Written by James Mosher, executive director of The Marin Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol and Other Drug Problems, it is a call to arms to his field that could also help poor communities focus their own social justice and redevelopment agendas. Too often, alcohol policy advocates have adopted strategies that target those with middle or upper incomes and assume a world view that emerges from their experience, writes Mosher. According to Mosher, government and private programs have operated for decades on the backwards premise that alcohol problems cause poverty. Poverty is a fundamental cause of alcohol problems, he writes. To believe otherwise is to blame the victim and contradict basic public health concepts that focus on collective responsibility and community interventions.
Statistics point to alcohol as the rich person's drug of choice.
Poor people drink the least. They are more likely to abstain and less likely to be moderate or light drinkers when compared in studies with other income groups. Ironically, says Mosher, studies show that poor people suffer disproportionately from alcohol-related problems due to insufficient access to health care, proper diet and housing, and greater exposure to crime and racism. Racial groups have distinct drinking patterns, Mosher writes. Those with the lowest incomes drink less, but are most likely to report drinking problems, their likelihood of problems disproportionate to the amount of heavy drinking they do.