My name is Chris , and I am an alcoholic.
I feel as if I was forced into alcoholism by the judicial system and the adolescent need for “alteration of the mind.”
I was 17 years old and succeeding in high school in Lee’s Summit, Mo. I had better than average grades and nearly 100% attendance. I had already lettered in Drama and Cross Country. However, during this time I wasn’t drinking with friends. I hated alcohol! I hated the taste, the feeling it gave me and what it did to my peers.
I chose to alter my sobriety with marijuana. Some friends looked down on me because of my choice of substance. Most of society did as well. But I knew I enjoyed marijuana and I could still function and make sensible decisions. I wasn’t slacking in school, sports, or life, like so many of my friends that drank.
Life was going well. I was all set to graduate a semester early when my life turned upside down. I decided to ride with a friend, who was drinking and driving to a party. We were stopped by police for suspicion of DUI. I had marijuana and he was drunk. That said, we went to jail.
Hundreds of dollars later, after hiring a lawyer, I was put on probation and into the judicial system. A few months into probation, I failed a urine test and tested positive for marijuana. I went back to court and was ordered into drug rehab for my “addiction to marijuana”. I could no longer smoke marijuana at this point. (Marijuana can stay in your system for up to 30* days) It was just too risky!
I decided at this point that I had been making a stupid decision smoking marijuana and that drinking alcohol wouldn’t get me in trouble with the law. So slowly I began to drink alcohol. It didn’t seem to be a problem at first. People didn’t look down on me, it was legal and it was acceptable nearly everywhere.
Beers turned into shots, shots turned into keg stands. I began fighting, skipping school, drinking until 3am. This was okay to people. This was what teens did. My probation officer didn’t seem to care if I drank alcohol, even underage. I got my first DWI right before my 18th birthday and I only got a warning from probation. At this point alcohol no longer bothered me and it seemed the trouble was less. More DWI’s, fights and social problems were to follow and my drinking led to me dropping out of school. Tens of Thousands of dollars went to lawyers and courts keeping me out of jail. I spent 34 days in jail for testing positive for marijuana during the alcohol probation.
In October of 2006 I was arrested for my 6th DWI. I was driving on a hardship drivers license. I knew how the system worked at this point and my lawyer got this DWI nearly tossed out of court, yes, # 6! How was I not in a prison cell?! Because I was able to buy my way out of alcohol problems, I continued drinking. Although I knew I had an addiction and a problem long before this.
New Years Eve 2006 into 2007 I woke up naked next to my best friends wife. I had no idea how I got there or how I even made it to their house. My friend woke me up and when I realized what was going on, I cried and broke down. This had to be my rock bottom. What had I done?! What can I do?! What do I do?! Well this wasn’t enough for me and I continued drinking.
January 16th, 2007 3:15am. I’m headed home on I-70 from Whiskey Tangos in Grain Valley with 2 friends. It’s icy and sleeting. I’m drunk, speeding and feeling untouchable. I come up fast behind an SUV that is driving cautiously because of the weather, when I decide to change lanes abruptly and it sends my Jetta into a spin. We slide off the interstate narrowly missing a bridge post. The front tire dipped into a rut and sent us into a flipping barrel roll. Nobody was wearing a seat belt. Witnesses reported my Jetta flipping at least 7 times and seeing a body tossed from the car. The “body” was my sunroof. When the car came to a stop I just knew my friends had to be dead. I yelled and yelled, “are you all okay?!” They both answered yes. As we stumbled out of the mangled car in extreme pain and confusion, I knew this had to be the end. The end to my alcohol experiences and addiction.
I managed to stay sober until February 25th, 2007. I was in a friends wedding in Florida when the urge came over me to drink. I drank a beer, took a shot of tequila and I felt myself slipping back into alcohol. I realized that wasn’t the route I wanted. I’ve been sober ever since. I have a beautiful family, a successful business and a home. Life is good.
I still smoke marijuana on occasion. The only troubles that ever came with marijuana were the laws that prohibited it. Marijuana never influenced me to make stupid decisions or act like a fool. Alcohol did, and that’s socially alright. Our society and judicial system let me drink and drink and drink with *zero consequences. Yet when I chose the safer, less toxic option, I was ridiculed, looked down upon and thrown in jail.
This is what happens to many Americans. Many are basically "forced" to be alcoholics! And alcoholism is okay.
Thanks for reading MY story. If you choose to alter your state of mind, I hope you choose the safer alternative, marijuana. It’s time to end the ridicule. If marijuana were legal, I don’t think I would be an alcoholic. I’m sure the same goes for millions of others as well.
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