Alcohol - Use or Abuse?

[via Windy City Times]

“Can we have a healthy relationship with alcohol? It's not a question of can we... we must. These are things that are part of our world.”

For a community that tends to drink and drug at higher rates, what exactly is the LGBT community's relationship to alcohol, and is it a healthy one?

The connection between alcohol and the LGBT community will be the subject of discussion at an upcoming podcast forum, “Let's Take a Glass Together,” organized by LifeLube, Project CRYSP, the Chicago Task Force on LGBT Substance Use and Abuse, Sidetrack and Feast of Fools. Featured speakers include local bartenders, UIC professor and researcher David McKirnan and Howard Brown Health Center's Lisa Rivitz.

What's the problem?

Several small studies over the years indicate that LGBT people have higher rates of alcohol dependence than their straight counterparts.

A 2001 Urban Men's Health Study, which surveyed MSM ( men who have sex with men ) from four cities, including Chicago, found a prevalence of heavy and problematic alcohol and drug use. A majority of men—85 percent—reported recreational drinking. Roughly 12 percent reported three or more alcohol-related problems and 8 percent reported alcohol abuse, which is slightly higher than the national average for men, according to 2001-2002 National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism data.

Findings from a 2000 National Alcohol Survey of all 50 states suggest that alcohol dependence differs by sexual orientation, especially among women.

The Chicago Health and Life Experiences of Women Study, also known as CHLEW, is an ongoing study of lesbian health. Although the study is not completed, preliminary findings show higher rates of drinking among lesbian and other sexual minority women than the national average. Popular settings for heavy drinking include lesbian and gay bars and LGBT events. Lesbians reported more alcohol-related problems and tend to show less age-related decline in their alcohol consumption than their straight counterparts, preliminary findings also indicate

“We, as a community, in general, tend to drink more and abuse drugs more,” said Simone Koehlinger, director of the Chicago Public Health Department's Office of LGBT Health. Koehlinger said that alcohol is “one of the biggest problems” in terms of substance use in the LGBT community.

According to Lisa Rivitz and Kurt Mohning of Howard Brown Health Center's Recovering with Pride program, they see an increasing number of individuals—many of which are older males—coming in for alcohol abuse, though the increases could be a result of new marketing techniques. Many of the clients they see use a number of substances in addition to alcohol.

Read the rest.

Join LifeLube and friends at the "Let's Take a Glass Together" forum next Wednesday.