The Week: Most Recent drinking-and-drugs

Why Obama got tough on medical marijuana: 3 theories

The Week — Tue, 08 May 2012 09:40:00 -0400

When President Obama won the White House in 2008, few groups had more more hope for change than proponents of medical marijuana, the dispensaries allowed to sell pot under some state laws, and the cancer, HIV/AIDS, and other patients who benefit from the drug. And in the first two years of Obama's term, things looked pretty good for the medical marijuana industry: Attorney General Eric Holder told federal prosecutors to lay off individuals complying with state laws, and they did. Then the hammer came down, and now, the Obama administration is "cracking down on medical marijuana dispensaries...

The mouth spray that gets you drunk... for a few seconds

The Week — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:52:00 -0400

A collaborative effort between a French designer and an American scientist has produced a portable mouth spray that results in instant drunkenness. The big catch, however, is that the purported buzz only lasts a few seconds. So, uh, what's the point? Here's what you should know:

How does it work?
The "WA|HH Quantum Sensations" system, presented at a French exhibition, delivers alcohol via a tiny aerosol spray, which spritzes a 0.075 milliliter dose of boozy chemicals directly into your system. A typical drink, by contrast, contains 40 to 60 milliliters of alcohol, meaning that you'd need to press...

Marijuana-infused wine: The new high?

The Week — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 08:00:00 -0400

Travelers making their way through California's Central Coast may smell a pungent new aroma coming from their wineglasses — thanks to a little marijuana. What began as a novelty in the 1980s is becoming more commonplace as California winemakers look to ferment grapes with the sticky, THC-laden leaves. Here, a brief guide to the munchy-inducing trend:

This practice dates back to the 1980s?
"Drugs have been on the periphery of the California wine scene going back a long time," says Michael Sternberg at The Daily Beast. When the Reagan administration was waging its war on drugs in the '80s,...

Soft-serve frozen foam: Can it keep beer colder longer?

The Week — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:15:00 -0400

Treating yourself to a nice cold brewski in the summertime is all very well... if you guzzle the beer down before it turns warm. It's an issue that every even slightly sluggish drinker has had to contend with — but maybe not for much longer. The good people at Kirin, the Japanese brewing giant, have developed a frozen beer foam that can be dispensed atop a glass of beer the same way soft-serve ice cream is swirled into a cone. (Watch a demo video below.) The manufacturer says the frozen foam can keep a stein of beer cold for 30 minutes. Here, a guide to the invention:

What is the foam made...

Should we use LSD to treat alcoholism?

The Week — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 14:15:00 -0400

It's time to take the idea of treating alcoholism with acid trips seriously, researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology argue in the Journal of Psychopharmacology. Neuroscientist Teri Krebs and clinical psychologist Pål-Ørjan Johansen looked at what happened when more than 500 alcoholics were given LSD as part of their treatment, and "we were surprised that the effect was so clear and consistent," says Krebs. Is dropping acid really the answer to compulsive drinking? Here's what you should know:

Did these scientists give acid to alcoholics?
No. LSD (lysergic...

Coors Light's 'absurd' iced-tea-flavored beer

The Week — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 16:05:00 -0500

Molson Coors is rolling out a new product: Coors Light Iced T. The drink is a standard Coors laced with citrus and iced-tea flavors, all with a relatively meek alcohol level of 4 percent. "We've got the world's most refreshing alcoholic beer sort of meeting up with the most refreshing non-alcoholic drink in the world. Those two things go really well together," says Peter Swinburn, the chief executive of the company. Plenty of beer purists, of course, are less excited. Here's what you should know:

Why is Coors mixing beer with iced tea?
It's part of a broader plan to win back customers who are...

Pong Beer: The new drink designed for beer pong

The Week — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 07:00:00 -0500

"Behold, Pong Beer," says Kim Bhasin at Business Insider. In case college kids don't have enough options for cheap swill, a brewing company has designed a beer exclusively for beer pong. You know the game, where competitors loft ping-pong balls, preferably coated in the dust found under frat-house couches, into a pyramid of wide-mouth cups brimming with Keystone Light or Milwaukee's Best. The company estimates that 50 percent of college students play beer pong, and that beer pong-related products have raked in $20 million in sales. Here, a guide to the latest in America's favorite drinking game...

How drinking vodka makes you more creative

The Week — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 07:00:00 -0500

Too much vodka will make anyone slur his sentences, but groundbreaking new research suggests that just the right amount could make a guy wittier with his words. Thanks, science? Here's what you should know should you choose to imbibe… for creativity's sake, of course:

How much vodka are we talking about?
Not a lot. Researchers tested 20 men using a "moderate" amount of vodka mixed with cranberry juice, cutting the volunteers off when their blood alcohol level reached 0.075 percent (or just below the legal limit in the United States).

