Alcohol and drugs surround us

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HealthWiki > Promoting Community Mental Health > Chapter 6: Alcohol and drug addiction are mental health problems > Alcohol and drugs surround us

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In this chapter:

 

In this chapter:

• Chapter 6: Alcohol and drug addiction are mental health problems
• Talking about addiction
• People struggling with addiction need support
• Alcohol and drugs surround us

Alcohol and many kinds of drugs are part of everyday life. Wine or beer is commonly served with meals, and both alcohol and drugs are often part of social events and celebrations. Advertising constantly tells us that using them is part of “the good life,” and makes us the kind of people that others will like and want to be with. Ads never show people with alcoholism or dealing with the problems in the family it can cause.

Alcohol is often available in supermarkets and corner stores, and dispensaries and smoke shops make cannabis products increasingly easy to get. While the legalization of cannabis reduces the disproportionate imprisonment of people of color, it may lead to increased drug use in the community. This means our community organizations need to provide better education to youth about responsible drug use and drinking, make sure sober spaces and other ways to avoid drugs are available, and offer help and treatment when needed.

Guys pressure each other to drink in our community. We all live crowded together and there is nowhere to hide when someone says, “Just have one. It won’t hurt you.” But if a medicine you are taking means you can’t have alcohol, they respect that. Also, if you say you are jurado, meaning you made a pledge in church not to drink for Lent or something, they respect that too. Our local priest hands out cards for anyone who pledges to the Virgin of Guadalupe. Then they can just show others their card.

Working with youth to prevent misuse of alcohol and drugs

Misuse of alcohol or drugs happens more often to people who grow up with misuse around them. It is also more common for people with parents or grandparents who have problems with addiction, even if they never lived with or knew those family members. There is also more risk if someone suffered trauma or abuse as a child.

Knowing this can help leaders of community programs or caretakers watch out for young people in these situations, and a person aware of their family history may be able to take steps to avoid misuse. In general, having community structures and people who look out for teens and young people, and providing caring support through all the transitions of this life-stage can help prevent general mental health challenges as well as specific problems of misuse of drugs.

When kids use drugs, they are far more likely to develop lifelong problems because it affects their fast-developing brains more permanently. This is why programs that keep kids busy with sports, arts, and activities to help the community are so important—by delaying the use of alcohol or drugs for as many years as possible, it buys time for healthy brain development. Telling parents to “know where your children are” doesn’t really help unless we are creating safe places where they want to go and spend time.

Spaces that are alcohol and drug-free

It is harder for people who have overcome alcohol or drug addiction to avoid using them when alcohol is made available everywhere and drugs may be easy to get. City, neighborhood, and community groups can design activities and events where no alcohol is served or where consuming alcohol isn’t a central activity.

Our college campus has group housing run by cooperatives. Residents make, follow, and enforce the house rules. The largest coop residence hall is alcohol-free and drug-free. The students who live there can choose to use substances elsewhere, but everyone is committed to keeping substances out of where they live. For students who struggled with addictions before coming to college, this housing option is a life-saver.

Turn down the money. The alcohol industry donates to community festivals and events across the US to associate their brands with generosity and to fill community spaces with their advertising. The North Dakota Department of Health encourages community groups to turn down sponsorship from alcohol companies and local bars so advertising and branded giveaways don’t contribute to normalizing or making binge-drinking glamorous. Many events organized by tribes or held on American Indian reservations are also purposefully alcohol-free for the same reasons. In 1998, the city of Oakland, California, effectively banned all alcohol advertising by specifying that signs advertising alcohol cannot be put up within 1,000 feet of churches, schools, recreation centers, and childcare facilities.

This page was updated:18 Apr 2025