new approach, prosecutors and judges should ensure that pushers get --------- with big-time --------- prison sentences. That would put the risk---------- ratio of dealing -----------against these ---------of death.

9. The taxpayers who ----------the bills are owed a no-nonsense ---------------------- approach to -------------offenders.

10. As long as addictions are considered to be diseases, rehab centers can claim----------from insurance companies.

11. You can’t resort to ------------treatment because----------- is legal.

12. Even a so-called ---------drug like marijuana has a negative----------. It ------------discipline and is toxic to the body.

4. Discussion Points

1. Why is there so much alcohol and drug abuse in our country nowadays?

2. Do you think that certain laws limiting the freedom of choice should be enforced?

3. What sort of crimes and social problems can be fueled by drugs and alcohol?

4. Do you agree that alcoholism is akin to a slow form of suicide?

5. Why should the sober part of the society be concerned with drug and alcohol abuse?

6. What effective program for ending drug trafficking can you think of?

7. Do you consider drug and alcohol abuse to be a disease? Does society have the right to punish addicts for their illness?