How did they test something as subjective...

Are red wine's health benefits 'wishful thinking'?

The Week — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 06:45:00 -0500

Some of red wine's purported health benefits are being called into question after a top researcher from the University of Connecticut was fired for allegedly fabricating data published in 11 scientific journals and cited frequently in the mainstream media. Could the libation's noted properties — which include burning fat and fighting heart disease — be mere "wishful thinking"? Here's what you need to know:

What happened?
Following a three-year investigation, the University of Connecticut Health Center fired red-wine researcher Dipak K. Das, saying he had falsified data on more than...

America's 'alarming' binge-drinking problem: By the numbers

The Week — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:47:00 -0500

"After an alcohol-infused holiday season," many New Year's resolvers vowed to cut back on their drinking in January, says Carly Weeks in Canada's The Globe and Mail. Well, "a new report suggests many may want to cut back throughout the rest of the year as well." The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a major report on Wednesday outlining the "alarming" amount of binge-drinking in America, and the numbers are, well, sobering. Here's a look:

4
Drinks needed in a two-hour sitting to qualify as a "binge" for a woman

1
Maximum daily alcoholic drinks the CDC recommends as...

Marijuana's 'historic' surge among teens: 4 theories

The Week — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 07:30:00 -0500

Teenagers are drinking less and smoking fewer cigarettes than in years past. The trouble is, they're also getting high in record numbers. In a University of Michigan study, half of the surveyed high school seniors admitted to experimenting with marijuana, with about one in four saying they had smoked it in the last month — the highest rate in 30 years. And eighth-graders didn't fare much better, with one in five admitting they had used pot recently. What's going on? Here, four theories on marijuana's "historic" resurgence:

1. The perceived risk is down
One theory for why more teenagers...

Will Ferrell's 'hilarious,' Iowa-only Old Milwaukee beer ads

The Week — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:47:00 -0500

Will Ferrell would like you to drink Old Milwaukee beer… provided "you" are one of the 99,685 people who live in Davenport, Iowa. The A-list comedian recently shot a series of ads for the widely maligned beverage (a sample review: "Nothing special, or horrendous") after contacting the Pabst Brewing Co., which owns the brand, and asking if he could film the commercials free of charge. (Watch one of the ads below.) Currently, the commercials only air on local TV in the Quad Cities of Iowa and Illinois. Why did he do this? Here, a guide:

So Ferrell just called up the brewing company?
Yep. At...

Hanson's MMMhop IPA and 8 other celebrity alcohols

The Week — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 07:15:00 -0500

The Hanson brothers — the late 1990s version of Justin Bieber, times three — are all grown up and marketing their onetime pop culture success to their now-adult fans. The youngest brother, Zac, announced that the trio has created an India pale ale, due out early next year: "Mmmhop IPA, anyone?," he said during a recent event. Click through for a look at eight other celebrities who have gotten into the booze business.

'Drunkorexia': A 'disturbing' new trend?

The Week — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 11:51:00 -0400

"Drunkorexia" — combining the worst aspects of binge drinking and eating disorders — is a condition by which college students skip meals to control their weight, saving both money (and calories) they can then use to drink. A new study from the University of Missouri found that 16 percent of college students engage in the practice, including three times as many females as males. Sound dangerous? It is. Here's what you need to know:

What's the appeal?
By avoiding food and the money it costs, drunkorexics are able to get drunk more easily and buy more alcohol. Twisted bonus: Even though...

Are Americans ready to legalize pot?

The Week — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:51:00 -0400

Legalize it? Half of Americans want to. Support for marijuana legalization now outweighs opposition, for the first time since Gallup began polling the issue 42 years ago. Fifty percent of Americans say pot use should be legal, while 46 percent say it should be prohibited. Compare that to 1969, when just 12 percent of Americans wanted to legalize pot, compared to a whopping 84 percent who were opposed. Will a groundswell of support for pot legalization be enough to change the country's drug laws?

America has reached the tipping point: Why not legalize pot? says Henry Blodget...

A new use for Facebook: Identifying problem drinkers?

The Week — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 15:18:00 -0400

Facebook might be a great tool for college administrators and parents looking to spot potential alcohol abusers, suggests a new study published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. College students often share their debauched adventures through social media like Facebook or Twitter — and such posts could signal to parents that it's time to "pick up the phone and have a tough conversation," says Dr. Megan Moreno, the University of Wisconsin-Madison professor who led the study. Here's what you should know:

How did researchers spot at-risk abusers?
The study looked at more...